Hiab is expanding its Connected Solutions offering

Hiab, part of Cargotec, is further accelerating the development of its digital and connectivity offering. Hiab today announced its forthcoming HiConnect(TM), a connected solution that, in combination with its

Hiab, part of Cargotec, is further accelerating the development of its digital and connectivity offering. Hiab today announced its forthcoming HiConnect(TM), a connected solution that, in combination with its class-leading load handling equipment, will further enhance productivity, efficiency, and safety for Hiab's customer's businesses.

"As pioneers in load handling, our mission is to shape the future of this industry. Digitalization is a business reality for our customers across all industries. At an early stage we decided to invest and strategically focus the development of intelligent services and connected solutions supported by a dedicated New Business Solutions unit. Our stated ambition was and remains that, by 2018, all new Hiab equipment will be connected", says Roland Sundén, President of Hiab. "Connectivity in itself though does not bring value, nor does data. We aim to understand our customer's needs and develop new solutions together with them, where data-based insights are allowing them to run their business more efficiently and safely," he continues.

HiConnect(TM) is a new connected service offering, enhancing the productivity of Hiab equipment for fleet operators. Customers will be able gain real-time insights via web-based dashboards showing the utilization, condition, and operation of their connected Hiab equipment. These insights will allow them to reduce unnecessary downtime, optimize performance, and actively manage service and safe operation. Select Hiab customers in several markets are currently successfully piloting HiConnect, with the commercial launch aimed for Q3 2017.

"With Hiab's Connected Solutions our focus is on working very closely together with our customers to really understand and help address their needs and business challenges. Our customers always want to be a step ahead, and see Hiab as a pioneering and progressive partner. The feedback from our customer pilots is encouraging and highly valuable, helping to further develop our solutions to bring true value to their businesses", concludes Jan-Erik Lindfors, Vice President, New Business Solutions, at Hiab.

HiConnect adds to Hiab's connected solutions portfolio. First out was the ground-breaking and award-winning HiVision(TM) for forestry cranes, which lets the operator control the crane from the safety of the truck cabin, using Virtual Reality goggles, controllers, and connected cameras. With this, it provides precise operation, saves time, and increases comfort and safety. HiVision for forestry cranes is already commercially available and is proving itself in tough everyday usage with timber customers in multiple countries. Hiab is exploring the development of HiVision for other equipment types and usage scenarios.