One of the UK’s leading figures in autonomous technology was given the royal seal of approval recently at Windsor Castle. David Keene, the founder of
Aurrigo International plc in Coventry, received his MBE from Prince William for his services to the ‘decarbonisation of airports’, marking four decades of working in the automotive sector and, importantly, developing intelligent mobility that is going to make aviation more sustainable.
The Kenilworth-based entrepreneur was recognised for the way he has pioneered one of the most significant innovations the aviation world has seen with the launch of Auto-DollyTug and Auto-Caro - two autonomous vehicles that are moving luggage and cargo around seven airports around the world.
On receiving his MBE, he was issued a stark challenge by Prince William, who said he had ‘the weight of the world on his shoulders in making flying greener’ – a challenge Mr Keene is keen to embrace. Mr Keene said: “It was a fantastic experience visiting Windsor Castle with my family and then celebrating after with friends and colleagues who have made the journey possible. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to receive an MBE and the feedback from everyone has been overwhelming. For me, the award is all about the people in our company, the people who are designing the vehicles, breaking barriers with our technology and, importantly implementing them on the ground at airports all over the world.”
He continued: “The response has been huge - from people in my local pub, to business contacts I haven’t spoken to for years. I think it just goes to show how well regarded the honours programme is with people, not just in the UK but around the world.”
Electric-powered Auto-DollyTugsDesigned, developed and built at the firm’s Advanced Engineering Centre in Coventry, the electric-powered Auto-DollyTugs are promising to cut emissions, increase operational performance and, most importantly, improve passenger experience. The MBE comes just a few months after Aurrigo secured its largest deal to date, entering into a strategic partnership with Swissport to launch at Zurich Airport and then explore future implementations at other global locations.
It has also just raised £14.1 million to accelerate growth, identify larger manufacturing facilities and increase its technical and manufacturing teams. The companhy will use the new finance to build multiple show demonstrator vehicles, explore relocation to a bigger engineering and manufacturing centre in Coventry, and scale production to meet the requirements of the seven airports it currently works with.
Mr Keene concluded: “The MBE is a major milestone in our collective journey, and I will definitely use the honour to open new doors for our business as we take our technology across the globe.
“The UK is still a hotbed of engineering and manufacturing innovation and, if Aurrigo can play a small role in making aviation greener whilst improving the passenger experience, then that will be a perfect legacy for what we are trying to achieve.”