The Robot Industry Podcast

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.
Element5 is located at 70 Dennis Road, St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 0B6

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

www.Element5.co for some wonderful pictures!

1 888-670-7713
[email protected]

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 Rob...

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:

Why Mecademic robots are designed specifically for microautomation

What makes ultra-compact six-axis robots viable in space-constrained systems

How embedded controllers and no external teach pendants simplify cell architecture

The difference between precision, repeatability, resolution, and accuracy, and why it matters

How some manufacturers treat robots as swap-and-go spare parts to minimize downtime

Where Mecademic robots overlap with, and go beyond, hexapods in high-precision applications

How system integrators use Mecademic to access medical, photonics, and electronics markets

What the Mecademic Approved Integrator Program offers and who it’s built for

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.
I look forward to connecting with you on the automation matters podcast and If you’re interested in participating please reach out to me, Jim Beretta on LinkedIn...https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimberetta/

Thanks for listening and for subscribing.

Jim

Jim Beretta
Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast, Automation Matters Podcast with Jim Beretta
London, ON
[email protected]

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.

31 degrees of freedom

Wireless Charging

Best in class Hands

Best in class Arms

Inherently Stable

Highest Payload Mobile Base

Strong but Safe

Power off brakes

Remote Teleop and AI control

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