Just a year after proudly joining the Modaxo familiy, the company is now being heralded as a success story in Modaxo’s portfolio – a testament to 25 years of innovation, resilience, and a uniquely creative approach to ticketing technology.
Julian Rooney, the founder and managing director of the Castleford-based business, recently sat down with Modaxo to reflect on Cammax’s early days, its evolution, and the journey that led to joining the Modaxo family.
In the first of two articles taken from this interview, Julian looks back at the history of the company, how it got its name, and reveals the secret to its success.
Cammax is a family business in every sense. Founded by Julian and his wife Rebecca, the name Cammax was inspired by their first two children, Camilla and Max.
And whilst the couple went on to have a third child, Julian was quick to point out in the interview that the family connection stopped there.
“When we were acquired by Modaxo, CFO Rob Clay joked that it was a shame we hadn’t called her ‘Limited’!”
Asked to discuss the heritage of the business, Julian explained how the company started out in retail in 1999, with a focus on mobile top-ups, and achieved its first major success through a partnership with the telecommunications provider Orange.
Julian then reveals that Cammax’s journey to focusing on transport was an unusual one, via one of the UK’s famous children’s entertainment parks Legoland Windsor.
The company’s big break came in 2011 with LEGOLAND, which required a machine to dispense children’s driving licences for its LEGO City Driving School. Cammax duly obliged.
“That was our gateway”. Julian recalls. “We realised this same technology could get us into other markets, most notably transport ticketing.”
From thern on, Cammax’s customisable hardware and adaptable software started to make waves across the UK. The company subsequently won ticketing contracts with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), York City Council and Nottingham City Council – and from 2013 we were able to scale the business substantially within the transport industry.
In 2020, Cammax entered the rail sector with its first Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) and Real-Time Information (RTI) contracts — paving the way for international expansion. Today, Cammax solutions also support leading parking operators across the UK and Europe, as the company continues to innovate in multi-channel transport and parking systems.
Julian credits Cammax’s longevity to what he calls “Destructive Creativity.” He explained that, operating in a ticketing industry dominated by much larger organisations, Cammax has been forced to think and act differently in order to thrive.
“We have been successful because we are flexible. We design, tweak and improve to meet customer requirements. I call it ‘destructive creativity’. It enables us to do things that others can’t, customising hardware, user interfaces and the flow of transactions.”
Julian continues.
“Our approach has always been to say, ‘yes, we’ll do it’. We deliver where others can’t .”
Coming next – My team got me there; Cammax’s journey to Modaxo
Be sure to catch next week’s news piece in which Julian shares how the people behind Cammax made the Modaxo journey possible and reveals what lies ahead for the business.
To read the full Modaxo interview click here.