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Wenco said the acquisition of SmartCap's assets and intellectual property, for an undisclosed sum, would enable it to boost its safety portfolio.
SmartCap uses EEG (electroencephalography) to assess real-time fatigue levels. Its main product is essentially a band that when integrated into protective headwear or baseball caps can monitor for oncoming "microsleeps" which create safety hazards.
The technology was developed within Mining3, a Cooperative Research Centre established by the Australian government. Private equity firm Jolimont Capital took a 25% stake in the company in 2017, when it was valued at A$15 million (US$11.6 million) in its entirety.
"This purchase is an important step for the continued growth of the SmartCap fatigue technology," says SmartCap CEO Tim Ekert. "We have made significant progress these past eight years and we are proud of every safety incident our technology has prevented.
"We believe joining Wenco will enable us to grow even further and increase the safety of even more industrial operations.
"Wenco said SmartCap will be wrapped into the Solution Linkage ICT/IoT solution platform developed with its partner Hitachi Construction Machinery.
"Wenco has long been observing SmartCap's success in enhancing safety for their customers, and we have been in regular discussion on how we can integrate our technologies to provide a comprehensive, next-generation safety solution," says Andrew Pyne, president and CEO of Wenco.
