Company History
PIPS Technology dates back to 1983 when Alan Sefton, PIPS Technology President and CEO, founded the Pearpoint Company in the UK. The United States operation was originally formed in California in 1987. Focused on pipe inspection camera systems, Pearpoint began to develop traffic camera technology in the early 1990s with the patented development of pulsed, narrow wavelength retro-reflective techniques for image capture.
Pearpoint was sold in October, 2000. Mr. Sefton re-acquired the traffic technology portion of the business in 2001, incorporated under the name of PIPS (Pearpoint Image Processing Systems), and located the world headquarters in Knoxville, TN.
PIPS was purchased in August 2007 by Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS) of Oak Brook, Illinois. Federal Signal provides an interoperable industry platform to help emergency managers and first responders protect people, property and the environment. Comprehensive municipal, governmental, educational campus, industrial and airport solutions from Federal Signal advance public safety, security and well-being every day. Federal Signal's portfolio of trusted, high-priority products include public safety and security systems, environmental maintenance solutions and fire rescue vehicles. Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) from PIPS further enhances this portfolio, and extends Federal Signal's enterprise offering.
Today, PIPS is an industry leader in ALPR technology with additional offices in California and the United Kingdom.
