Aquarius on track for growth following TV show
A GROWING Yorkshire rail plant business is gearing up for further success after playing a key role in the BBC’s Top Gear show.
Aquarius Railroad Technologies, based in Mickley near Ripon, is a specialist manufacturer of road-rail products to the rail industry.
Its core product is the Rail Rover, a Land Rover adapted for the rails, which has a variety of uses and can transport both people and materials.
The business supplied two of the vehicles to the BBC for a recent episode in which the Top Gear team towed caravans down a railway track in various cars at high speeds.
One Rail Rover held a camera platform to allow the director to film from an adjacent rail line while the other was used as a mobile paramedic carrier.
Founded as a one-man outfit by managing director James Platt in 1999, Aquarius is expanding rapidly and now has 20 staff and a turnover of £1.4m.
It currently has a fleet of 25 Rail Rovers and numerous other products, supplying to both national and international markets.
Mr Platt said: “While it has been great fun to be involved in the production of such a landmark TV programme and to meet the likes of Jeremy Clarkson the fact that the BBC came to us underlines how much of a market leader we have become in our industry.
“The business continues to go from strength to strength and we are about to launch some very exciting products over the next few months.”
“These include a vehicle designed to help clear snow off the rails that we piloted during the big freeze last winter and that could potentially save rail providers millions of pounds a year,” he added.
