Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) announced today that it has acquired privately-held Nexala, a provider of enterprise solutions for the rail transport industry, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Nexala’s enterprise solutions manage the lifecycle of rail transport vehicles from operation through maintenance and repair. The Nexala enterprise solutions complement Trimble’s existing portfolio of rail solutions, enabling Trimble to address the broader railway workflow—from initial greenfield track alignment planning to managing the maintenance of locomotives in a repair depot.
Trimble’s existing railway solutions leverage the spectrum of Trimble technology for track and structure construction and maintenance—including construction machine control systems, Building Information Modeling (BIM) software and highly precise track measurement systems—to enable high-quality railway construction on time and budget. On the operations side, Trimble’s fleet mobility solutions, RFID reading technology and Positive Train Control (PTC) mapping systems enable productive and safe operation of passenger and freight railroads. The addition of Nexala will accelerate Trimble’s ability to deliver more complete solutions for both railway infrastructure managers and transport operators.
Nexala provides an integrated suite of on premise and software as a service (SaaS) solutions for large transport operators and global train and component manufacturers. The solutions include:
Engineering Maintenance Management (E2M): The Nexala E2M system is an enterprise-wide engineering, asset and maintenance management system. E2M is designed to control assets, manage stock, streamline procurement, schedule workshop operations and plan maintenance in order to achieve optimum asset availability and labor utilization.
Real-time Remote Diagnostic Monitoring (R2M): The Nexala R2M system combines shore-based software and on-train equipment to deliver fault alerts as they occur for effective condition-based maintenance. Communicating with the maintenance depots in real-time, the system allows for efficient fault diagnostics and work scheduling by the maintenance team. In addition, by analyzing irregularities of individual components and their behaviors across the entire fleet, the R2M system allows maintenance actions to be performed to avoid future failures.
In-Service Performance Planning and Management (P2M): TheNexala P2M system uses timetable, actual vehicle location and real-time diagnostics information to help identify the root cause of delays and plan journeys for optimum timetable adherence. Through a combination of journey planning and improved driver awareness, it also is used to maximize energy/fuel efficiency and manage driver behavior. The P2M system also provides the operations teams with in-service recommendations when fleet failures occur to reduce delays and penalties. P2M is also available as an on-board cab advisory system for drivers.
Component Condition Monitoring (C2M): Nexala’s C2M suite combines trackside and handheld measuring devices with software analytics to proactively monitor wheels, brakes, pantographs and key components for wear and defects. By detecting and analyzing anomalies, it provides predictive advice of maintenance requirements and automates maintenance planning.
“Many of the largest railways in the world rely on Trimble solutions to plan, build and maintain their track and structures. With the addition of Nexala, we also offer rail vehicle lifecycle management solutions for passenger and freight train operators. Trimble can now provide innovative solutions for both the track infrastructure and the train assets that ride on it,” said Ron Bisio, general manager of Trimble’s Railway Solutions Business. “Our fundamental focus is to provide solutions that drive agility, improve efficiency and provide better visibility into railway operations to maximize productivity.”
“We are very excited to join Trimble. I believe the addition of Nexala’s solutions to Trimble’s portfolio extends our collective ability to deliver more powerful and robust rail solutions,” said Dr. Karl O’Connell, CEO of Nexala. “In addition, Nexala can leverage Trimble’s international footprint to extend our company’s global reach with a team that shares our passion for innovation in the rail transport industry. As part of Trimble, our commitment to our customers remains unchanged as we continue to deliver best-in-class solutions and services.”
The Nexala business will be reported in Trimble’s Engineering and Construction Segment.
About Nexala
Nexala is a leader in rail transport vehicle lifecycle management solutions. Nexala’s solutions allow companies to plan for the future, improve operational efficiencies, manage their service levels, and to reduce their costs while at the same time ensuring that the service they provide is maintained to the highest level. Nexala has operations in Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Belgium and North America. Nexala’s customers include Southwest Trains, Eurostar, SNCF, Irish Rail, the Go-Ahead group, Abellio, Siemens Transportation, Alstom and Greater Anglia among others.
For more information, visit: www.nexala.com.
About Trimble’s Railway Solutions
Trimble’s Railway Solutions combine the latest in GPS/GNSS, optical, imaging and scanning technologies with customized software and wireless communications enabling users to quickly and accurately capture the data needed to provide clients with actionable deliverables to maintain and construct railways. Trimble’s solutions use integrated processes and workflows for complete railway lifecycle management—from the planning and design to the construction and maintenance phases. The solutions can streamline operations to keep railway projects on time and costs on target.
For more information, visit: http://www.trimble.com/rail.