24 Mar Madison-based TrafficCast strikes deals with City of Shanghai
SHANGHAI — On day four of Gov. Jim Doyle’s trade mission to China, TrafficCast, a Madison-based technology and software company, signed two major agreements Wednesday with the City of Shanghai. The partnership is expected to result in new investments worth tens of millions of dollars and create dozens of new jobs in Wisconsin.
“This deal shows the tremendous potential for innovative Wisconsin companies to play a role as China is rapidly upgrading and modernizing its infrastructure,” Doyle said. “This is a major coup for Wisconsin, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. China is growing at a pace and a scale that is unparalleled in history, and that means serious opportunities for Wisconsin companies to create new jobs.”
Connie Li, chief operating officer of TrafficCast, signed two Memorandums of Understanding late Wednesday with the City of Shanghai to build a prototype system to provide traffic information on Web sites, cell phones, PDAs, radio and television in Shanghai. The city of 20 million people has 1.6 million cars – a number that is growing at 14 percent annually.
The MOU will mean a joint investment worth tens of millions of dollars to bring the system online in Shanghai. It will require the company to expand its Madison operations, and is expected to result in numerous subcontracting opportunities for other Wisconsin firms.
She also said it would help the company as it seeks similar agreements with Beijing, Guangzhou and Tianjin.
TrafficCast helps municipal governments manage traffic flows, and helps individual drivers avoid traffic congestion. TrafficCast has offices in Ohio, Michigan and two offices in China. The Beijing office supports the deployment of TrafficCast System in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.