The Maynard Design Group acquires Transport Design Consultancy
As it looks to expand its offering into new markets, The Maynard Design Group has purchased London headquartered Transport Design Consultancy. The firm has long-standing client relationships with transport entities across the UK, as well as in various countries throughout Asia.
Founded by Tony Howard, Transport Design Consultancy (TDC) is a multimodal transport advisory firm. Since its launch, it has completed more than 250 projects, providing solutions for complex design challenges across Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
With the purchase of TDC, The Maynard Design Group will – according to the merging firms – become the most experienced multi-disciplinary design consultancy in the transport sector.
The merged entity will have delivered more than 400 projects in 17 countries, in the last 20 years, impacting over 3.5 billion journeys taken by people every year.
TDC’s Tony Howard noted, “Both firms have worked on some of the same projects over the last three decades and pioneered a collaborative, consultative and technically expert approach to the very complex practice of designing the way people will use transport systems and hubs.”
“In this fast-changing world, where people are increasingly accessing global destinations, it seems only natural to combine forces and offer our clients greater strength and a greater depth of service. We offer this along with a consistent and unparalleled track record of delivery from both entities, wherever we have worked in the world.”
Among these projects are a number of globally recognised transport hubs. For example, the London Underground has over 90 stations that have step free access, and TDC delivered accessibility wayfinding for every one of them – while the firm’s long-standing relationship with UK Railway operators has also seen it support numerous projects across more than 800 UK stations.
Other projects include St Pancras International, the Dubai Metro integrated transport system, Riyadh Metro, Bengaluru International Airport, in addition to other work in India, Singapore, China, Egypt and a number of other Middle Eastern countries.
For the part of Maynard, meanwhile, the firm has been integral to the success of projects such as London Bridge station, Melbourne Metro and is currently a core part of the team behind the London Crossrail installation. Internationally, the company has also delivered wayfinding and product design across the Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland Metro systems, whilst also working in the Middle East on various high-profile cultural projects.
Growth plans
Acquiring TDC represents a major step toward Maynard’s ambition of offering expert and technical services globally. Maynard’s focus on the interaction of people, places and products together with locations of the UK, Australia and New Zealand are complementary to TDC’s transport and wayfinding expertise – as well as its long-standing client relationships in the Middle East and Asia. Both companies will subsequently view the move as an opportunity to reach new markets.
Julian Maynard, Group Managing Director, noted, “Our shared values of collaboration, commitment and passion for detail and extensive wealth of technical skills and track record mean that, going forward, clients will benefit from a deeper level of understanding and experience coupled with a more comprehensive global reach.”
Meanwhile, Maynard added that the firm is currently reviewing opportunities to expand into North America and Canada.
