Companies news Parkopedia partnerships Parkopedia is working with OPnGO the digital subsidiary of INDIGO Group, one of Europes largest parking operators to provide seamless in-car parking reservation and payment services across France, Spain and Belgium. OPnGO is a universal digital parking service that aims to transform the driver experience in urban areas by aggregating a complete off-street parking offer. With a location-based service that automatically detects parking areas, OPnGO allows drivers to find parking spaces, compare prices, prepay, and obtain unique discounts. Honda drivers in China will be the first to find nearby available parking via voice assistance, and pay for their parking via integrated services, as Parkopedia partners with telematics technology firm MXNavi. DESIGNA merger DESIGNA is to merge with sister companies Axess and ilogs. The merger of the firms, which are part of DESIGNA Axess Industries Holding, will focus on strengthening customer interests and the companys position in the international market for parking and access solutions. Oliver Suter, in addition to his function as CSO and member of the board of Axess, has been appointed to the DESIGNA management team as the new CEO. He succeeds Robert Monsberger, who has been responsible for national and international sales for the past three years. Latest developments from organisations across the profession First of its kind car park APCOA Parking is excited to announce the opening of a new 729-space multi-storey car park (MSCP) at Northwick Park Hospital that includes an integrated energy centre the first combined solution of this kind. APCOA managed the design and build of the new facility, and will operate the car park on behalf of the trust as part of a new 20-year agreement. The five-storey MSCP, which replaces a low-density surface car park in the grounds of the hospital, has been designed with a vertical circulation module steel frame and was built in less than a year. It incorporates automatic number plate recognition technology and 30 electric vehicle charging points, with the capacity to increase this number in future as required. An 800m energy centre, architecturally engineered into the footprint of the car park, provides capacity for London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust to generate income and achieve environmental improvements. Once the energy centre is fully commissioned, the trust will reduce its current energy spend by 1.9m a year. A state-of-the-art combined heat and power system enhanced by innovative combined air and water source heat pumps, plus a battery storage system will also create a smart grid, producing a saving of 2,500 tonnes of carbon every year. Gary Munn, head of property and commercial for London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, said: The new MSCP provides muchneeded additional, secure parking for staff. The energy centre will both generate income and support our sustainability targets to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. The APCOA team has been great to work with, successfully guiding the project from conception to completion in an extremely short time. APCOA is supporting Manchesters next trial phase of the National Parking Platform (NPP). Customers will be able to identify suitable local authority parking locations, check tariffs and availability, pre-book a space, and make payment through the NPP. The NPP manages the secure, automated exchange of data between systems, local authorities and parking companies, with information made available to the customer via thirdparty apps such as APCOA Connect. Real estate transformation specialist 2 A new wave for Ocean Care Parking has rebranded to Ocean Parking. It is part of a larger company that provides specialist security, cleaning and facilities management services. Andrew Harper, group CEO, said: The benefits of being part of an established and equipped larger group means that we are uniquely positioned to offer a blended parking+ service. Ocean Parking is backed with the training and technology and a 24-hour help desk to support us in delivering a versatile nationwide service. 10 britishparking.co.uk PN Dec 2021 pp10-11 Companies News.indd 10 22/11/2021 13:22