BlooLoc (Flanders) raises funds to make warehouses smarter

BlooLoc developed a system to make warehouse operations safer and more efficient using geolocation. Equipped with cameras and computer vision software, forklifts can record exactly where they are in the warehouse. With sensors attached onto the forks of the forklift, the position of pallets can also be accurately tracked.

“The system offers 2 main benefits,” says BlooLoc founder and CEO Ivo Vandeweerd. “For starters, it helps avoid collisions and other hazardous situations by giving warnings or intervening on the forklift’s drive system. Additionally, the solution allows to track pallets without having to constantly scan them, leading to fewer mistakes and saving companies a lot of time. The investment typically pays itself back in under 6 months.”

BlooLoc is raising EUR 2.2 million from shareholder LRM and Brahim Boulbahaiem, an acquaintance of Vandeweerd’s whose company (Pixelvision) supplies technology to BlooLoc. “With the fresh capital, we will mainly expand the teams for customer support, sales and development,” Vandeweerd explains. By the end of 2023, the plan is to grow from 10 to 16 employees, to double again the following year.

BlooLoc has already implemented various projects at large companies such as logistics group GOBO as well as construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar. The Flanders-based startup expects that these multinationals will roll out the solution at additional company sites. Meanwhile, BlooLoc is also aiming for structural cooperation with suppliers of forklift trucks and warehouse technology.

BlooLoc is not Vandeweerd’s first venture. In the 1990s, the entrepreneur founded Easics, a spinoff of Flanders’ strategic research center for digital and nanotech (imec), which was later acquired by US company Transwitch. He then invested, among other things, in N4S, a startup that had developed an indoor positioning system.