en.Wedoany.com Reported - Hitachi Construction Machinery of Japan and US autonomous trucking company Pronto have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a strategic partnership, jointly developing open automation solutions for the mining industry.
The two companies plan to help mining customers address operational challenges and adapt to changing business environments by offering automation options. The agreement aims to meet the industry's growing demand for practical, scalable solutions that enhance productivity and safety amid widespread labor shortages.
An open automation platform can be flexibly implemented with equipment and technologies from different manufacturers. Both parties believe this is crucial to avoid over-reliance on a single technology provider or proprietary ecosystem. Hitachi Construction Machinery, which provides mining equipment globally and has a large customer base, plans to rename itself LANDCROS from April 2027. The company stated that as part of its transformation, it is pursuing a strategy focused on open connectivity products, technologies, and partnerships.
Pronto offers an autonomous haulage system that can be retrofitted to existing dump trucks regardless of manufacturer. Its technology has been commercially deployed in mixed fleet operations across three continents. The system is designed to adapt to different operational scales, from regional quarries to ultra-large deep-pit mines. Pronto CEO Anthony Levandowski stated that mine operators need automation systems that work with their existing fleets, rather than another closed, single-vendor ecosystem. Pronto has proven OEM-agnostic autonomous haulage capabilities at commercial scale, while Hitachi Construction Machinery brings decades of mining equipment leadership, a global customer base, and a shared vision of open autonomy. Through collaboration, a practical and affordable path to autonomy can be provided for each mining operation.
Through this partnership, the two parties intend to combine their respective strengths in mining equipment, digital solutions, and automation technology, aiming to offer mining operators a broader selection of automation solutions adaptable to specific site needs, while supporting broader industry efforts to improve efficiency, safety, and operational flexibility. In April 2026, Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) delivered an EX2600-7E ultra-large electric excavator to Rudnik uglja Pljevlja, a mining operator in northern Montenegro.
