IT firm applies for success

THE Warwickshire subsidiary of Australian IT firm PelicanCorp has received global recognition for its innovative products.

The company, based at Warwick Technology Park’s Innovation Centre, received first runner-up prize for its new smart phone application ‘beforeUdig Mobile’ at this year’s NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge® – the major showcase to big business for the location-based services industry.

‘beforeUdig’ is an online service for requesting underground asset plans. The service is developed and supported by PelicanCorp to protect contractors from injury while working around hidden pipes and cables, and to prevent costly interruption of essential services through accidental damage.

The new mobile application allows users to request underground asset plans while onsite and instantly provides a list of asset owners and their contact details.

The commendation, awarded by a panel of judges which included global technology giants Sony Ericsson and Intel came with a cheque for $590,000 (£380,000). NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of maps, traffic and location data, also gave the company a special award for best productivity solution.
 
PelicanCorp set up shop in the UK in 2007 and chose the Warwick centre over other European and UK sites following support from the international investment team and Bridge to Growth programme at Advantage West Midlands.

PelicanCorp’s continued growth is ultimately expected to bring a total of 25 jobs to the region.

Marcus Edwards, PelicanCorp Managing Director in Europe, said: “We are extremely excited about our success at the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge, it has opened our horizons about the possibilities of the mobile solution as well as the awareness of our business in general.

“The West Midlands base has proven a big success and we remain extremely pleased with the choice of location for our European operations base.”

“The support and guidance we received from the expert team at Advantage West Midlands was invaluable and went a long way to securing our decision to base in this region,” he added.

Robbie Beak, AWM’s International Investment Manager, said: “This latest recognition for PelicanCorp reinforces the fact we have encouraged and supported truly globally competitive companies to locate in this region and that such firms recognise the real benefits of operating here.”