_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Committed to addressing the diverse and evolving needs of its customers in the global public transport industry, Hanover Displays( Hanover) offers a wide variety of LED destination displays and passenger information systems. The company serves clients in over 80 countries worldwide all while staying true to its core values of quality, reliability, customer service and innovation. Dave Williams, Managing Director, retraces Hanover’ s history and evolution.
“ Founded in 1985 by my father, Hanover initially focused on matrix signage using older electromagnetic flip dot technology. He quickly recognized the economies of scale within the bus market, as the numerous bus constructors still required the same product for their on-board passenger information systems. We moved into that arena and were able to take advantage of an investment drive into public transport by the French government. We grounded ourselves in the French market and grew organically from there. As the French market expanded, we were able to secure contracts with major groups in the UK, including Stagecoach, Arriva, First Group, Go-Ahead, and National Express. Through networking, exhibitions, and strategic contacts, we expanded into Spain and Scandinavia. Eventually, one of our executives, Tim Mark, who had successfully run the French operations after my father stepped away, made the decision to set up in America,” he begins.
This Chicago office, set up in 2005 was a very small operation, with Tim working on his own to enter the American market.“ The early years were challenging and all about building market awareness. It took six years of perseverance to secure two significant projects and suddenly, we had a $ 1 million
140