Manufacturing AUTOMATION’s future leaders: Meet Adam Keller

The future of the manufacturing and automation technology sector looks bright.

Armed with a strong work ethic, initiative, curiosity and a commitment to innovation, the winners of our inaugural Top 10 Under 40 program are setting the bar for young professionals across the industry. 

Whether they work in leadership, operations, maintenance, sales, support or research, these industry professionals are highly regarded by their colleagues, clients and peers.

To highlight the achievements of each individual selected for the Top 10 Under 40 list, Manufacturing AUTOMATION will feature one of 2022’s winners every week for the next 10 weeks. Nominations for the 2023 contest open at the end of the year.

This week, we introduce Adam Keller, project engineer at Konnexio in London, Ont. 

Adam Keller has been a part of Konnexio for around three years now. In a relatively short time with the company, he has worked in and has had a great impact on various automation and robotics projects. His passion for automation comes from being able to impact a variety of industries. 

Adam started as a mechanical designer for automation systems. When Konnexio pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic, he was instrumental in developing robotics for greenhouses. 

Starting from mechanical design he also assisted heavily in the controls development and has now taken on the complete project engineering for the entire robotics platform. He has guided a team to deliver the company’s first greenhouse robot in only nine months to a customer for initial testing. 

Adam is now leading a team to implement additional features and capabilities so that the robot is able to deliver further value to the company’s customers.

“I plan to be a road map to automation for many companies that may not have even considered automation before meeting with me. I strive to solve problems for any manufacturer and industry, but that starts at home. I would like automation to allow Canada to overcome labour concerns and keep Canadian production a viable option,” says Adam.

When asked about his passion for working in this industry, he adds, “My passion in automation comes from being able to impact in such a variety of industries. At Konnexio, I have been fortunate enough to be a part of projects across multiple industries, including food and beverage, automotive, and agriculture. Lately, these opportunities have come from the needs of companies local to south-western Ontario. These local companies tend to be small to medium-sized businesses and, in many cases, our team is implementing the first piece of automation in the facility. It is an exciting time in the industry to show that automation is accessible for businesses of all sizes. Second, operators working in a company with little or no automation generally tend to be victims of strain from working on monotonous, repetitive tasks day after day. We aim to end that monotony and free operators up to focus on more meaningful tasks. Automation offers solutions for both a company’s bottom line and the work-life of its employees.”