SAM HYLANDS
Sam Hylands, Sales and Marketing Manager of Advanced Parking Systems Ltd. talks to
Liam Keilthy
Q. How did you first get
involved in the parking industry?
I began my career in electrical engineering and then made the decision
to move into the electronics sector. I
started in the parking industry as a service engineer in 1986 for a local car
parking installation company and after some years was promoted to Technical
Sales.
I formed our first company some 11 years ago along with my fellow
directors Brian and Robin Lindsay.
We had been in business for 5 years and business was going relatively
well with the product range that we had at our disposal. However, customer
feedback and our inability to fulfil tender specifications on the larger Pay on
Foot projects led us to review what we had to offer customers in Ireland.
From the start we had set out to offer the best product portfolio in
the market and knew that to achieve this goal we needed a more technically
advanced product range. This was the driving force behind the setting up of
Advanced Parking Solutions Ltd.
Q. How was Advanced Parking
Solutions Ltd formed?
Advanced Parking Solutions Ltd was formed in 1999 when we were given
the opportunity to become distributors in Ireland for both Skidata Pay on Foot
and Metric Pay & Display systems.
Recognising the potential of these products in the Irish market, we
embraced them with open arms and have not looked back since.
Our market research revealed that APT Skidata was looking for a company
to sell and service the Skidata product in Ireland. We had examined the product at previous parking exhibitions and
had been very impressed. We arranged a
meeting, and our relationship has continued to be a very close and successful
one ever since. We acquired the Metric
pay and display product at about the same time and this gave us a strong
portfolio, both with Pay of Foot and Pay & Display.
Q. You have a strong base in N.
Ireland?
As we are based in the North we are
naturally very strong there and our infrastructure is second to none. In fact,
we have just moved into a new purpose built office, workshop and training
facility in Bangor which will give us "room to grow" for the
future.
Q. Did you always do business
across the whole island?
Yes, absolutely. We recognised right from the start that to be
successful in any business the bigger the market the more the possibilities for
growth. With this in mind we made a
conscious decision to develop our business across the whole island, and now
nearly 70% of our business is in the South.
Some of our early successes were in the South. For example, our relationship with Killarney
Town Council on the Pay & Display front goes back a very long way and our
first Skidata installation was in Cruises Car Park in Limerick. We now have sites from Cork to Derry and
Galway to Drogheda, some of which are major installations such as Cork
International Airport and Galway Town Council.
We have invested in a substantial service base throughout the country,
with engineers in Bangor, Belfast, Cork, Galway, Dublin and Derry. Having said
that, we are continually reviewing and improving our service deployment and
procedures throughout Ireland.
Q. The advanced technology and
features in Skidata and Metric products must make it an interesting sales
environment for APS?
With regards to the SkiData Pay on Foot system, we knew that this was
the premier product that we had been searching for. The innovative technology and the aesthetics of the product range
meant that we could raise the profile of the company and be at the forefront of
advancement within the parking industry in Ireland.
We introduced smart card technology and payment by credit card into the
Pay and Display market in Ireland. We also introduced single slot credit card
entry to exit payment at our airport sites.
Its great to be involved with a company who are always developing new
and forward thinking concepts, which we can offer to the industry. These are
exciting times for APS, as both Skidata and Metric have just launched new
products at Intertraffic. We are
looking forward to showing the new Eagle Pay on Foot and Aura Pay & Display
to our existing and potential customers.
Q. Where is the off and on
street market for parking solutions going over the next 5, 10 or 15 years?
To be honest, with technology progressing at breakneck speed you would
need a crystal ball to predict very far into the future. The most obvious
technical requirement for any on-street or off-street installation will be EMV
compliant equipment for credit card payment.
Certainly over the next couple of years we envisage that there will be
an ever increasing demand made by customers on both pay on foot and pay and
display systems, in terms of third party system integration and alternative
payment methods, requirements that will favour our product portfolio.
For example, Skidata are the only parking system manufacturer to be
members of the NFC Forum (Near Field Communication - involving all of the major
mobile phone companies). At this year’s
Intertraffic exhibition in Amsterdam, Skidata demonstrated the use of a mobile
phone as an alternative data carrier i.e. using a mobile phone to enter and
exit a pay on foot car park system and charging the customer accordingly.
Q. What do you do for R&R?
I am an avid reader and get my exercise from hill walking in the better
weather. I also enjoy both football and
rugby. Unfortunately, it's now a watching brief only. My son plays in the 1st Division of the Irish League and I watch
him as often as possible and I also enjoy my Friday nights at Ravenhill,
watching Ulster.
Q. Family?
My wife Linda and I have been married
for 36 years and we have 2 sons, Kevin
who now lives in London and works as a T.V. producer and Brian who is a Civil
Servant and is the footballer in the family and we have just celebrated his
wedding to Claire.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Sam Hylands
Sales and Marketing Manager
Advanced Parking Solutions Ltd.
t: 00 44 2891 454453
e: sam@apsparking.com
w: www.apsparking.com
w. www.skidata.com
