Taoglas has strengthened its IoT managed services offering with the acquisition of Australian firm Smartsensor Technologies.

The transaction should facilitate the expansion of Taoglas’ connected smart services business unit, furthering its position as an IoT managed service provider for enterprises,

Smartsensor Technologies is an established end-to-end IoT provider, combining hardware, software and data analytics capabilities to provide real-time, data-driven insights and smart asset management for the public and private sector.

Founded in Australia in 2011, Smartsensor Technologies is on a mission to provide IoT offerings that make asset management more efficient. Through a combination of hardware and software, it creates real-time, actionable intelligence to reduce the overall costs and complexities associated with managing waste, industrial equipment and utility assets.

By helping its clients digitise their asset information, through a management platform, Smartsensor ensures they improve efficiencies and is proven in some scenarios to reduce the cost of asset tracking by up to 80%. It has a track record in the waste sector and has secured long-term contracts across a blue-chip client base.

The company is managing more than 5000 connected devices in Australia, Canada and New Zealand and has a significant growth forecast from contracted deployment in the next 12 to 24 months.

Leon Hayes is the founder and CEO of Smartsensor Technologies and said the takeover marked a new chapter for the company.

“Over the past 11 years, we have built a company and connected service offering that not only we can be proud of, but a company that has been instrumental in the leadership and growth of smart waste technologies in Australia,” said Hayes. “In Taoglas, we know we’ve found the right partner and we know the acquisition will provide an increased level of service offering, support and guidance to our customers. Smartsensor Technologies will benefit from Taoglas’ global presence. They have the teams in place to help us fuel further innovation and to realise our full potential. We’re excited to join forces and provide a unique connected smart services offering to our customers.”

Ronan Quinlan, CEO and co-founder of Taoglas, added: “This announcement really expands the scope of Taoglas’ connected smart services business unit. Under Leon’s experienced leadership, this unit will combine our existing offerings into one platform, incorporating the smart waste solutions that Smartsensor Technologies is so successful with, selling into a market that is expected to grow from $20.2bn in 2020 to $35.2bn by 2025. We look forward to welcoming the Smartsensor Technologies team into the fold and to expand our reach globally, with our local IoT and service centres on the ground from San Diego to Dublin and Taipei to Brisbane.”

The acquisition comes during a time when worldwide IoT spending is growing at a double-digit rate and spending is to surpass $1tn by 2022 according to IDC. Taoglas aims to capitalise on this growth and expand its offering in the IoT market through an aggressive growth plan and further strategic acquisitions.

“This acquisition provides Taoglas with the opportunity to expand our industrial and enterprise-level IoT services and will accelerate our plans for the growth of connected smart services,” said Dermot O’Shea, co-founder of Taoglas. “We expect to see an impact on this unit from day one. We’re confident that the Smartsensor team will bring a wealth of expertise and experience to Taoglas, enabling us to provide further value to our customers. Combining our offerings will help us move quickly towards Taoglas’ next phase of expansion as the leading global IoT provider.”

Smartsensor Technologies will fall under Taoglas’ connected smart services business unit, which provides IoT managed services that allow global enterprises to drive optimised use of their assets and deliver a higher return on investment. Under the agreement, Hayes will lead the unit as senior vice president and general manager.

Taoglas was advised by KPMG, Landers & Rogers and Maples. Smartsensor Technologies was advised by BDO, Kain Lawyers and PwC.