HC Technologies

What HC Technologies does

HC Technologies (legal name: Hercal Acustec S.L.) is a Spanish IoT solutions provider founded in 2006 and headquartered in Aranda de Duero, Burgos. The company designs and manufactures proprietary Sigfox-based data acquisition hardware and operates the Kheiron cloud platform, delivering end-to-end IoT solutions across six verticals: smart buildings, smart factories, retail, utilities, agriculture/farming, and logistics. Its product portfolio spans nine dedicated IoT devices — digital (HC-DIG-SIG), analog (HC-ANA-SIG), gas (HC-GAS-SIG), inclination (HC-INCL-SIG), PIR presence (HC-PIR-SIG), distance (HC-DIST-SIG), rotational speed (HC-RPM), mass/weight (HC-MASA), and RS-232 bridging (HC-232) — making HC a full-stack provider from sensor to cloud. The company's testing facilities hold ISO 17025 accreditation, in place since 2010, supporting measurement-grade industrial deployments.

The business model combines one-time hardware sales, recurring subscription revenue for connectivity and Kheiron platform access, and professional services for integration and custom deployments. Pricing is quote-based with illustrative examples around €200 per hardware device and €600 per year for subscriptions. Go-to-market is hybrid: direct sales into enterprise industrial accounts — including Bimbo, L'Oréal, Seat, Johnson & Johnson, and Repsol for smart factory pilots — combined with an international distributor network covering 15+ countries across five continents, supplemented by a Silicon Valley office (since 2012) and a Singapore APAC office.

The company is privately held, has been bootstrapped since inception with no external funding disclosed, and operates with a small team of 11–50 employees. Leadership comprises Daniel Herrero de la Cal as CEO, Javier Herrero de la Cal as CCO, David Steckler as CTO, and José García Esteban as Marketing Manager. Key milestones include ISO 17025 accreditation (2010), the Silicon Valley office opening (2012), acquisition/integration of INET Counters (2016–2018), and the 2019–2020 product line expansions into smart metering and industrial IoT.

Name

HC Technologies

Legal name

Hercal Acustec S.L.

Website

https://hc-technologies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HC Technologies (Hercal Acustec S.L.) is a Spanish IoT solutions provider that designs proprietary Sigfox-based hardware and the Kheiron cloud platform, serving smart buildings, smart factories, retail, utilities, agriculture, and logistics customers across 15+ countries via a distributor network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Aranda De Duero

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hardware sales: One-time purchase of HC data acquisition devices (e.g., HC-RPM, HC-DIG-SIG, HC-ANA-SIG and related Sigfox/GPRS/NB-IoT variants), either bundled inside packaged solutions or sold separately as physical devices.
2. Recurring connectivity & data platform subscriptions: Monthly or yearly subscriptions covering Sigfox connectivity, cloud data warehousing and access to the Kheiron data management platform; often included for the first year in packaged solutions and renewable thereafter.
3. Custom IoT development / professional services: Revenue from custom IoT solution development and design-house engagements, where HC Technologies adapts devices and configurations to the specific needs of a customer project (e.g., custom installation, training, integration).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HC Technologies designs, manufactures and sells end-to-end IoT solutions that combine its proprietary Sigfox-ready data acquisition devices (a family of HC-branded sensors and PLC-capture devices) with wireless connectivity and the Kheiron cloud data management platform. Offerings are delivered either as vertical-specific plug-and-play packaged solutions (Smart Buildings, Smart Factories, Retail, Utilities, Agriculture and Farming, Logistics) or as custom IoT development services, and are sold B2B via direct sales and an international authorized distributor network.

