Willow, the leading provider of digital twin solutions for modern, efficient smart infrastructure and real estate, is expanding its European footprint and has announced the appointment of Marc Maathuis as Head of Europe.

Prior to Willow, Marc was the Director of Global Asset Management for Europe’s largest rail maintenance group Strukton Rail. With over 25 years in leadership, Marc was responsible for the evolution of Strukton Rail from a traditional maintenance-based organisation to a data-driven, performance based, and predictive-maintenance based approach. Marc played an integral role in the in-house development new maintenance technologies as well as spearheading innovation projects with external partners such as Willow.

Marc will now lead the expansion of Willow into the European region, deploying their digital twin platform to major real estate and infrastructure customers. In the coming months Marc will build out a new regional hub in Amersfoort. This office will include an inhouse Subject Matter Expert Infrastructure Maintenance Team who will further strengthen infrastructure offering and will reinforce Willow’s existing London based team that has been in operation since 2019.

Gerard Francis, Global Head of Real Assets at Willow and CEO of WillowRail said “Willow’s global strategy is based on building close relationships with customers and placing credible industry leaders as the heads growing markets. As demand for our digital twin solutions continue to grow in Europe, we’re pleased to appointment an industry veteran and respected leader such as Marc to grow our presence there.”

Speaking to the appointment, Marc said “At Strukton, I worked closely with Gerard and the Willow team and saw the power of their solution firsthand. In an environment where even the smallest error can have major financial or human implications, it is essential critical asset owners have a real-time view of what is happening on their rail networks or inside their buildings,” said Marc. “Willow’s digital twin solution will give critical infrastructure owners not only the ability to visualise their operations but will enable them to drive ongoing operational improvements by applying technologies such as machine learning and predictive algorithms.”

Digital twin technology will play a key role in the COVID-19 recovery as it enables the industrialized world to understand the operational behaviour of physical assets from remote locations. Demand for this technology in the European market will be fuelled by national investments infrastructure projects and improvements on existing rail networks across the region. This year, Accenture positioned digital twins as one of the top 5 strategic technology trends to watch, as businesses are now beginning to realise the potential of this technology when applied at scale. The report found that only 11% of executives surveyed believed that the data they currently capture through IoT devices and/or sensors in their organizations is fully utilized.

For further information about our European new business opportunities, please contact Hubert Welleman, Business Development Manager – Europe at HWelleman@willowinc.com For further information about Willow and the WillowTwin^TM platform, or for media enquiries please contact Marketing and Communications Director, Gareth Stewart at gstewart@willowinc.com.

About Willow: Willow is the “digital twin” for the built world. Through their software and professional services, Willow creates a digital replica of a built asset, that collects and aggregates data into a “twin”. Through this approach, Willow enables the owners and operators of major portfolios and infrastructure to make smarter, more proactive, and data-led decisions. By providing data-driven insights, Willow empowers users to manage with greater efficiency, drive operational improvements at scale and provide their occupants with an enhanced and more connected experience. Willow is a global technology company with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, Seattle, New York, London, Amersfoort, Manila and Tel Aviv. For more information head to Willow’s website: www.willowinc.com