Wenco International Mining Systems acquires SmartCap, the world's leading fatigue monitoring wearable device

VANCOUVER,BC,May 6,2021 -- Wenco International Mining Systems Ltd. ("Wenco") is pleased to announce its purchase of all assets and intellectual property of SmartCap Technologies Pty Ltd ("SmartCap"),engineers of the world's leading fatigue monitoring wearable.

SmartCap assesses real-time fatigue levels and monitors for oncoming microsleeps that create safety hazards. The SmartCap device has over 5,000 users globally in mining,trucking,and other industries.

Based in Brisbane,Australia,SmartCap assesses real-time fatigue levels and monitors for oncoming microsleeps that create safety hazards. The SmartCap device has over 5,and other industries.

"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."

This acquisition adds a strategic,fatigue monitoring capability to Wenco's safety solution portfolio. Safety is of paramount importance at mines and other industrial sites,where operators must perform long hours of repetitive work while paying close attention to their surrounding environment. SmartCap greatly enhances the ability of operators and other workers in proximity to the equipment to remain safe.

"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.

"Ultimately,it was decided that bringing our technology,personnel,and business relationships together under Wenco offered the greatest opportunity for us to deliver on our mutual vision for mine safety."

In recent years,Wenco and its parent,Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM),have invested heavily in solutions to streamline and optimize the end-to-end mining enterprise,with safety as a foundation. SmartCap adds an advanced,fatigue monitoring layer for operator protection to this digital mining initiative. It is intended to be included as part of HCM's Solution Linkage® family,the ICT/IoT solution platform for global mining and construction customers created in response to increased demands for improved safety,life cycle cost,and productivity.

About Wenco International Mining Systems

For over 30 years,Wenco International Mining Systems has worked with mining companies to extract unrealized value. Under this mission,Wenco has developed an integrated suite of solutions to support the digital transformation of the mining industry. Fleet management,asset health,data analytics,and other technologies join together in the spirit of open interoperability to raise mine productivity and efficiency,lower routine costs,and establish a safe and smooth mining operation.

A Hitachi company since 2009,Wenco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery headquartered in Vancouver,Canada.

For more information about the SmartCap acquisition or Wenco's and Hitachi's strategic vision for mine safety,please contact info@wencomine.com