Bryan Madden is the Farms Director at Champ's Fresh Farms Inc. in Langley BC

Welcome to podcast # 159. I caught up with Bryan, who is a customer of Mycionics, my client. I spent the last few days at #Mushroomdays or #Mushroom Days in the Netherlands.

Here are some of my questions:

How did you get into mushroom farming?

Can you tell me about Apex / South Mill Champs?

What is a Drawer farm, what is that and why is it important to the conversation?

1.5 million pounds weekly , production in winnipeg lot to gain 

Drawer farm, Europe is (now) learning from us

NO ONE WANT to pick mushrooms, it is a really tough job.

Canada's Temporary foreign workers program?

Labour is a complex variable on the farm.

Why automation? 

Beyond the labor challenge, you are going to get a lot of data?

What are some of the challenges?

You are positioning your farm to be one of the most technologically advanced automated mushroom growing operations in North America. 

That must be challenging and exciting.

How did you learn about Mycionics?

Tell me about your project. 

What is the ROI of automation, from your perspective?

How do you roll out automation in a farm? Is it by room?

You have purchased the Mycionics Crop Scout and robotic harvester picker. Can you tell our audience what they do

Your workers have to make thousands of picks (decisions) a day, how does (adding) this automation make them feel?

You have committed to rolling out Crop Scouts product and you have tested others, so you believe in the technology approach from Mycionics

What about the data that you are collecting? How is that going to change your operation?

You are also considering robotic picking automation, a multi arm robot on order. I know that you have had some initial success with a prototype unit? How is that experience going?

What have you had to do to get ready for automation?

How has Mycionics been to work with? Are they responsive? What about remote support?

So you are a big believer in the Mycionics approach and the Mycionics team?

You know the team from Mycionics, Ryan and Stefan, are they open to your feedback?

You deal with lots of automation vendors when it comes to mushroom harvesting, what has been the difference between suppliers?

You are piloting technology all the time, do you have a message for these evolving suppliers?

You are pretty excited about the data?

Mushroom farming in Canada, why and why now?

Future of mushroom farming is automated, would you agree?

Is there anything that separates mycionics, have they done anything special  innovation

Robotics and automation are not perfected in the lab, it is in the barn. It needs people like you open to fail and to iterate.

Thanks for coming onto the podcast. Thanks for all you do for the industry!

Did we forget to talk about anything?

If you would like to get in touch with Bryan here is his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-madden-b12a9329/

https://www.mycionics.com

Stefan Glibetic is president of Mycionics based out of Kitchener/Waterloo, ON

My friend is in charge of sales and growth at Mycionics is Ryan McCartney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandoesdeals/

If you would like to get in touch with us at THE robot industry podcast, you can find me, Jim Beretta on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimberetta/

Today’s podcast was produced by Customer Attraction Industrial Marketing and I would like to thank my team: Chris Gray for the music, Geoffrey Bremner for audio production and my business partner Janet.

And I would like to thank my Senior Audio Software Engineer, Geoff Bremner and you can find more information on his Linketree, linktr.ee/gbaudio

Be safe out there!

Jim

Jim Beretta

Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast

London, ON

Welcome to podcast # 158. Chuck Baresich is the Founder and President of Haggerty Creek farming operation. He is a farmer and an expert in AgRobotics.

The farming operation is part of Haggerty Creek Ltd. owned & operated by Chuck & Justin Baresich and AGRIS Cooperative since 2001 www.haggertycreek.com. He has been researching and testing various automated technologies.

Haggerty AgRobotics is actively developing relationships with leading ag-technology companies to commercialize new innovations and bring them to farmers in Eastern Canada.

Here are some of my questions to Chuck:

Who is the Ontario AgRobotics Working Group?

Ag robotics adoption in Canada? What’s holding users back? What motivates them?

What is digital agriculture?

How did you get into automation….and what automation are you using?

Laser Zapper? Standard equipment?

What countries do they come from?

Service and support question (what is plan B?)

