At INIT, we can look back at a history of more than 40 years. During all these years, we have continuously improved our solutions and, with this, further developed public transport. Our organizational memory contains a multitude of outstanding episodes and achievements, which have all together lead to who and where we are today. Here come our company’s milestones.
1983
INIT’s history began in 1983 when Dr. Gottfried Greschner founded the company as a university spin-off. He further developed his research project on demand-driven bus traffic into a business case. With only a handful of co-workers, INIT provided its first customer Friedrichshafen at Lake Constance with parts of a management system for demand-driven traffic.
1988
In 1988, INIT received the first assignment for a complete Intermodal Transport Control System (ITCS). The authority of Osnabruck relied on the team of only 17 people back then. We are proud that Osnabruck is our customer since then. At almost the same time, INIT started its hardware development. Reliable field devices were required to ensure the proper functioning of the system. So INIT set up its first on-board computer, the COPILOT.
1999
Four years later, in 1999, INIT founded its US subsidiary to cover the North American market. The company’s growth not only increased on a global scale, but the portfolio of products and services also expanded: The entry into the planning software market succeeded by the acquisition of the planning system MFS 90 from the company KRUPP.
2001
In 2001, INIT became a listed company on the German stock exchange. Since then, init AG, founded in 2000, fulfills a holding function for the further growing INIT Group.
2014
In 2014, Dr. Gottfried Greschner received the Special Career Service Award. The honor was awarded at the Transports Publics exhibition by a jury consisting of European journalists specialized in the transport sector.
2015
init AG strengthens its presence at its Karlsruhe location. A tall, modern office building was constructed at the company headquarters between 2013 and 2015 and was inaugurated on June 18, 2015. It complements INIT’s campus, allowing for future growth, and is proof of the company’s global success.
2019
The 2019 UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Stockholm was a great success. INIT was pleased to receive two awards for the MAVIS project implemented with the Singapore Land Transit Authority - the UITP Award in the Diversity & Inclusion category and the Asia Pacific Special Recognition Award. Both awards recognize a project that facilitates access to public transport for visually, hearing and mobility impaired passengers.
2022
With the launch of the innovation campaign "nextGen", INIT underlines its position as a solution provider for more reliable, attractive and efficient public transport with its state-of-the-art technologies and digitalization possibilities. By using optimization tools, assistance systems and machine learning, the "nextGen" products and solutions provide even more diverse and precise information, recognize situations automatically and are available as a cloud-based solution. Automated or partially automated processes also speed up response times and help ensure service quality.
2023
The INIT Group looks back on a 40-year success story. Begun as a university spin-off from KIT, INIT is now an internationally successful group that supports more than 1,100 transport companies around the world to make public transport more attractive. The basis of its success is a modular range of solutions that cover all the transport companies’ operational tasks.
To ensure that INIT continues to deliver this success, our focus is always on the challenges that transport companies have to face in an increasingly demanding environment. INIT works with unwavering passion on the digital transformation of public transport and develops solutions for the mobility of tomorrow and beyond.