Calgary robotic logistics company ATTAbotics Inc. gets $4.5M from city

A Calgary robotic logistics firm is the latest company to benefit from a $100-million fund designed to spur the city’s economy during the energy downturn.

ATTAbotics, which designs and builds robotic automated storage and retrieval systems, has been granted $4.5 million by the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund.

“This grant for us is very meaningful because it allows us to continue to build ATTAbotics in Calgary — where it was founded,” said CEO Scott Gravelle.

Gravelle said the company that he co-founded in 2016 has seen explosive growth.

“We’ve grown from in the last 12 months, revenues in the hundreds of thousands of dollars… to revenue in the tens of millions of dollars.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've grown from in the last 12 months, revenues in the hundreds of thousands of dollars… to revenue in the tens of millions of dollars."

The company has also grown its staff from about 60 employees some six months ago to 115 now.

This grant will require ATTAbotics to add another 150 positions as well as some new facilities.

“People have to spend money and create jobs in order to attract the funding,” Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund chair Barry Munro said. “If they don’t deliver, they have to pay the money back.”

But Monro also said competition for new business investment globally is intense and the city has to do what it can to keep companies and jobs here — that includes providing incentives.

ATTAbotics officials said they were pursued by the State of Nevada to look at relocating there and were offered big tax and other incentives, but the $4.5 million will help keep its headquarters and research and development in Calgary and Canada.

“Canada is very successful at starting technology companies,” Gravelle said. “The challenge is keeping that intellectual horsepower in the country.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Canada is very successful at starting technology companies," Gravelle said. "The challenge is keeping that intellectual horsepower in the country."

ATTAbotics said the company is up to that challenge and plans to continue hiring workers. Right now, about 85 per cent of its staff used to work in oil and gas.

This is good news for many unemployed Calgarians and Albertans, especially considering recent economic forecasts that paint a bleak picture for the year ahead.

Forecasts just this week expect hiring will remain flat as will growth — for both the city and province.

In the one year since the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund created, it has received about 180 proposals.