Resistant weeds and speed

Data question: Cameras and computers in every machine quality of images, etc.

Canadians are typically slow to install automation in factories…are farmers the same?

Let's talk about autonomous farming vehicles (AMRs, AGVs and logistics)

Is broadband a problem? Remote processing.

What is your advice to farmers who are thinking about automation?

Where can farmers see demonstrations?

How do we get better at putting more automation into farm?

Too complicated? Waterloo company startup example.

How can people get a hold of you?

The AgRobotics Working Group comprises a diverse membership, including representatives from various levels of government, academic institutions, industry associations, and many more stakeholders in the agriculture sector. Since our establishment in March 2021, we have been dedicated to on-farm demonstrations, fostering networks, facilitating collaboration, and brainstorming innovative technology solutions. Our weekly meetings serve as a platform for discussing ideas, reviewing new technologies, applying for funding opportunities, and developing priorities for Ontario Agriculture.

Show Notes:

https://www.agroboticswg.com/memberships

https://www.agroboticswg.com/events

‍London, ON – March 23, 2026 – The future of farming will be on display at the inaugural Canadian AgRobotics & AI Summit on March 26, 2026, at The Grove, Western Fair District. As Canada’s largest agrobotics conference, the one-day event will bring together farmers, innovators, researchers, funders and industry leaders from across North America to explore the rapidly evolving role of robotics and artificial intelligence in agriculture.

If you would like to get in touch with us at THE robot industry podcast, you can find me, Jim Beretta on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimberetta/

Today’s podcast was produced by Customer Attraction Industrial Marketing and I would like to thank my team: Chris Gray for the music, Geoffrey Bremner for audio production and my business partner Janet.

And I would like to thank my Senior Audio Software Engineer, Geoff Bremner and you can find more information on his Linketree, linktr.ee/gbaudio

Be safe out there!

Jim

Jim Beretta

Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast

London, ON

Welcome to #157 of TRIP, The Robot Industry Podcast. I met up with Matt in Windsor during the Windsor-Essex' Emerging Technologies in Automation & Mobility Transformation Conference & Trade Show.

Matthew Hortop, P.E. is a Technical Specialist for all Things Electrification.

AVL is his employer and they are a 12,000-person company focused on powertrains. They don't make engines or inverters, they help customers doing the technology development. Batteries have become an important part of the automotive industry, including the drivetrain.

AVL

https://www.avl.com/en/engineering/e-mobility-engineering/battery-development-electric-vehicles

Some of the questions that I asked Matt:

How did you get into the industry?

What do you do?

What do you have for an automotive OEM?

The speed of the battery industry?

How do you support your customers?

You can find out more about the organizers (Invest Windsor Essex) at https://www.emergingtechnologies.ca/ or at https://www.investwindsoressex.com/.

If you would like to get in touch with us at THE robot industry podcast, you can find me, Jim Beretta on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimberetta/

Today’s podcast was produced by Customer Attraction Industrial Marketing and I would like to thank my team: Chris Gray for the music, Geoffrey Bremner for audio production and my business partner Janet.

And I would like to thank my Senior Audio Software Engineer, Geoff Bremner and you can find more information on his Linketree, linktr.ee/gbaudio

Be safe out there!

Jim

Jim Beretta

Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast

London, ON

Welcome to #156 of TRIP, The Robot Industry Podcast. Matt Khoshdarregi is the CEO of TetraGen Robotics. He holds a P.Eng. and Ph.D.

They, TetraGen, are a Manitoba-based developer of adaptive robotic manufacturing systems for high-mix, high-variability applications. Their current focus is on welding and trimming processes. Enjoy the podcast!

Some of my questions to him:

Matt, How did you get into the industry?

Tell me (and our audience) about TetraGen.

Who are your bullseye customers?

Why did you choose robotic welding?

How big is the labour challenge?

How does AI come into welding?

Tell me about your partners?

Have you had any surprises in starting TetraGen?

Data? How important is this to your customers?

How does a customer get started with you?

