Godelius is a Chilean company that operates in the fields of teleoperation, robotics, automation and field data collection in mining and other industries. Since January this year, Godelius has been a part of our newest program: Global Hub Innovation Centre.
Our marketing assistant, Gabriela Latief, had a chat with Fernando Bracco, CEO and Founder of Godelius about his decision on making a presence here in Canada.
Why did you join our Global Hub Innovation Centre?
Godelius was created seven years ago with the purpose of being a global entity. Other than Chile, there are two other countries that are dominant in the mining industry, Australia and Canada, which I am both familiar with. The mining industry, in anywhere really, is characterized by a closed community, which means Godelius have to have a physical presence in the area in order to operate there. In that regard, it made sense for us to have an office and a local team in Canada, due to the convenient time zone with Chile and that it takes a shorter duration to travel here.
What I was looking for was a different type of help in comparison to the other programs LatAm Startups is providing. Godelius needs to be present in Canada, and for me to have a local workforce that communicates with the team back in Chile. Furthermore, at this stage, there is no need for me to rush into make big decisions, and just establishing presence in the mining ecosystem here. These are exactly what I need, and what the Global Hub Innovation is able to provide for my company.
I really appreciate the Global Hub Innovation Centre program. It more than just the practical aspect of having an office in Canada. The fact that this type of environment exists, and to define that as an intangible thing of trust, conversations, I do not know exactly, but it is very much valuable for us. It creates on an environment where you can work with ease, and with the support we need.
What is your goal for Godelius?
With the new Industry 4.0, there is plenty opportunities to reap. We do not know how exactly this new industrial revolution will bring us, however I blieve that there is one field that has obvious potential and abundant opportunities: remote operations industry. There are many industries where they are concerned about safety, quality of life and productivity, in which teleoperation can help in addressing the concerns. It is becoming possible to remote operating processes thanks to the new robotics, making it possible to do things that were not possible five years ago. If you accept that remote operation will be a dominant tendency, look for examples where the case is more compelling, which in this case, mining. It is remote, high altitude, hostile, and complicated. Therefore, if you can operate mining from a remote site, you are eliminating enormous amount of problems. The belief is that this trend of interoperability will finally mature and in the mean time we will already have a head start in that.
What we are providing is a compelling global case with no clean competitions currently. These problems can be conquered by arbitrating between local intelligence, artificial intelligence and human intelligence, which is also the design dilemma when creating these machineries.
Godelius would like to be relevant in the developing of the remote operation paradigm in mining. This can possibly change the nature of the mining landscape tremendously, such as an improvement in gender equality.
How was your experience at PDAC?
I have attended PDAC multiple times, as from our perspective, it is an event that we must attend. This is where mining ecosystems from all over the world are present, as well as its important key players. Also, it is slightly political as countries compete for investment. Other than that, the conference is a giant social event to be up to date on the current trends in mining. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada attended the conference, which sure means that it is a very important one for the country.
Canada is a very relevant player in the mining world. The interesting nature of PDAC for us is that we are looking at Canada, instead of Chile. Our pitch during the conference is that we are entering Canada, hence talking to potential partners for us in Sudbury. Export Development Canada (EDC) organized for us a spectacular agenda, provided an office space and arranged meetings with the key players of the Canadian mining ecosystem, and assessed the results of the meetings. EDC’s goal is to help Canadian companies to reach Chile, but they were willing to support us with integrating the other way too.
Godelius Cocktail Party
Godelius created a cocktail party for participant that attended the PDAC that would like to know more about our business. Since the conference was full of people, we invited them for a more private and calmer setting to network. We did not want to send a signal that we are inaugurating in market, we did it to build our presence. Partner, other entrepreneurs and players attended the cocktail party. Michelle Ash , Chairwoman of the Global Mining Guidelines Group also took part in the event, which I was very pleased to spread the word about Godelius with her.
In conclusion, we had high intensity of contacts, potential partnerships and learning from PDAC. By attending the event, we were sending the message that we are here in Canada. As mentioned, since mining community is tight knit, one of the ways insert Godelius in that is through events like this.
Learn more about Godelius: https://www.godelius.com/
More information about Global Hub Innovation Centre: https://latamstartups.org/innovation-centre/