Product overview

HC Technologies (Hercal Acustec S.L.) offers a single, unified IoT portfolio built around two delivery modes: (A) end-to-end packaged IoT solutions and (B) custom IoT solutions development. At the core sits a family of proprietary Sigfox-ready data acquisition devices — HC-DIG-SIG, HC-ANA-SIG, HC-GAS-SIG, HC-INCL-SIG, HC-PIR-SIG, HC-DIST-SIG, HC-RPM-SIG, HC-MASA-SIG, and HC-232-SIG — that capture sensor and PLC data and transmit it via wireless connectivity (primarily Sigfox, with GPRS/NB-IoT options) to the cloud. These devices are bundled into vertical-specific packaged solutions for Smart Buildings, Smart Factories (notably the Factory Operations Smart Monitoring solution combining an HC data acquisition device, Sigfox connectivity, and the Kheiron Data Platform), Retail, Utilities, Agriculture and Farming, and Logistics, or configured through custom development. A three-step needs-assessment process (evaluation, solution analysis, feasibility) is used to match customers to either packaged or custom deployments under the company's "IoT made simple" positioning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HC-DIG-SIG IoT data acquisition device Sigfox-ready IoT data acquisition device providing digital inputs to read pulses or digital sensors and alarms for remote monitoring of assets and processes, for industrial and enterprise IoT deployments.
• HC-ANA-SIG IoT data acquisition device Sigfox-ready IoT device with analog/digital inputs that reads a wide variety of parameters and pulses, adaptable to many sensing requirements for remote monitoring.
• HC-GAS-SIG IoT data acquisition device Sigfox-ready IoT device for detection of CO2, butane, methane, ethanol and hydrogen in the air, enabling remote gas-leak and air-quality monitoring.
• HC-INCL-SIG IoT data acquisition device Sigfox-ready IoT device providing inclination monitoring of poles, towers and other vertical structures for tilt and structural-health applications.
• HC-PIR-SIG IoT data acquisition device Sigfox-ready IoT device offering enhanced movement detection and people counting capabilities for occupancy and foot-traffic monitoring.
• HC-DIST-SIG IoT data acquisition device Sigfox-ready IoT device using radar for level and distance monitoring of liquids and other elements, suitable for tank and bin level applications.
• HC-RPM industrial IoT device Sigfox-ready intelligent RPM/pulse reader that counts pulses per defined period of time to track machine rhythms and production performance, reading pulses from up to three sources on a single device.
• HC-MASA industrial IoT device Sigfox-ready industrial device with electrical pulse counting plus an RS232/Ethernet entry port, enabling cross-referencing of PLC data (e.g., product ID, production quotas) with pulse counts.
• HC-232 industrial IoT device Sigfox-ready device that makes existing PLCs smart by reading any data frame coming from a PLC of up to 100 bytes at variable speed and sending up to 12 bytes containing the data points of interest to the cloud via RS232 or Ethernet.
• Factory Operations Smart Monitoring (Industrial Packaged Solution) Plug-and-play end-to-end solution that makes existing factory machinery smart by combining an HC Data Acquisition Device (RPM/pulse monitoring and RS232/Ethernet PLC data capture), Sigfox connectivity and the Kheiron Data Platform, with three hours of remote consultancy and one year of connectivity and platform access included.
• Vertical-Specific Packaged IoT Solutions Ready-to-deploy end-to-end IoT solution packages tailored to six verticals: Smart Buildings, Smart Factories, Retail, Utilities, Agriculture and Farming, and Logistics. Each package combines HC data acquisition devices, wireless connectivity, cloud data warehousing and a user-facing data application for operational optimization.
• Custom IoT Solutions Development Bespoke IoT solution design and development service that leverages HC Technologies' in-house electronic design team to adapt devices and configurations to the specific requirements of a customer project.

Quantifiable outcome

• ROII ratio of 2.03:1 in waste-management case study (every $1 invested generates $2.03 in additional value)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered regional partner and core technology partner.

