Industrial mats having cost effective core structures

An inventory of industrial mats having a core or internal construction of wood, engineered wood, thermoplastics, elastomers, thermosetting plastics, metal, or of coated or encapsulated components, with each mat comprising side and end components protecting the sides and ends of the core or internal construction, and upper and lower components that provide upper and lower surfaces of the mats protecting upper and lower surfaces of the core or internal construction so that the core or internal construction of the mat is not visible because the side, end, upper and lower components hide the core or internal construction from view, wherein each mat includes an internal electronic device that is accessible by a door on the industrial mat, wherein the internal electronic device includes a processor, storage, and wireless communications circuitry that configures the internal electronic device to transmit information from the storage of the mat over a wireless communications network to a server.