WJ Sunstone Consolidates Highway Technology Portfolio and Expands UK Operations
WJ Sunstone has brought WJ Group’s intelligent transport systems operations under a single identity, reorganising its highway technology portfolio and opening a new dedicated facility near Stoke-on-Trent. The changes bring together traffic enforcement, vehicle detection, surveillance, communications and off-grid power technologies within a more consistent product range, supported by an expanded operational base.
The restructuring builds on WJ Group’s development from a specialist road marking contractor into a wider highway safety business. With temporary traffic management and roadside monitoring increasingly involving electronic detection, remote communications and independent power supplies, WJ Sunstone is bringing its existing technologies and specialist ITS expertise together under one division.
The company has also introduced new names across much of its product range, although the underlying equipment and its performance remain unchanged. The revised structure is intended to make it easier for highway operators and contractors to identify individual systems and understand how they can be combined for different applications.
Briefing
- WJ Sunstone has consolidated WJ Group’s ITS activities under a single business identity.
- The reorganised portfolio covers speed enforcement, ANPR, vehicle detection, surveillance, communications and off-grid power.
- Detect, Connect and Volt provide consistent identities for the surveillance, connectivity and power ranges.
- Existing products retain their underlying technology and performance despite the naming changes.
- A new dedicated depot at Silverdale, near Stoke, houses the division’s control room and complements its Whitstable facility.
Bringing Highway Technology Operations Together
Founded in 1987 as a road marking business, WJ Group has progressively expanded its activities across highway safety and associated services. The integration of its intelligent transport systems team with WJ Sunstone brings the group’s specialist electronic technologies into a single operation, alongside the physical highway services on which the wider business was established.
The consolidated division covers equipment used for traffic enforcement, incident detection, surveillance and remote monitoring, together with the communications and power infrastructure required to operate those systems. Much of the portfolio is particularly suited to temporary highway applications, where equipment may need to be installed quickly, relocated as works progress or operated without conventional roadside connections.
For contractors managing roadworks or highway authorities monitoring difficult locations, these practical requirements can influence the choice of technology as much as the detection equipment itself. A camera or radar installation may be relatively straightforward to specify, but maintaining reliable power and communications at a remote or temporary site presents a separate set of challenges.
WJ Sunstone’s revised product structure brings those different capabilities into a more recognisable range, allowing individual technologies to be selected for specific requirements or combined where a more comprehensive installation is needed.
Traffic Enforcement and Vehicle Detection
The intelligent traffic portfolio retains several established product identities, including TASCAR, or Temporary Automatic Speed Cameras, which provides a flexible approach to speed enforcement in temporary highway environments.
Alongside it sits AVERA, standing for Active Vehicle Event Recognition Alerts, a system designed to identify vehicle events and generate alerts that support operational awareness. The range also includes Stopped Vehicle Detection, which identifies stationary vehicles within monitored areas, and Rapid ANPR Mobile Cameras, providing automatic number plate recognition without the need for a conventional fixed installation.
These technologies serve different functions within highway operations. Temporary speed enforcement can help manage traffic through roadworks, while stopped vehicle detection and event recognition provide information that may assist operators in identifying developing incidents. Mobile ANPR offers a further monitoring capability where permanent camera infrastructure is unnecessary or impractical.
The equipment can be deployed independently, with the wider portfolio providing additional options where surveillance, communications and power need to be incorporated into the same installation.
Surveillance, Communications and Independent Power
The most substantial naming changes affect WJ Sunstone’s solar-powered surveillance systems, which now operate under the Detect identity.
The former ARC system becomes Detect, while Raft has been renamed Detect-R and SICS is now Detect-S. The systems can be configured with CCTV, radar and automatic number plate recognition equipment, allowing installations to be adapted to different monitoring requirements.
Communications are covered by Connect, a base station designed to provide connectivity where existing infrastructure is unavailable or additional capacity is required. The off-grid power range has similarly been reorganised around Volt, previously ARC Gen, and Volt-P, formerly Power Station.
