Airport
baggage handling systems
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under contract to the Ministry of Education. It has been written to assist teachers
and schools in their delivery of the technology/ hangarau curriculum statements.
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New Zealand (TENZ)
and National Association of Māori Mathematicians, Scientists and Technologists
(NAMMSAT) networks. Monitoring and evaluation of the material is carried out
by a national project advisory group. |
News
Media Statement – 5 December 2001
NZ Company Weighs in at the Top end of the Market
There's been a huge amount of interest from overseas in
a New Zealand company's revolutionary new system for weighing and managing
passengers' baggage at airport check-in counters.
Atrax, which is based in Auckland, has developed its new
system thanks to a $120,000 research grant by the Foundation for Research,
Science and Technology. The company says that already it has received
in excess of 15 times that sum of money in export orders.
The Managing Director of Atrax, Kevin Maurice says the
new product integrates the initial weighing in of the bags at the check-in
counter with the system that takes the bags along the conveyor belts
to the aircraft hold. He says the new system has a sophisticated graphics
display which can tell the check-in operator the weight of the individual
bags, group totals and number of bags for each passenger, and if and
where there is a problem on the conveyor system which takes the bags
to the loading area.
Kevin Maurice says the software used in the new product
can be customised for individual airlines and the graphics can be displayed
in different languages - including Chinese and Arabic characters. He
says the way the system has been designed enables further upgrades to
be easily downloaded to meet new or changing needs.
Atrax has an order to install its system at Singapore
airport, Changi Terminal 2, and also a new terminal at Manila International
Airport in the Philippines. There has also been strong interest from
North America. Kevin Maurice says great attention to detail has been
paid in designing the hardware for the new system including soft moulded
keyboards that prevent female operators breaking their fingernails and
withstand the abuse due to pens and other sharp objects sometimes used
to press the keys.
Atrax which employs 20 people has been making airport
weighing systems and scales for a wide range of industries for over
a decade and its products are widely used throughout the world and in
New Zealand. Currently 80% of its products are exported. The company
now has equipment installed in leading airports in more than 40 countries
around the world.
The Chief Executive of the Foundation for Research, Science
and Technology, Gowan Pickering says he's most impressed with the successful
application of technology by Atrax. He says this is a great example
of the Foundations investment programme working to the benefit of individual
companies and to New Zealand as a whole. He says he hopes that more
companies follow the Atrax example.
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For further information contact:
Kevin Maurice, Managing Director, Atrax, 64 9 634 5337
or Peter Burke, Communications Manager, FRST 64 4 917 7809 or
025 2242184
http://www.frst.govt.nz
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Ideas for classroom use
This is an example chosen from the regular series of media
statements relating to case studies of innovative New Zealand-based
technological practice which are issued by The Foundation of Research
Science and Technology.
This new system for weighing and managing passengers'
baggage at airports is a timely development given the recent focus on
airport security issues and subsequent delays experienced by passengers
due to more rigorous check-in procedures.
It is an example of a company working in a narrow but
lucrative market to develop modifications to existing systems which
will increase its market share. Other examples of New Zealand companies
working in a similar manner could be researched and the relationships
between product development and market influences, for example, explored.
