Pandrol Ltd'

1

Pandrol Ltd.
Core business Design, manufacture and supply of
rail fastenings and other track components.
UK based company (French owned, since Nov.
2003) Approx. 150 employees in UK 500 world
wide. Supplies about 15 million sleeper sets
of parts p.a. 1,182,000,000 clips in 380
railways in 98 countries .
2

R D Philosophy
Pandrol Ltd core business To provide customers
with engineered solutions to track problems not
just widgets.

• We need to understand the engineering system
  within
• which our components have to function.
• 2. We need to understand the business
  environment
• within which our customers have to operate.

3

R D Resources
Main test laboratory at Worksop, Notts., UK Main
design office at Addlestone, Surrey, UK Field
testing / instrumentation facilities. (Total 43
technical staff based in the UK) Smaller
technical teams in USA and Australia. Some work
funded at universities e.g. currently at
Southampton University (ISVR)
4

R D Funding
Mostly internal. Some involvement in
collaborative projects e.g. EC Framework RTD
projects UK government schemes e.g. LINK
The only way to generate income is to sell
hardware, profitably. The very existence of an
RD group in a supply company increases
costs, compared with those of competitors
which do no RD. To remain profitable with a
higher cost base, it is necessary to sell
larger quantities, or at a higher price than
those competitors. To be able to sell more, or at
a higher price, it is necessary to supply a
better product or service. The RD
provides the technology to make the product /
service better. To prevent competitors from
copying the technology without incurring
the RD costs it is necessary to protect
intellectual property.
5

R D Funding

• Advantages of collaborative projects

• Access to other sources of funding.
• Contact with other research organisations /
  experts.
• Feedback / input from the industry.

• Disadvantages of collaborative projects
• Unclear ownership of i.p.r.
• Administrative costs.
• Geographical limitations.

6

R D Funding

• Advantages of co-ordinated projects

• Access to other sources of funding.
• Contact with other research organisations /
  experts.
• Feedback / input from the industry.

• Disadvantages of co-ordinated projects
• Unclear ownership of i.p.r.
• Administrative costs.
• Geographical limitations.

7

Pandrol Ltd. publication policy.
Pre-competitive research refereed publications
Encouraged, but rarely a possibility. New
product development trade journals /
conferences Encouraged, once i.p.r. is
protected. New technology specialist technical
conferences Treated with some caution .
8

Pandrol Ltd.
We will continue to define and fund internal RD
projects aimed at meeting customer needs which we
identify. We are keen to support better
co-ordination of railway industry research
projects in the UK. We are nervous about
collaborative projects with partial public
funding, but may participate in some cases.