What does the future look like for automated - AI - welding?

What are some Frequently Asked Questions?

How can people get a hold of you?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-khoshdarregi-561b8631

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tetragen-robotics

If you would like to get in touch with us at THE robot industry podcast, you can find me, Jim Beretta on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimberetta/

Today’s podcast was produced by Customer Attraction Industrial Marketing and I would like to thank my team: Chris Gray for the music, Geoffrey Bremner for audio production and my business partner Janet.

And I would like to thank my Senior Audio Software Engineer, Geoff Bremner and you can find more information on his Linketree, linktr.ee/gbaudio

Be safe out there!

Jim

Jim Beretta

Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast

London, ON

Welcome to #158, I have known Stephen Slothuber for a long time; in fact, I worked with him and his father at ATS Automation. The Slothubers were an institution at ATS for accuracy, dependability and getting things done.

I was happy to have Steve on the podcast to talk about CRM for automation integrators and machine builders.

Enjoy the podcast and if you are thinking about a CRM for your machine building company, or are thinking about a Zoho implementation, I highly recommend him and his company

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenslothouber

Emberops is his company name.

I would like to thank my team and our Senior Audio Software Engineer, Geoff Bremner, and you can find more information on his Linketree, linktr.ee/gbaudio

Thanks for listening!

Jim

Jim Beretta

Chris Latour and I have known each other for many years, from our days at ATS Automation, and it was my pleasure to reach out to him to arrange a tour of Element5 in St. Thomas, Ontario. So if you have never heard of Mass Timber, it is structurally efficient wood that is bonded together and used to form small and large buildings: walls, ceilings, floors and is engineered to be easy to use, to look beautiful and be functional. Think of a wall that needs a plumbing stack cutout, but it is actually cut at the factory using 3D CAD model files. Elegant and purposeful.

St. Thomas is just South of London, ON and North of Port Stanley, which is where I grew up in the summer, so the opportunity to have a tour and record a podcast was very exciting to me. Chris is a manufacturing professional who has worked with The Cakerie, Armo Tools, Convergix Automation (JMP Automation), and ATS Automation ~ so we have a lot in common, as many of these companies have been my clients before, and we have a lot in common, living nearby.

St. Thomas (aka Railway City) is also the "Rail Capital" of Canada. At one time, St. Thomas had around 25 different railroads that came into the city, and it was, and still is, a major hub of manufacturing. For the large amount of wood that is required, being connected to CP and CN rail line is a game-changer for Element5.

Chris is now the CEO of Element5 (a member of the HASSLACHER group) and oversees the entire operation, including a 350-square-foot facility with sanding, pressing, CNC cutting, RF pressing, gluing, laminating, X-ray, vision inspection, material handling, and staff and sales.

The build of the operation took place during covid.  The facility was recently expanded substantially in September of 2025 from 137,000 square feet to over 350,000 square feet, adding in a full Glulam production line, and a two-storey mass timber front office. This expansion also doubled the production of the facility from 50,000 cubic meters to 100,000 cubic meters annually of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued-laminated timber (Glulam) products..

Keywords: Dimensional lumber, Engineered lumber, Mass Timber, Element5, St. Thomas, Messenger Freight, Artificial Intelligence. CLT Cross Laminated Timber, Glue Lamination, Build Canada, Canadian Wood Council.

For background information here, see: Element5 Mass Timber Celebrates Grand Opening of Expanded Manufacturing Plant in St. Thomas, Ontario - Element5

Thanks to Diana Tamblyn, Mira Grkavac, and my friends at MPI who did the early connect.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-latour-5a5a044

www.Element5.co for some wonderful pictures!

1 888-670-7713

If you would like to get in touch with us at THE robot industry podcast, you can find me, Jim Beretta on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimberetta/

Today’s podcast was produced by Customer Attraction Industrial Marketing and I would like to thank my team: Chris Gray for the music, Geoffrey Bremner for audio production and my business partner Janet.

Be safe out there!

