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One of Canada’s true success stories in the fields of engineering, automation, and manufacturing, Scott Gravelle is best known as the founder and CEO of Attabotics, a Calgary, Alberta-based robotics firm that specializes in automated storage and retrieval systems and inventory management systems. Established in 2016, the company develops and builds smart robots that work within a modular, 3-dimensional storage system designed to substantially reduce the space required by conventional warehouses and fulfillment centers.

Early life

Scott Gravelle grew up in a working class household in Calgary. In his youth, it was made plain to him that he was expected to pursue a trade for a career, and so he initially studied cabinet making, following in the footsteps of his aunts and uncles. Later, he would switch his focus to the medical profession, becoming a physician’s assistant. Here, he was inspired to become a surgeon, and so he joined the Canadian Armed Forces, aiming to take advantage of the medical training offered by that institution. Gravelle became an army medic, but after a round of military budget cuts, he was laid off, and so enrolled in the University of Calgary to study nursing science.

Career

After graduating, Scott Gravelle discovered the healthcare system was also in the midst of a major round of cuts and consequently was not hiring any new nurses. In need of work, he re-entered the cabinet making business, only this time in California, crafting high-end interior work. Time passed, and he was offered a role as an accounts manager with a cabinetry company, simultaneously designing pieces commissioned by clients.

During this time, Gravelle was quietly harbouring a desire to become an entrepreneur, and in 2008, he realized that long-held dream, turning what was until that point a hobby into a new profession, and launching the company Sayshun Longboards. However, manufacturing and selling longboards proved to be a niche market and a seasonal one, at that, so after five years of building up Sayshun, he folded the company. Even still, at its height, the company was the fifth largest of its kind in the world.

For his next venture, he started a consultancy, taking what he had learned about automating manufacturing processes at Sayshun and implementing it to a host of client businesses. One day, after calling a robotics firm for parts, he learned that they had just been bought by Amazon for $775 million. This fact sparked his interest in supply chain and warehouse automation, and eventually led to his idea for Attabotics. He spent the next two years thinking and carefully planning his next moves before founding the company in 2016.

Since its inception, Attabotics has found a great deal of success through integrating order picking, packing, and shipping into a single solution, consisting of four interconnected systems: a compact, cube-based storage structure, intelligent vertical-and-horizontal robots, modular workstations, and a custom software platform that orchestrates the entire operation. The company entered into a long-term partnership with Microsoft in 2019, and the following year received a $34 million investment from the Government of Canada. In 2022, the company made substantial inroads into the American, Asian, and European markets, as well.

Over the years, the company has also been honoured with many accolades, including one of its products being mentioned in Time Magazine’s 2019 list of best inventions, the firm itself being named to CNBC’s 2020 list of 50 disruptor companies, and winning a BIG Innovation Award as presented by the Business Intelligence Group in 2022, among others. Individually, 2019, Scott Gravelle received the Arthur J.E. Child Award Foundation Innovation Award from the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Association in recognition of his many accomplishments.

Net Worth

Information about Scott Gravelle’s net worth is not currently available to the public.

Achievement

Founding Sayshun Longboards in 2008, and building it into the fifth largest longboard manufacturer in the world.
Founding Attabotics in 2016.
Entering Attabotics into a partnership with Microsoft in 2019.
Presiding over Attabotics as one of its products was named to Time Magazine’s 2019 list of best inventions, and the company itself was named to CNBC’s 2020 list of 50 disruptor companies.
Earning a $34 million investment from the Canadian government for Attabotics in 2020.
Winning the Arthur J.E. Child Award Foundation Innovation Award as presented by the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Association in 2019.
Earning a BIG Innovation Award for Attabotics, as presented by the Business Intelligence Group in 2022.