Artesian invests in Brisbane-based Australian Droid and Robot

A big investor is backing the Brisbane robotics firm that hit the headlines this year for helping save a small US mining town from economic collapse.

Venture capital firm Artesian has emerged as a key investor in Australian Droid and Robot (ADR), the Brisbane firm that hit the headlines this year for helping save a small US mining town from economic collapse.

Sydney-based Artesian has made a “significant” investment in ADR that will allow it to meet growing demand for mining and defence robotics. Both firms declined to confirm the size of the investment.

ADR co-founder Joe Cronin says the company is currently in the start-up phase of its operations, but it has the potential to change mining in terms of safety and efficiency.

The company earlier this year used 10 of its robots to carry out vital safety inspections after a huge explosion 1.7km underground at a century-old limestone mine in Tennessee.

The successful mission guaranteed the 700-plus community of Crab Orchard could continue to make a living. None of the 21 employees at the mine operated by Lhoist North America were injured in the disaster which unleashed a catastrophic airblast travelling at 290km/h.

Without the unmanned robots, the mine would have remained shut because it wasn’t safe for humans to inspect, crippling the economy of the nearby small town in the process.

Founded in 2013, ADR boasts it is at the cutting edge of automation in the mining sector improving both safety and profitability for mine operators.

Cronin says the Artesian investment marks a huge step forward in its evolution from emerging business to key player in the mining technology industry in Australia and abroad.

ADR grew out of a desire to reduce the risk of workplace injuries, even in traditionally dangerous areas, including mines, caves, marine and remote environments.

Brisbane technology company Australian Droid and Robot helped save an entire town in the US from economic collapse by helping reopen a shuttered mine. Engineer Andrea Preller pictured with the equipment that helped the town.

Safety First

Kudos to Queensland beef producer Australian Country Choice (ACC), which last week picked up two major national workplace health and safety awards for its work in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

ACC chief executive Anthony Lee accepted the top award for leadership at the prestigious National Safety Awards of Excellence, held in Melbourne.

The company also received a highly commended award in the communications category, again for its response to the Covid threat. Lee says the awards are for everyone who helped develop, roll-out, lead and communicate safety during Covid.

The judges recognised ACC’s initiatives in protecting staff across the entire supply chain, incorporating 4.5m acres over 42 sites across rural and metropolitan Queensland, as well as maintaining communications to 1500 staff of more than 60 nationalities.

Advised by medical experts and supported by the ACC executive team, Lee oversaw 18 months of Covid-19 mitigation that included all-staff vaccinations and RAT-testing, customised PPE masks and personalised point-of-contact tracing technology.

Company-wide support for thee measures saw ACC lose no production days due to the pandemic. “Our staff were confident they could attend work because they felt safe. They recognised they were working in a virus-free environment,” Lee says.

Anthony Lee

Cut Above

Tributes continue to flow in for Brisbane barber Ross Coco who has announced his retirement after a half a century cutting the hair of judges, lawyers, business people and even a few journalists. One of Coco’s first customers, now 89-years-old, recalls his first visit to his salon in Queen St. “I arrived in Brisbane in early 1972 and I asked about a barber,” the customer says. “Your name came up and the rest is history. I was one of your first clients and shared many laughs and a joke. I always left  with a big smile and a good feeling. I treasured your friendship and I was sorry when I could not get into town these last 12 months. I am 89, very slow and break wind very loudly so could not dare enter your historic salon.” We hear Coco will still be doing home visits for select customers.

Barber Ross Coco