How UK’s 36Zero Is Scaling Wearable Workforce Technology Across Saudi Arabia
As Saudi Arabia accelerates the delivery of giga-projects, industrial developments, and critical infrastructure, demand is growing for technologies that improve workforce productivity, safety, and operational visibility at scale. One of the fastest-growing areas is wearable workforce technology, which enables organizations to monitor worker wellbeing, site conditions, and project performance at scale.
One company helping drive this shift is 36Zero, a workforce management and wearable technology provider serving heavy industries, with a strong focus on construction and large-scale infrastructure projects.
Expanding from the UK, the company demonstrated early commitment to the Kingdom by building its presence on the ground ahead of wider market demand.
Its trajectory reflects how sustained local engagement is increasingly shaping success for technology providers in Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing industrial landscape.
Why Saudi Remains a Strategic Growth Market for 36Zero
For CEO David Redmond, Saudi Arabia represents a market opportunity unlike any other. With more than $1.7 trillion in infrastructure and development projects underway or planned, the Kingdom offers 36Zero a unique operating environment to scale its technology while helping clients improve project delivery, workforce productivity, cost control, and worker safety.
Speaking to AstroLabs, Redmond said: “The company saw structural demand in Saudi Arabia's construction and heavy industry sectors that other markets could not match. The Kingdom had committed to delivering complex developments at an unprecedented scale and on accelerated timelines. As a result, there was a growing need for real-time visibility into project optimization, productivity, and worker welfare across giga-project delivery.”
In 2025, 36Zero formalized its Saudi presence by launching its Riyadh office, continuing to expand its on-the-ground operations with ongoing support from AstroLabs. It builds on years of on-the-ground involvement in the market, which helped the company build customer trust, strengthen delivery capabilities, and establish a leadership position in one of the world’s fastest-growing construction markets.
As its expansion and growth partner, AstroLabs helped turn early market traction into a scalable operational base for the company’s next phase in Saudi Arabia. “By the time 36Zero engaged AstroLabs, the company already had Saudi traction. What AstroLabs supported was the next chapter,” Redmond noted.
This support encompassed company formation and licensing, post-incorporation services, as well as ongoing access to AstroLabs’ broad network of corporate stakeholders, government entities, and ecosystem partners.
Today, the company works with major giga projects, including NEOM, Red Sea, and New Murabba, alongside leading contractors, utility providers, and industrial operators. In May this year, 36Zero recorded four go-live implementations across the Kingdom, further demonstrating its expanding scale of operations.
On the global front, 36Zero recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Bodytrak® assets from Lakeland Fire + Safety (NASDAQ: LAKE), extending its footprint into North America and broadening its workforce management and HSE platform across mining, oil and gas, utilities, and industrial operations via its ATEX intrinsically safe certified wearable device that uniquely captures workers core body temperature (and other vitals) for the most accurate reading on worker fatigue, heat stress, hearing exposure and more.
Looking ahead, 36Zero plans to deepen its partnerships across mining, utilities, oil and gas, manufacturing, and construction while expanding deployments with existing giga-project clients as its footprint in the Kingdom continues to grow.
36Zero is positioning itself as the global wearable of choice for the enterprise market. If consumer wearables like Whoop have made real-time biometrics mainstream in personal health and fitness, 36Zero is building the equivalent infrastructure for heavy industry.
What Long-Term Commitment Looks Like in the Kingdom
Reflecting on the company's journey in the Kingdom, Redmond outlined the critical success factors for building a sustainable business in Saudi Arabia: “Four years ago, I took 36Zero to Saudi. We invested in the market from both a time and financial perspective. We committed to a local office and entity, engaged with partners and local teams, and delivered success to our customers from pilot to scale."
Redmond also emphasized the relational nature of doing business in the Kingdom. “Relationships can't be rushed, and reputation and trust are key. It takes time. Saudi demands respect and that entrants be here for the long haul, through the good times and more stressful times,” he wrote.
36Zero’s trajectory underscores how Saudi Arabia increasingly rewards long-term market commitment, where upfront investment and years of groundwork can be offset by rapid scaling once demand takes hold. As Redmond told AstroLabs: “The last four months of sales growth have more than covered the costs of the previous four years.”
What sets the Saudi opportunity apart, according to Redmond, is that it extends well beyond Vision 2030 timelines. While major mandates are driving near-term urgency, the market remains a long-term landscape where success depends less on timing and more on sustained local presence and relationship-building.
“Those that win in Saudi are not trying to win against the clock of 2030,” he said. “They are winning because relationships, roots, and trust aren't built on a singular mission. They are built for today, tomorrow, and forever.”
This perspective reflects a broader operating reality for technology companies serving heavy industry in the Kingdom. Market entry alone is not sufficient; lasting success depends on early commitment, local presence, and continuous engagement across project cycles, where trust and delivery credibility are built over time.
Redmond added, 36Zero’s mission is to support over 1 million workers in Saudi alone by 2030 – saving lives, improving workers welfare and thereby supporting the Kingdom in the delivery optimization of the current and future projects.