WJ’s ThermoPrint Marks Milestone with Successful Trial on National Highways Network

WJ's ThermoPrint, a ground breaking innovation in road marking, recently achieved a significant milestone with its first successful trial on National Highways’ Network.

The trial took place on the A47 near Postwick in the Eastern Region, where the machine was used to install road markings, including an arrow and ‘All Other Routes’ signage, as well as refresh existing arrow markings using its advanced scanning technology.

Shaun Moseley, National Highways’ Project Manager for the section of the A47 where the ThermoPrint trial took place – was left impressed. “Safety is an absolute priority for National Highways so any form of innovation that avoids people working directly on the carriageway is a positive step forward.

“The work completed by the ThermoPrint was of a high standard and we look forward to helping WJ develop their technology which has the potential to help the construction sector and contribute to making our roads safer,” added Shaun.

Launched earlier this year, ThermoPrint's innovative technology is transforming road marking installation, making it much safer by relocating operators from the carriageway to the safety of the vehicle. In the past, thermoplastic road markings, including letters, arrows, and symbols, required manual application using hand moulds. The machine’s advanced application equipment and operating system have eliminated this century-old practice, removing manual handling risks, such as potential burns, and increasing application speed by removing the need for pre-marking before installation.

“In our East Maintenance and Response Contract we are always looking at opportunities to promote and introduce trials and innovations which support National Highways imperatives of Safety, Customer and Delivery.  For Ringway, this trial is instrumental in supporting health and safety improvements, thereby reducing the risk to our operators on the ground whilst providing transformational operational outcomes for customers. We are looking at further implementation opportunities trials across all our contracts using this technology in the future.” – John Sunderland, Regional Director, Ringway

ThermoPrint’s onboard technology has all road symbols used on the UK network programmed into the system, reducing the need for manual labour. ThermoPrint can also scan existing road markings and automatically match them to programmed designs, allowing immediate relaying of thermoplastic to rejuvenate the markings and bring them up to standard.

Andy Stubbs, Managing Director at WJ South, said: “At WJ, we are always striving to make improvements in the way we work, so it’s always great to offer clients new and innovative technology that enhances safety. Now the trial has been completed, we’re confident that it will start to revolutionise the way road markings are installed in the UK. As well as delivering increased safety, it also offers efficiency benefits for our clients and we’re looking forward to rolling it out across other sites, as we look to improve the safety for all our people.”

Following the trial, WJ also tested the retro-reflectivity of the markings, achieving dry results exceeding 250 mcd, which corresponds to an R4 category. This performance is much higher than that of traditional hand-applied markings.

With its successful trial on the National Highways Network, ThermoPrint is well on its way to becoming a game-changing technology in road marking, providing safer and more efficient solutions for the industry. For more information on ThemoPrint, visit www.wj.uk.