Date: May 20, 2013 Author: Marie Szaniszlo Source: Boston Herald (
click here to go to the source)
Bedford-based iRobot's $7.2 million in new contracts to provide security and defense robots for a series of high-profile, upcoming events in Brazil marks the latest sign of growing trade between Massachusetts and South America.
The pioneering firm will send about 30 PackBot robots to provide public safety support to the Brazilian government in advance of July's papal visit, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
"This is obviously very significant for us," said Tim Trainer, vice president of robotics products international. "We've delivered more than 4,500 PackBots around the world, largely to the U.S. military to counteract the very real threat of IEDs. But the drawdown in Afghanistan is causing us to look at other markets — international markets, police — that might need our technology."
Greg Bialecki, Massachusetts' secretary of housing and economic development, said the contracts the Brazilian government awarded to iRobot are one example of how the Latin American economies are advancing to the point where they want and can afford to use technology developed in the Bay State.
Brazil's economy is now the seventh-largest in the world, and the country is Massachusetts' 16th largest export partner and 17th largest import partner, with $220.8 million in goods and services coming here from Brazil last year and $443.1 million in goods and services going there.
In December 2011, Gov. Deval Patrick attended the groundbreaking of Hopkinton-based EMC's new research and development center in Rio de Janeiro on a trade mission to Brazil and Chile.
Covidien, a medical device company based in Mansfield, also has business operations in South America, while Hub-based Bioarray Therapeutics was co-founded in 2009 by a Brazilian scientist.
The business connections between Massachusetts and Latin America stand to get even stronger starting this summer when Copa Airlines will offer the first daily nonstop service from Boston to Panama City, with connections to 57 other destinations in Latin America.
