Sentinel Celebrates 30 Years in Commercial Vehicle Safety Solutions

‍This post was initially published in various industry publications:

Sentinel Systems, one of the leaders in commercial vehicle safety and camera solutions, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

The company, based in Cirencester, has come a long way since it was set up by its founder Bill Paulson in 1985. After years of experience in the haulage industry as a driver and fleet owner, and having seen the effect of reversing accidents on commercial vehicles and the potentially fatal consequences for pedestrians and workers, Bill invented and patented the Safetystop™ reversing safety system.

The system, now adopted all over the world, has been developed and customised over the years to suit the diverse needs of the transport industry. It is supplied to leading companies in many sectors, including the major logistic fleets, supermarkets, refuse disposal, bulk tankers, courier vans, buses, trailer builders and motorised caravan manufacturers.

In recent years, Sentinel has diversified its product range, adding complementary products to its reversing systems to offer operators the confidence of all-round protection. This has resulted in a continual sales growth, and Sentinel now supplies customers in Germany, USA, Australia and the UAE, as well as the UK. This year, the company has already won significant orders for its award-winning Bike Hotspot system from Greene King Breweries and Firow Limited.

David Paulson, Managing Director of the family firm, sees opportunities for the company in expanding its offering to customers. “Our strength in the market has been built on providing customers with flexible solutions which make them safer and backing this with service. This makes our customers’ lives easy and causes minimal interruptions to their working routine. Our R&D programme reflects our commitment to engineering new systems that perfectly meet customer requirements.”

In line with the company’s expansion and future growth plans, Sentinel Systems has recently appointed Mike Spooner as key accounts manager for the waste management sector. Mike joins the company with twenty years’ experience in the field, offering a valuable understanding of customer needs and vehicle operating conditions.

Mike will bring Sentinel’s whole product range to customers he has dealt with for many years. The company’s current successes include its Bike Hotspot system, designed to detect cyclists riding up the nearside of commercial vehicles, which won innovation awards on its launch; its Step and Corner Protect systems which detect and alert drivers of obstacles in their blindspots; and radar and ultrasonic derivatives of its patented Safetystop TM reversing systems, which are offered with autobraking or LED alerter options.

Sentinel Systems also offers a breadth of camera and recording solutions which are proving to be increasingly popular in combatting vehicle fraud and crash-for-cash claims, as well as helping operators with driver training and, most important of all, helping them protect vulnerable road users. Their solutions range from standard reversing cameras with in-cab monitors through to sophisticated multi-camera systems, including 360° SurroundView solutions. All are available with up to 50 days’ recording, combining high-resolution images with intuitive video analysis software and the opportunity to monitor vehicle operations remotely. Marketing and Sales Director Allan Robertson says, “Our customers appreciate the opportunity to combine high-quality camera systems with a choice of our other safety systems, giving them a solution tailored to their working environment. Our engineers install our systems on both new and in-service vehicles, giving customers the flexibility of using their existing fleet on new projects like Crossrail.”

David Paulson comments again, “Sentinel’s primary mission is to help our customers save lives. We now offer a range of solutions which help them to protect their own staff and members of the public, as well as ensuring that drivers get the best possible assistance in safeguarding expensive vehicles and minimising downtime. We will keep introducing new products and servicing our own and others’ systems, making sure that we offer customers the best possible protection.”