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Benefits to Building It Here: Why We Build Robots in Calgary

Attabotics office with several computer workstations and a large contemporary art piece.

PUBLISHED JULY 25, 2022

Industry-redefining ideas can come from anywhere. Attabotics founder Scott Gravelle found that to be the case, turning inspiration from an anthill into a dramatically different solution for modern-day commerce. When it came time to build the business, why not look beyond the box again? Attabotics found our ideal home here in Calgary. We also found benefits to building our robots locally that help us deliver innovation to the entire global supply chain.  

 

Building It Here: Why Calgary?

Starting a robotics company outside of Silicon Valley may seem unexpected, but the tech scene in Calgary is rapidly accelerating. According to Calgary Economic Development more than $18.35 billion of investment has been made in Calgary across all sectors since 2015. Historically known for oil and cattle exports, Calgary now offers a skilled tech talent pool and a collaborative innovation ecosystem alongside the affordable cost of living and lifestyle advantages that have long made it notable. It offers the highest proportion of graduates in science, technology, engineering and math among major cities in Canada, as well as the highest number of engineers and geoscientists per capita and it is even one of three Canadian cities ranked as the most livable in the annual Global Live ability Index (tied with Toronto and Zurich for 3rd).

As we've grown our team to include more than 300 employees, many located in Calgary, we've once more seen the benefit of unique perspectives. Attabotics has been able to hire highly skilled professionals from the oil and gas sector, as well as people with trade backgrounds such as electricians and millwrights. Each one of our "Attapeeps" brings their unique skills to our shared mission, and we've found support throughout the community around us as well. 

Our early stage investments came from local organizations and companies who believed in our mission and vision, and now we're part of a robust technology hub housed in the heart of Calgary. Today we reinvest in that community through continued engagement with organizations such as Alberta Innovates, PlatformCalgary, the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (AMII), and the Alberta IoT Association.

The growing tech scene in Calgary continues to bring business, events, innovation, and people to the city. It is a place where employees can learn, share ideas with others, and grow. And, as it turns out, growing our headquarters in Calgary has also provided benefits that go across borders and directly impact our customers around the world. 

 

How Local Manufacturing Benefits Consumers

Nearshoring, or keeping business here in North America instead of outsourcing to other parts of the world, is the latest in manufacturing trends. But for Attabotics, it's about more than following the trend. Keeping our manufacturing in-house is a game changer. Instead of outsourcing the process, we can immediately execute our ideas and bring them to market as soon as we're ready, or we iterate until we get the product perfect. With a shorter supply chain, we cut down our go-to-market time, bringing clients the solutions they need quickly and cost effectively. 

Nearshoring has always been a differentiator for Attabotics – we've embraced local manufacturing since our inception – making us an early adopter. 

 

Combining our Global Mindset with a Local Mission

Our dream is that robots will one day play a role in every warehouse across the globe, improving skilled labor employees' jobs and even creating new ones. By automating the fulfillment needs of modern commerce in our high-tech local manufacturing hub, we're delivering the best possible customer experience.

For example, in rapidly developing fields like health and beauty, trends move quickly, and emerging niches like eGrocery are changing even faster. Inevitably, business needs are changing at a rapid pace. With this change comes the need for new ways of doing business, and organizations need solutions fast.

We can assess problems and pivot quickly when needed thanks to in-house research and development, engineering, tech, and manufacturing. But it's about more than producing a quicker product-to-market timeline. By keeping our manufacturing local, Attabotics assures the highest level of quality and personal touch with every solution.

Instead of multiple iterations with an overseas manufacturer, we embrace continuous improvement and develop new solutions at a pace more responsive to customer timelines and expectations. We know the people working on your products, involved in the design, build, and installation with every project. Keeping it local gives us more control over our supply chain and allows us to quickly scale our business and support our customers as they scale alongside us.

But for Attabotics, sourcing locally is about more than just speeding up processes.Our ability to reinvest our success into the local Calgary community has been a deciding factor for us when choosing where to grow. While our mission is to disrupt the supply chain, we also want to build a community of talented people, contribute to the local economy, and help grow Calgary's evolution in the tech landscape. 

And yes, we're growing. Visit our careers page if you're ready to be part of our tech movement.