November 2000

Dropzone1, the company developing a home delivery drop-off system based on fuel stations and convenience stores, has been acquired by Pickupworks, a North East-based business which is developing a technological solution to the drop-off task. Dropzone1 director Lynda Wallace has become marketing director of Pickupworks.

The patented Pickupworks system, understood to be still in development, consists of a secure cabinet or array of cabinets, which will be mounted in a store or other suitable building and will allow controlled access from both inside and outside. Systems development is being handled by Rubus, an international specialist in strategies for exploiting interactive channels, which was named by the CBI last year as the UK's most promising young company. Manufacture will be by UK Lift. Dropzone1, which has now started live trials, retains its own identity under the Pickupworks umbrella.