Fieldwire and Hilti: A success story in the making

One year ago, Hilti acquired Fieldwire, a U.S.-based jobsite management software company, to bolster its offerings as the digital transformation partner of choice for its customers. This strategic acquisition, valued at USD 300 million, was made to cement the company’s vision of becoming a global leader in jobsite productivity.

Fieldwire is on a mission to become the world’s most trusted field management solution for construction teams on projects of any scale. It currently powers more than 1 million commercial, industrial, heavy civil and residential projects at some of the largest construction companies in the world.

The past year has seen the Fieldwire team working very closely with their Hilti counterparts to chart out a plan for Fieldwire’s global launch. (Read: Fieldwire + Hilti: Acquisition Announcement)

Off to a great start in key markets

The sales team launch kicked off in August 2022 for the U.S. market, where Fieldwire already had a strong presence and solid client base. In September, Fieldwire software was then successfully launched in the EU, where it attracted a tremendous amount of customer and media interest. Fieldwire can now fully leverage Hilti’s experienced sales team in key markets to develop greater possibilities for customer acquisitions and brand awareness.

Fieldwire’s solutions have found widespread acclaim in the markets where they have been launched while the core team has been working closely with the team at Hilti to gain a deeper understanding of customer expectations and to tailor their solutions accordingly.

Jan Doongaji, who will assume the position of Hilti Group CEO in 2023, stated: “Strategically, the acquisition has opened up a number of ways for us to better serve our customers. It has been a win-win for both parties, whether in terms of new business opportunities or future growth plans. With the combined strength of technology and the immense resources that Hilti brings as a group, we are expecting Fieldwire to grow much faster in many existing and new markets. Hilti has always had a reputation for creating high-quality hardware, software and services, and Fieldwire seamlessly fits into what is already a strong ecosystem that has consistently delivered excellent value to our end customers”.

Yves Frinault, CEO and co-founder of Fieldwire, said that “Fieldwire has gained significant momentum since the acquisition. Our team has more than doubled in size to reach 300 members. Combined with the significant operational autonomy that Hilti has granted us, we are moving really fast, and this is translating into great product developments for all customers. On the growth side, despite a difficult global business environment, Hilti has been unwavering in its support. We are well on our way to achieving distribution on a global scale as Hilti continues to mobilize its sales teams.”

Georg Connert, Head of Software & Services Business Unit, added: “Fieldwire has been the perfect addition to Hilti due to their excellent product and their ultimate focus on making the construction industry more productive and profitable. The past year has been very exciting when it comes to understanding the synergies between both organizations. Moving forward, I can clearly see that Fieldwire will access a whole new set of customers and subsequently create a lot more value for them by leveraging Hilti’s direct sales force.”

Hilti’s collaborative business culture has helped build an environment where its team is constantly in touch with customers. Such day-to-day interactions provide invaluable insights that can be used to create better products and solutions that customers truly need.

One year after the acquisition, the partnership between Fieldwire and Hilti can only be looked at as the first chapter of a great success story. From a strategic perspective, and also from their customers’ point of view, the acquisition has created a win-win situation where both Fieldwire and Hilti now have the capability to offer unmatched value in terms of hardware and software solutions that make life easier for all stakeholders.