Short Parking Stories
April, 2018
Amano McGann Acquires CVPS
Amano McGann, Inc. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Computerized Valet Parking Systems, a division of Service Tracking Systems, Inc. (CVPS). This mutually-beneficial partnership will pair the leading provider of Parking Access and Revenue Control Systems (PARCS) in North America with the team that has amassed a strong leadership position in the automated valet parking solutions market in the United States.
Known for exceptional, dedicated employees, paired with quality products that bolster revenue and customer satisfaction for their clients, CVPS was a pioneer in the electronic valet parking industry over 20 years ago. They are now the market-leader and will continue to run as a stand-alone division inside Amano McGann. CVPS customers will continue to receive incomparable sales and support from the exemplary CVPS team to be led at Amano by Senior Vice President (CVPS) Andy Preas and Vice President of Operations (CVPS) Kurt Fisher.
“We are very excited to have the CVPS team join Amano McGann,” said President and CEO Tom Benton. “Bringing CVPS into the Amano McGann family gives us broad strategic reach and enables us to expand and enhance our capabilities, markets, technological capacity and customer service.”
“Our culture, technology and service orientation complements Amano McGann’s strategic vision to become the “go to” place for best in class parking related technologies”, said Kai Schuette, CEO of Service Tracking Systems. “We are thrilled to be one important piece of that puzzle and look forward to delighting our clients with an even larger array of solutions. “
Prior to the acquisition, CVPS was a division of Service Tracking Systems, Inc, (STS). Amano McGann will acquire substantially all of the CVPS division assets from STS. STS will continue to provide services outside of the parking industry.
Source: Amano McGann
Dish Network Enters Parking Space With Buy of Denver Startup ParkiFi
Dish Network Corp., best known as a satellite-TV service, has entered the parking business to get a jump on developing “internet of things” technologies and a new wireless network.
Douglas County-based Dish (Nasdaq: DISH) has acquired Denver-based startup ParkiFi, which makes sensors and software to track the use of parking spaces in real time.
ParkiFi has developed magnetic sensors to detect cars, as well as devices that collect the sensors’ data and transmit it to the cloud — all of it using wireless internet frequencies.
“All the things we spent three years of blood, sweat and tears to master, we can bring to Dish,” Ryan Sullivan, CEO and co-founder of ParkiFi, said. Sullivan now becomes a vice president at Dish Network leading a team that will develop IoT-related products and services.
Dish has invested billions of dollars acquiring unused wireless internet frequencies with the goal of offering wireless and mobile internet service in addition to its satellite TV and its Sling TV streaming-video product. Buying ParkiFi brings in expertise that Dish will need to understand how best to build an IoT network and offer businesses products that use it, said Tom Cullen, Dish’s executive vice president of corporate development.
“Eighty percent of ParkiFi’s experience is applicable to everything we plan to do,” he said.
ParkiFi workers this week moved a couple blocks to Dish Network’s office near Denver Union Station.
They become part of Dish’s 2,500-employee team of technology engineers, helping develop uses for the IoT wireless network that Dish plans to launch later this year.
Source: Denver Business Journal
Parking Boxx Awards Inaugural Parking Solutions Scholarship
Parking BOXX, the North American-based parking systems manufacturer and software developer, announced today the recipient of the first Parking Solutions Scholarship for Technical Innovation in Parking Solutions. The award was won by Patience Lo, a design student at the University of New South Wales, who proposed an app that addresses misuse, forgery, and theft of credentials for disabled parkers to ensure that designated HP parking spaces remain available for those who need them. As part of the award, Ms. Lo will receive a $1,000 scholarship from Parking BOXX.
The Parking Solutions Scholarship was introduced by Parking BOXX in 2017 to encourage students to apply technical solutions to common parking problems. Entrants submitted a 500-word essay on the subject of technology innovation in parking solutions and how parking can be made more user-friendly, efficient, or otherwise enhanced. The essays were judged by a panel of parking professionals on their originality, creativity, and persuasiveness.
“We received many creative and interesting submissions from across the globe, including as far away as Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia,” said Renee Smith, Parking BOXX’s CTO. “The entries were excellent, but one stood out among this impressive field. We are proud to award the inaugural Parking Solutions Scholarship to Patience Lo.”
The award program was designed to encourage students to offer their perspectives on how technological innovation can improve upon the parking solutions available today. Technology plays a predominant role in parking innovation, and searching out technological advancements to enhance parking solutions is a core value of Parking BOXX.
The most popular theme among the entries was the use of an app to help improve parking solutions. Many applicants envisioned parking apps that would help locate available parking spots, improve payment methods, and help improve the overall parking experience. Other notable proposals included stackable parking, conveyor belt parking, the complete redesign of parking lots, and the use of robots and robotics as part of their parking solutions
“I think that availability of accessible parking is an issue that’s happening everywhere, no matter where you are, and it’s an issue that hasn’t nearly been tackled enough,” said Patience Lo. “In fact, too often local approaches and policies just end up making people with disabilities pay for the sins of able-bodied abusers.”
