Professional vehicle computers manufacturer Aplicom has won an order to supply more than 530 computers for use in a fleet of vehicles operated by the Dutch Customs authority.

The computers will work alongside a GPS (global positioning satellite) system to offer realtime tracking of the fleet and security measures in the form of an automatic alarm system.

'The effect is to provide significant improvements to security for both the vehicles and their drivers,' Aplicom said, 'as well as increase the effectiveness of the service as it covers the whole of the Netherlands.'

Aplicom partners Dutch telecommunications company KPN Telecom, which installs and operates the vehicle computers and associated hardware, such as monitors and keypads.

Dutch customs has operated vehicle telematics for a number of years and Aplicom say its computers will 'improve data communications between the vehicles and fleet managers'.

Tasks the computers will perform for the authority include route planning, to avoid congestion, as well as the automatic security systems.

Aplicom's existing customers include the Norwegian postal service, DaimlerChrysler's Fleetboard service and drivers' associations based throughout central Europe.