Gaugemaster Controls Acquire Train-Tech

DCP Microdevelopments is 40 years old this year, having been started by David Palmer as a young man running it as a small part-time business from a bedsit in Cambridge in 1981, developing interfacing and control products for the home and schools computer market.

Train-Tech was launched in 2012 with a fairly modest range of products promoted by a single A4 folded sheet, eventually expanding the range to over 250 products in a 32-page catalogue.

Over the nine years, Train-Tech has been honoured by 3 awards of ‘Innovation of the Year’ for their DCC fitted signals, Automatic Sensor Signals and Smart Screen animated display. Innovation continues as just a few days ago Train-Tech launched 5 new SFX+ sound capsules it has been working on over the summer including sounds for DMU, Steam Freight and Diesel locos as well as something a bit different - a capsule playing the clunks and screeches sounds of goods shunting and the slam doors and guard calls and whistles of a passenger coach.

The transfer will be completed during the first week of November when Gaugemaster will also take over the direct support and sales of the Train-Tech range to modellers as well as continuing to distribute the range to the model railway trade.

Andy Rouse has been the Design Engineer at DCP for over 20 years and he is also transferring with the Train-Tech business to Gaugemaster to continue developing innovative and exciting new products. David and Tammy Palmer will also be there as consultants for the handover as well as continuing to offer new ideas for future developments.

Commenting on the sale, DCP Managing Director David Palmer said: “Train-Tech has been a wonderful and exciting business to develop and build over the past nine years, and through it, we have met many wonderful people and hopefully helped inspire and bring layouts to life with our ideas and determination to design products which use technology to make them easy for people to use”.

“Whilst we realise that it may be disappointing to some people that Tammy and I will no longer be on the Train-Tech exhibition stand or answering the phone every day, we hope that they will understand as we take life at a slightly gentler pace and also hope that everyone will continue to support Train-Tech under Gaugemaster and designer Andy on the next stage of its life, because it is a major part of our legacy and future Train-Tech products will continue to include our ideas and DNA”.

“The sale of Train-Tech was never going to be easy when you have put so much of your heart and soul into it, but after we decided that the time was right to slow down and step back from the day to day running of a business there was no doubt in our minds that Gaugemaster would be the perfect new home for Train-Techs future, having already distributed the range to the model trade since the early days and having a wonderful team of people who share the same principles and ethos for well-designed products and excellent customer care”.

Managing Director of Gaugemaster Ian Fowler commented: “We are thrilled to be able to add Train-Tech to our portfolio of brands particularly as it is such a perfect fit for us on so many levels. We are looking forward to showing you all the new products we have already been working on together prior to the formal coming together of both businesses"