Kobelco Announces Partnership with Iridium to Allow Global Coverage for Fleet Management Systems

Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications.

FREMONT, CA: Iridium Communications Inc. announced that Kobelco Construction Machinery (KCM), a leading original equipment manufacturer, has integrated Iridium's two-way satellite communications into its hydraulic excavator machinery, heavy equipment, and the KOMEXS remote asset management platform. The addition of the Iridium® service provides KCM equipment with truly global coverage for the first time, along with the flexibility of programming deployed assets to provide automated recurring telematics and equipment health updates while also enabling customers to request real-time reports.

The KOMEXS platform provides the capability to manage multiple deployed assets across several job sites and tracks machinery health information such as working hours, engine health, and fuel consumption. The system helps users keep track of valuable resources, manage costs, boost productivity, and proactively plan for maintenance requirements that can help increase efficiency and safety. This can also include warning alerts when deployed machinery needs servicing and geofencing to ensure machinery is deployed to the correct worksite.

"As the need for real-time, global communications solutions continues to increase, Iridium and KCM are delivering reliable, effective and weather-resilient connectivity for KCM's vast customer base," says Bryan Hartin, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Iridium. "This partnership solidifies Iridium's leadership position in providing global satellite industrial-IoT communications within the heavy equipment industry."

Iridium's network is uniquely qualified for mobile telematics reporting and serving the needs of heavy equipment and construction machinery for connectivity beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. With small-form-factor devices that can be easily integrated with existing solutions like the KOMEXS platform, Iridium works closely with its partners to simplify the process of adding truly global satellite connectivity to their services. KCM expects to begin shipment of vehicles equipped with Iridium Connected devices in early 2021. Initial deployment will occur in Southeast Asian countries, followed by Russia, Central, South America, and North America.

As of the third quarter of 2020, Iridium commercial IoT subscribers grew 20 percent from the year-ago period to 924,000 customers, further cementing its place as the premier satellite IoT company.