Jim

Jim Beretta

Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast

London, ON

I had the pleasure of recording an episode with Stan Gleizer, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Integrators and OEMs. He works for Mecademic Industrial Robotics and is based in Montreal.

With a background in mechatronics and over a decade of experience in aerospace and automotive robotics, Stan has spent his career working on high-precision systems involving vision, force feedback, and micron-level motion. That path led him to Mecademic, a Montreal-based robot manufacturer purpose-built for microautomation.

Together, they explore how Mecademic is rethinking industrial robotics for applications where space, precision, and system simplicity matter more than brute force. From electronics and medical devices to optics and photonics, Mecademic robots are enabling automation in environments traditional robots were never designed to handle.

You’ll hear about:

Stan also shares insights on Mecademic’s North American manufacturing, global expansion, and what makes a strong integrator partnership in high-precision automation.

I would like to mention A3: the Association for Advancing Automation. they are the leading automation trade association for robotics, vision and imaging, motion control and motors and the industrial artificial intelligence technologies.  Visit Automate dot org to learn more.

If you would like to get in touch with us at THE robot industry podcast, you can find me, Jim Beretta on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimberetta/

Today’s podcast was produced by Customer Attraction Industrial Marketing and I would like to thank my team: Chris Gray for the music, Geoffrey Bremner for audio production and my business partner Janet.

Be safe out there!

Jim

Jim Beretta

Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast

London, ON

If you have been a listener to The Robot Industry Podcast, then you already know Geoffrey Bremner. His fingerprints are all over our podcast. He is my audio engineer, but he is more than that; he is a friend, a supplier, and a neighbour.

Geoff is a true geek, loves recording music and podcasts.

Welcome to Automation Matters Podcast with me, Jim Beretta.

Have a listen.

Jim

Notes:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreybremner

https://linktr.ee/gbaudio

I would like to introduce you to my NEW podcast called Automation Matters. In Automation Matters, we are going to concentrate on the front of the house in the automation business. The people who interface, who plan and who provide services, to the companies that build and deploy automation and robotics. 

This podcast will be about marketing, sales, strategy, business development, customer attraction and strategies for growing your automation business. 

We will look at big trends and micro trends, best practices and things I learned helping grow one the largest automation integrators in the industry.

A few of our first podcasts for automation matters will be on CRM, marketing, and yes, even podcasting. We will look at some of the common mistakes and clever ways that companies differentiate themselves in the industry.

My feedback channel is open and you can message me at the email [email protected] or reach out to me on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening and for subscribing.

Jim

Jim Beretta

Welcome to episode #153. I was lucky to meet up with Tarek Rahim in Windsor, ON, at the Emerging Technologies in Automation conference. The conference also highlights Mobility Transportation. I wish to thank the team at Emerging Technologies for getting me involved in the day.

You can find out more about the organizers (Invest Windsor Essex) at https://www.emergingtechnologies.ca/ or at https://www.investwindsoressex.com/.

If you have not heard of Tarek or Mirsee Robotics, they have built a humanoid robot for use at work, think "end of line" in factories also think pick and place. Their robot is named MH3, and boasts a 10-hour charge. The robot is designed and manufactured in Cambridge, Ontario.

Humanoids are poised to address labour shortages, enhancing safety, and driving economic prosperity. Mirsee robots allow skilled operators remote access to hazardous environments, while providing a safe and cost-effective alternative to traditional human labour.

https://mirsee.com

I would like to mention A3: the Association for Advancing Automation. they are the leading automation trade association for robotics, vision and imaging, motion control and motors and the industrial artificial intelligence technologies.  Visit Automate dot org to learn more.

If you would like to get in touch with us at THE robot industry podcast, you can find me, Jim Beretta on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimberetta/

Today’s podcast was produced by Customer Attraction Industrial Marketing and I would like to thank my team: Chris Gray for the music, Geoffrey Bremner for audio production and my business partner Janet.

Warm Regards and continued success for 2026!

Jim

Jim Beretta

Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast

London, ON