What Warwick Control Technologies makes

Warwick Control Technologies is a UK specialist in in-vehicle and industrial communication-network technology, built around the Controller Area Network (CAN) and its higher-layer protocols. The company works across CAN, CAN FD, CANopen, SAE J1939, NMEA 2000, LIN, SENT, FlexRay, DeviceNet, and automotive Ethernet, which places it in automotive, commercial-vehicle, marine, and industrial-automation work at once.

Its flagship product is X-Analyser, a low-cost Windows tool for testing, monitoring, logging, and analysing CAN, CAN FD, and LIN traffic. X-Analyser runs on standard hardware interfaces from Kvaser and Vector, decodes the higher-layer protocols SAE J1939, NMEA 2000, and CANopen from embedded databases, and includes a CAN-bus oscilloscope for physical-layer work. Version 3.12.0, released in 2020, brought CAN, CAN FD, and LIN analysis into a single tool paired with the Kvaser Hybrid two-channel interface. The X-Analyser 3 Professional multi-channel edition lists at £1,000 ex VAT on the company store, and full kits with a Kvaser interface run to around £1,599.

Alongside the software, Warwick Control develops embedded C protocol stacks for SAE J1939, NMEA 2000, LIN, and UDS that OEMs and integrators drop into ECUs to shorten development. It is an authorised distributor for Kvaser and Mach Systems hardware, and it supplies CAN interfaces, gateways, and diagnostic equipment. The engineering-services side covers protocol implementation and porting, Hardware-in-the-Loop test kits, prototype gateways, ECU flash and labelling stations, production CAN ECU test kits, and bespoke development. The company also runs NMEA 2000 product-certification testing and network cybersecurity assessment for NMEA 2000 and SAE J1939 systems.

Ownership and history

Warwick Control Technologies launched in 1999 as a spin-out from the University of Warwick, in the West Midlands, a region the company and its partners describe as the heart of the UK automotive and Formula 1 industries. A University of Warwick press item from early 2001 noted that within six months of incorporation the four-person spin-out was already selling to 20 countries, an export-first posture that still shapes the business.

The company is an independent, privately held UK limited company. Its active Companies House entity (number 06326685) was incorporated in 2007 under the name WCT Solutions and Training Limited and renamed Warwick Control Technologies Limited in 2012, a later legal vehicle for the business that began in 1999. It remains small and specialist rather than part of a larger group. Dr. Chris Quigley leads the company as founder and managing director and is its public technical voice, presenting on CAN-bus reverse engineering and on marine-network cybersecurity at events including the NMEA Conference in 2023 and 2024.

Products, services, and training

Warwick Control sits between raw hardware interfaces and the complex protocols that run on them, which is why its catalogue spans tools, stacks, and knowledge transfer. On the tools side, X-Analyser is complemented by network documentation and comparison utilities, a data visualiser, and resale of Kvaser accessories such as the Kvaser Air Bridge Light HS wireless CAN bridge. On the software-integration side, the J1939, NMEA 2000, LIN, and DeviceNet stacks let a customer bring a device to certification or production faster than writing the protocol layer from scratch. For buyers evaluating a supplier's fit against a program, this narrow, protocol-deep focus is the distinguishing trait: it is a Tier-2 style technology and test partner rather than a volume parts maker.

Training is a standing part of the business. The company runs one-day and multi-day courses in CAN and the SAE J1939, NMEA 2000, and CANopen higher-layer protocols, plus LIN, SENT, T-Script programming for Kvaser interfaces, and CAN hacking and cybersecurity. Pricing is published openly, for example £499 ex VAT per attendee for the one-day CAN and J1939/NMEA2000/CANopen course, which is unusual transparency for engineering training and useful for procurement teams scoping engineer upskilling.

Certifications and quality

Warwick Control does not publish a management-system certification such as ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 on its own site, which is common for a micro-sized specialist software and engineering-services firm rather than a serial-production manufacturer. Where quality shows up in its offering is on the services side: the company provides NMEA 2000 product-certification testing to take a customer's device through to NMEA 2000 certification, and it assesses the cybersecurity susceptibility of NMEA 2000 and SAE J1939 networks. Buyers who require a certified quality system from this kind of technology partner should confirm current scope directly with the company.

Frequently asked questions

What does Warwick Control Technologies make?

Warwick Control Technologies makes CAN-bus network analysis software and embedded protocol stacks. Its flagship product, X-Analyser, tests and analyses CAN, CAN FD, and LIN networks and decodes higher-layer protocols including SAE J1939, NMEA 2000, and CANopen. It also develops J1939, NMEA 2000, LIN, and UDS protocol stacks, distributes Kvaser and Mach Systems hardware, and provides engineering services, cybersecurity assessment, and training.

Who owns Warwick Control Technologies?

Warwick Control Technologies is an independent, privately held UK limited company; it is not part of a larger group. It began in 1999 as a University of Warwick spin-out. Dr. Chris Quigley is its founder and managing director.

Where is Warwick Control Technologies located?

Warwick Control Technologies operates from Unit 3, Block A7, Coombswood Business Park East, Coombswood Way, Halesowen, West Midlands, B62 8BH, United Kingdom, in the UK's West Midlands automotive region. Its statutory registered office is listed separately at an address in Kings Norton, Birmingham.

When was Warwick Control Technologies founded?

The company launched in 1999 as a spin-out from the University of Warwick and, per a University of Warwick press item, was selling to 20 countries within six months. Its current Companies House entity dates to 2007 and was renamed to Warwick Control Technologies Limited in 2012.

Who are Warwick Control Technologies' customers?

Its customers are OEMs, ECU developers, system integrators, and engineers working with CAN-based networks in automotive, commercial-vehicle, marine, and industrial-automation sectors. The company has sold internationally across more than 20 countries since its early years. Specific customer names are not published; buyers should confirm references directly.

What certifications does Warwick Control Technologies hold?

Warwick Control Technologies does not publish a management-system certification such as ISO 9001 on its site. It does provide NMEA 2000 product-certification testing services to help customers certify their own devices, and it offers cybersecurity assessment for NMEA 2000 and SAE J1939 networks.

Last verified September 28, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.