Together, these products address some of the practical difficulties associated with deploying electronic equipment away from established roadside infrastructure. A temporary surveillance installation, for example, may require cameras or radar to collect information, a communications link to transmit it and an independent power source to keep the equipment operating.
The ability to configure these elements separately also allows contractors and highway operators to work around existing site infrastructure rather than installing equipment that may not be required. Where mains electricity or suitable communications are already available, individual technologies can be selected without necessarily deploying the full range.
A Clearer Identity for Customers
According to WJ Sunstone, the portfolio reorganisation has been designed to make its range easier to understand while preserving the equipment and technical expertise already familiar to customers.
Tom Howarth, Head of WJ Sunstone, explained the thinking behind the changes: “We have a broad range of trusted, high-quality technologies that solve very different challenges, and we wanted to make it much simpler for customers to understand what each solution does, where it can be used and how the different technologies can work together.
“The rebrand gives the portfolio a stronger and more consistent identity, while the new names are designed to make the role and benefits of each solution clearer. Importantly, while the names have changed, the quality, reliability and expertise behind the solutions remain the same. Customers can continue to rely on the technology and performance they know from WJ, now with a simpler and more connected portfolio to navigate.”
The changes are primarily organisational and commercial rather than technological. WJ Sunstone has not announced revised performance specifications or new equipment capabilities as part of the rebrand, with the emphasis instead on presenting its existing systems through a consistent product structure.
New Operational Base at Silverdale
The consolidation is accompanied by the opening of a dedicated WJ Sunstone depot at Silverdale, near Stoke-on-Trent, approximately five minutes from WJ’s Northern headquarters.
The facility houses the division’s control room and becomes its second dedicated depot, joining the existing operation in Whitstable, Kent. Establishing the additional premises also releases capacity at WJ’s neighbouring Stoke depot to accommodate the wider business.
The new location provides a dedicated operational base for the expanded WJ Sunstone division, bringing additional capacity to the business as its ITS activities are integrated under the common identity.
WJ Sunstone will present the reorganised portfolio at Highways UK, where the company will be exhibiting on stand F23. Visitors will be able to meet the specialist team and explore demonstrations of the technologies now brought together within the revised range.
Key Industry Questions
- What has changed at WJ Sunstone? WJ Sunstone has integrated WJ Group’s ITS team into its operations, introduced a consistent product naming structure and opened a second dedicated depot near Stoke-on-Trent.
- Has WJ Sunstone introduced new technology as part of the rebrand? The announcement concerns existing products and their organisation. The company says the underlying technology and performance remain unchanged.
- What is the Detect surveillance range? Detect is WJ Sunstone’s solar-powered surveillance portfolio, comprising Detect, Detect-R and Detect-S, previously known as ARC, Raft and SICS respectively.
- What does TASCAR do? TASCAR stands for Temporary Automatic Speed Cameras and provides speed enforcement capabilities for temporary highway applications.
- What is AVERA? Active Vehicle Event Recognition Alerts is designed to identify vehicle events and generate alerts to support highway operational awareness.
- Can WJ Sunstone equipment operate without mains electricity? Yes. The Volt and Volt-P products provide off-grid power for equipment installed where a mains connection is unavailable or impractical.
- What is the purpose of the Connect base station? Connect provides communications connectivity where existing infrastructure is unavailable or additional capacity is required.
- Can the different WJ Sunstone systems be combined? Yes. The portfolio allows surveillance, detection, communications and power equipment to be deployed independently or combined according to site requirements.
- Where is WJ Sunstone’s new depot? The facility is at Silverdale, near Stoke-on-Trent, and houses the division’s control room. It complements the existing Whitstable depot.
Strategic Takeaways
- Bringing WJ’s ITS operations under the Sunstone identity consolidates specialist technology expertise within the wider highway safety business.
- The portfolio combines traffic monitoring and detection equipment with the communications and power systems needed for remote installations.
- Consistent product naming may simplify equipment identification and selection for contractors and highway authorities.
- Modular deployment allows individual systems to be specified around existing infrastructure and project requirements.
- The Silverdale depot adds dedicated operational capacity while releasing space at WJ’s neighbouring Stoke facility.
