Rombit’s Acquisition Of Drixit Highlights Uptick In Demand For Connected Worker Solutions For Safety And Operational Efficiency

Rombit’s Acquisition Of Drixit Highlights Uptick In Demand For Connected Worker Solutions For Safety And Operational Efficiency

On July 2^nd 2024, Belgian industrial worker safety solution provider Rombit announced its acquisition of Argentinian worker safety and risk product provider Drixit. Drixit will rebrand as Rombit LATAM and continue to operate under existing leadership.

Drixit’s product lines have considerable overlap with Rombit’s; a series of attachable sensors for equipment and personnel, coupled with a digital platform to view data streams and run analytics on sensor information. As such, Drixit’s customers will enjoy a relatively seamless transition from Drixit to Rombit LATAM. In addition, the similarities in the two firms’ value propositions will allow a straightforward synthesis of strategic best practices across product and sales functions.

The acquisition represents an upturn in the connected worker solutions market, which has quietened since 2023. Remote working solutions, such as industrial wearables, received massive investment during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our 2021 global corporate survey, 26% of respondents were in the midst of industrial wearable deployments or planning implementations within 12 months (see Verdantix Global Corporate Survey 2021: Operational Excellence Budgets, Priorities & Tech Preferences). In our 2022 survey, the figure reached 33% (see Verdantix Global Corporate Survey 2022: Operational Excellence Budgets, Priorities & Tech Preferences). However, investment in solutions slowed after workers returned to work in 2022 and has continued to decline through 2023 and 2024.

The fall off in investment in connected worker solutions does not, however, indicate a lack of success. Rombit’s acquisition of Drixit underscores the value of connected worker solutions when deployed for key use cases in high-risk industries. Targeting logistics, oil and gas, and mining, both firms have found considerable success and look to consolidate that success moving forward as a single entity. Rombit CEO Evert Bulke is unequivocal about his firm’s plans: "Together we are growing to 100 people and 10 million ARR, a proof of product-market fit and the start of a buy-and-build growth path".

After a period of hibernation, there are signs of life in the connected worker solutions market. We expect growth in the space to continue as organizations hone value propositions and properly define the connected worker product niche.

For more information on connected worker solutions, please read the Verdantix report Strategic Focus: Innovating Workforce Management With Connected Worker Platforms.