• IoT Denmarkregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor of HC Technologies products in Denmark (Søborg), serving as the local commercial contact ([email protected]).
• GBS Cloudregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Italy (Lucca), commercial contact [email protected].
• Sigfox Lithuaniaregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Lithuania (Vilnius), [email protected].
• Muska.ioregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in the USA (Houston), [email protected].
• ReddotNetregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in the USA (Florida), [email protected].
• Xaldigitalregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Mexico (Naucalpan de Juárez), [email protected].
• Zingoregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Costa Rica (San José), [email protected].
• CAS Tecnologiaregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Brazil (São Paulo), [email protected].
• SIOT Ingenieriaregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Colombia (Boyacá), [email protected].
• Ormusregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Colombia (Bogotá), ormusltda.com.
• Aliumregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Peru (Lima), [email protected].
• Unabizregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Singapore, [email protected].
• Sigfox Indonesiaregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Indonesia (Jakarta), [email protected].
• Momkinregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Oman (Riyadh address listed), [email protected].
• Technics Internationalregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh), [email protected].
• Thinxtraregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Australia (Sydney), [email protected].
• Water Groupregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in Australia (Sydney), [email protected].
• Kordiaregional partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor in New Zealand (Wellington), [email protected].
• Sigfoxcore technology partnerTechnology or IntegrationUnderlying low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) connectivity provider whose protocol is built into HC's data acquisition devices; HC displays 'Sigfox Ready' certification and ships Sigfox connectivity as the default communications layer of packaged solutions.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MachineMetrics: Smart-factory analytics platform that connects to industrial machinery (PLCs, CNCs) for real-time production monitoring and predictive maintenance. Direct overlap with HC Technologies' Factory Operations Smart Monitoring packaged solution and PLC-integration story (HC-232).
• Sight Machine: AI/analytics platform purpose-built for discrete and process manufacturing, ingesting PLC and sensor data to drive production visibility. Comparable use case (production-line monitoring, predictive maintenance) for industrial enterprise customers.
• Particle: Combines proprietary IoT hardware modules (Photon, Boron, Argon) with a managed connectivity and cloud platform (Particle Cloud). Closely comparable hardware + connectivity + cloud bundle targeted at industrial and smart-product developers.
• Libelium: Spanish IoT hardware and vertical-solutions company selling Waspmote sensor nodes plus Meshlium gateways across agriculture, water, smart cities and industrial verticals. Closest comparable: same Iberian-base, same hardware-first IoT stack, same vertical-packaged solutions model serving SMB and enterprise customers.

Broad incumbents

• PTC (ThingWorx): Established IIoT platform (ThingWorx) plus Kepware connectivity, focused on industrial asset monitoring, digital twins and smart-factory analytics. Comparable buyer (industrial enterprise) and solution scope.
• Siemens (Insights Hub / MindSphere): Industrial giant's cloud IIoT platform paired with automation hardware (PLCs, drives) used for smart-factory deployments. Largest incumbent competing for the same enterprise factory-monitoring wallet that HC Technologies targets.
• Samsara: Large, publicly listed industrial IoT operations platform combining rugged hardware sensors, connectivity and a cloud application for fleet, asset and factory monitoring. Operates in adjacent verticals (logistics, smart buildings, industrial) with a much larger sales footprint and balance sheet.
• Advantech: Large Taiwanese industrial IoT hardware and edge-computing vendor with WISE-PaaS platform serving factory, energy and retail verticals. Comparable in delivering industrial-grade IoT devices plus a cloud platform, but at vastly greater scale and a broader portfolio.
• Schneider Electric (EcoStruxure): Global industrial automation and energy-management vendor with EcoStruxure IoT platform spanning factory, building, grid and data center verticals. Competes head-on in HC Technologies' smart-factory and smart-buildings verticals with deeper enterprise relationships.

Others

• UnaBiz: Sigfox 0G network operator and IoT service provider that acquired Sigfox in 2022 and is also HC Technologies' authorized distributor for Singapore. Critical ecosystem counterpart: owns the connectivity layer underpinning most HC packaged solutions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hc-technologies

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HC Technologies