Westermo Data Communications is sponsoring the Signalling and Telecommunications Engineer of the Year award at this year’s RailStaff Awards 2013. The new award highlights important work being progressed by railway signalling and telecoms specialists throughout the industry.
Says Phil Mounter, Infrastructure Projects Sales Manager at Westermo, ‘It is important to recognise the contribution made to railways internationally by railway signal engineers. Having a category devoted to Signalling and Telecommunications Engineers is important.
We decided to back this new award as a way of saying thank you to the many signalling and telecommunications engineers at work in the rail industry and because we wanted to give something back to our customers, suppliers and staff.’
Says Tom O’Connor, managing director of the Rail Media Group, ‘Comprehensive re-signalling and better telecommunications means the need for new technologies and engineering skills has never been greater. We are delighted to welcome Westermo to the RailStaff Awards. I quite agree with Phil that we need to recognise the unique achievement and hard work of signalling and telecoms engineers in the rail industry.’
Data integrity
Westermo products are built using high quality, military-grade components with low power consumption and data integrity in mind. Westermo offers some of the most reliable, secure and energy efficient products on the industrial market today.
Founded in 1975 in Sweden, Westermo now has a global reach. In Britain Westermo has been supplying Ethernet and serial industrial communications devices to the rail industry for many years. New ideas, top quality equipment and listening to the concerns of the engineers themselves has placed Westermo among the market leaders in signalling and telecommunications.
Says Phil, ‘Every day we speak with signalling and telecommunications designers, installers, maintenance technicians, engineers and managers. This gives us a great advantage and explains why leading S&T engineers choose Westermo when building mission critical communications networks.’
Spread of best practice is integral to the Westermo approach. ‘Every year we host an annual rail summit where we invite the UK’s best S&T engineers along to learn from each other and show the latest products,’ says Phil. ‘This year’s event is at the Science Museum in London on Wednesday 30th October. We plan to invite the first Signalling and Telecommunications Engineer of the Year to come to the summit and open the day.’
The RailStaff Awards recognise the achievements of railway staff from train drivers to engineers and trackworkers to train planners. This year’s RailStaff Awards take place at the Birmingham International Convention Centre on 5th October 2013 and are open to all who work and support the railway industry. For more info see www.railstaffawards.com and for Westermo see http://www.westermo.co.uk