Parking BOXX would like to thank all the applicants for their original and creative submissions. We were pleased by the overwhelming global response and the Parking Solutions Scholarship will be returning in 2018!
Source: Parking BOXX
Parkmobile Announces Major Investment by BMW Group
Parkmobile, LLC, the leading provider of mobile parking solutions in North America, announced today a recapitalization of the business and investment by BMW Group. Through this transaction, Parkmobile has consolidated its shareholder base and gained access to significant capital that will be used to accelerate growth and innovation. BMW Group, which had been a minority investor in Parkmobile since 2014, will now be the sole outside investor after buying out the legacy shareholders in the business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This announcement comes on the heels of a successful 2017 for Parkmobile that saw the company continue to expand in North America and achieve record growth. Below are some of the highlights from the past twelve months.
• Record year-over-year revenue growth
• Processed over 50 million parking transactions in North America, a 50% year-over-year increase
• Surpassed 8 million registered users
• Added 216,000 new parking spots, bringing the total inventory to over 1 million
• Launched parking reservations into the Parkmobile app, delivering the industry’s first solution to enable both on/off street parking and garage reservations into a single user experience
• Expanded the Parkmobile network into over 75 new cities including New York, Philadelphia and Phoenix
• Partnered with BMW to deliver the industry’s first fully-integrated in-car mobile parking solution
• Received the Deloitte Fast 500 award recognizing the Fastest Growing Technology Companies in North America
“We are extremely proud of what the team has been able to accomplish over the past several years,” said Jon Ziglar, CEO of Parkmobile, LLC. “This new investment by BMW Group clearly validates our leadership position in the industry and our future growth potential. We have been working closely with the BMW Group organization over the past several years and we share a common vision for the future of transportation and frictionless consumer mobility.”
“Parkmobile LLC has established itself as the leader in digital parking solutions in North America and is driving the industry forward. It perfectly complements our portfolio of innovative mobility services,” said Bernhard Blaettel, Vice President Mobility Services at BMW Group and member of the Parkmobile Board. “Jon and his team are the type of company we want to partner with and we look forward to working with them to scale the business.”
Source: Parkmobile
World Parking Symposium X – Registration Is Open
Location: Berlin, Germany - Sunday, June 24 to Wednesday, June 27, 2018.
Theme: “Mobility and Modernization; Change and Renewal in the World of the Future”.
Registration for the World Parking Symposium is now open online. And a partial list of speakers with their abstracts and bios are now on the website. For information on the symposium, to view the roster of speakers, and to register, visit the WPS web site at www.worldparkingsymposium.ca.
If you have not already done so, join our LinkedIn group. Go to www.LinkedIn.com to join. In the “Search” box at the top of your LinkedIn homepage, type in “Parking & Transportation WPS-group”. A drop-down box will appear below with this group name. Click on our group name which will take you to our group. On the right side click on “Ask to Join”. We will respond with approval. You will then be able to read and post your own messages to all our group members.
Source: World Parking Symposium
Parking Startup Inugo Appoints New Team in USA
Inugo is pleased to announce and welcome Max Corotis and Natasha Woods to the Inugo team as Business Development Managers based in California. Max and Natasha are U.S. parking professionals who will bring a wealth of experience to Inugo’s operations. The two new hires spent a week training in the New Zealand head office.
“We had a great time with our onboarding, and the first week has been busy,” says Mr. Corotis. “I believe Inugo will revolutionize the parking industry. There are countless benefits to the Inugo Solution for both operators and parkers”
Natasha Woods adds, “It’s an exciting time to be in the parking industry. We are seeing huge advances in technology and Inugo’s intelligent technology is advancing that to the next level. I am thrilled to be apart of the Inugo team and the passion behind the product and the vision of the company.”
“We are excited that Natasha and Max are joining our growing team”, mentions Sam Barclay, CEO of Inugo Systems. “They are experienced parking technology veterans who will spearhead our growth in California.”
Max Corotis was last appointed as the Sales Director, overseeing the sales and marketing department for Cale America since 2015, a Pay Station Manufacturer for the Parking Industry based in Florida. Prior to this, he was the Regional Manager for T2 Systems focusing on parking lot occupancy systems (2014 - 2015)
Natasha Woods was formerly the President of Athena Pacific Strategy Group, a government affairs consulting firm in the parking industry based in Los Angeles, since April 2014. Prior to this, she was the Vice President of Business Development at Duncan Solutions (2013 - 2014) and Executive Vice President at Parkmobile USA (2010 – 2013.
Source: Inugo
