ITS product manufacturer AGD Systems Limited has acquired Radix Traffic Limited as part of its ‘ambitious’ plans for growth.
It said Hampshire-based Radix is the largest manufacturer of ‘rotating cone’ tactile equipment to assist visually impaired pedestrians at signalised crossings.
Radix designs and manufactures its leading products in-house and AGD said it has a customer base that is complementary to its own.
Managing director Pete Hutchinson said: ‘As one of the largest manufacturers of nearside signal equipment in the UK market, AGD has been a very satisfied customer of Radix for many years. There’s a natural fit between our product ranges and this acquisition comes at an exciting time for us, allowing us to build on the Radix brand with AGD know-how.
‘Putting it all together makes sense because it means customers can continue to benefit from the Radix best-in-class product but now as part of the bigger AGD portfolio.’
The Radix tactile indicator (pictured), when fitted to the familiar nearside signals, allows a blind or partially sighted person to hold a cone which protrudes from the signal. When it is safe to cross, the cone starts rotating as the green man appears.
When Radix was evaluating the market in 1988, a survey indicated that some 5,000 tactile units would satisfy UK need. Today it is estimated that more than 200,000 tactiles are operating on Britain’s crossings and junctions.
AGD said the contribution of Radix founders Dick Duley and Milan Fuchs in making life easier for vulnerable pedestrians ‘cannot be underestimated’.
It said their commercial and technical skills enabled them to give support and encouragement to the Radix management team, now headed by traffic industry professional Brian Cherry, who will continue as a director of the Radix division of AGD Systems.
Contact numbers for Radix remain unchanged, and customers can visit AGD’s stand D026 at Traffex 19 to meet Mr Cherry and the AGD traffic and pedestrian control team.
