May 17, 2019 โ€“ IBMโ€™s X-Force Cyber Tactical Operations Center (C-TOC), built by Featherlite Trailers, was recently honored as a recipient of a Silver Edison Award.

Since 1987, the Edison Awardsโ„ข have recognized and honored some of the most innovative new products, services and business leaders in the world. The Edison Awards, named after Thomas Alva Edison, are determined through an annual competition honoring excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centered design and innovation. 

The ballot of nominees for the Edison Awards was judged by a panel of leading business executives including past award winners, academics and leaders in the fields of product development, design, engineering, science and medical.

Modeled after Tactical Operations Centers operated by the military and incident command posts used by first responders, the IBM X-Force C-TOC is a first-of-its-kind training, simulation and security operations center on wheels. It brings people together in an ultra-realistic simulated environment that forces teams to respond to a large-scale cyber security breach. The Featherlite-built mobile operations center is capable of running an entire corporate IT environment for simulated training, incident response and tactical operations on site at a clientโ€™s office location. 

โ€œThe Featherlite team did an excellent job on this mobile operations center,โ€ Mike Galvin, Featherlite senior specialty sales manager, said. โ€œThis project really showcased Featherliteโ€™s strengths in both engineering and innovation. Weโ€™ve heard many positive remarks from IBM and their team on how well their trailer is performing and connecting with clients.โ€ 

A number of Featherlite employees played a part in the production of this trailer and its interior. โ€œThis project challenged us to use all of our tools and expertise to make this trailer come to fruition,โ€ Joe Labosky, Featherlite senior design engineer, said.

Steve Stone, Featherlite electrical design technician, stated, โ€œThis project required miles of electrical cabling and extensive research and attention to detail to ensure we met IBMโ€™s electrical and technical requirements. Weโ€™re proud to say we did.โ€ 

The IBM X-Force C-TOC was unveiled in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. in October 2018 before touring other locations in the U.S. It later started its tour of Europe, where it is now currently visiting clients and events. 

Featherliteยฎ, headquartered in Cresco, Iowa, is the nationโ€™s original aluminum specialty trailer brand and a leading manufacturer today of horse, livestock, car, utility and specialty trailers, including race car transporters, command centers, event marketing trailers and other custom trailers.ย