Contact Information

Canada

Head Office
Rail-Veyor Technologies Global Inc.
40 Larch Street, Unit 201
Sudbury, ON P3E 5M7
Toll Free: 1-844-288-0450
Office: 1-705-682-0450

United States

Regional Office
Rail-Veyor Tech Center
402 E. Sharon Avenue
Houghton, MI 49931
Toll Free: 1-844-288-0450


Follow Railveyor on LinkedIn Follow Railveyor on LinkedIn.

Our Mission

Railveyor's mission is to provide a smart material movement solution that safely and efficiently generates value for the mining industry.


The Mission That Drives Railveyor

Our Values

  • Safety

    Safety


    Advancing a culture for a safe environment for our people, our customers and the planet

  • Integrity

    Integrity

    Integrity


    Conducting business with honesty, ethics, and transparency

  • Customer Focus

    Customer Focus


    Customer centric focus in decision making, ensuring continued customer success.

  • Community

    Community

    Community


    Providing an inclusive, safe, collaborative and diverse workplace of choice

  • Innovation

    Innovation

    Innovation


    Be the market leader through smart, profitable and innovative solutions and business practices

  • Sustainability

    Sustainability

    Sustainability


    Operating in an environmentally responsible way to enable the mining industry to meet carbon reduction targets

The Values We Live
and Breathe

Safety


Advancing a culture for a safe environment for our people, our customers and the planet

Integrity


Conducting business with honesty, ethics, and transparency

Customer Focus


Customer centric focus in decision making, ensuring continued customer success.

Community


Providing an inclusive, safe, collaborative and diverse workplace of choice

Innovation


Be the market leader through smart, profitable and innovative solutions and business practices

Sustainability


Operating in an environmentally responsible way to enable the mining industry to meet carbon reduction targets

diversity, equity & inclusion

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion


At Railveyor, we are committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) workplace culture that goes beyond being just a corporate priority—it’s at the core of our vision for sustainable mining solutions worldwide. We firmly believe that embracing diversity is not only crucial for our future growth and progress but also instrumental in unleashing the untapped potential within our workforce, driving innovation and fostering sustainable development.

We understand that true success thrives in an environment where new ideas are nurtured—a space enriched by diverse perspectives and experiences. At Railveyor, we cherish the belief that diversity not only strengthens our organization but also leads to positive societal outcomes. By making diversity a cornerstone of our organizational values, we are better equipped to integrate equitable and inclusive principles into every aspect of our planning and design processes, thereby delivering holistic and community-minded solutions.

Diverse perspectives have developed Railveyor throughout our nearly two decade-long history – invented by an engineer from the U.S., commercialized by a Canadian businessperson, revitalized by a former railroad executive and self-taught engineer, and accelerated by a global METS investment group. As each individual or group passes the baton of leadership, fresh insights are sparked to enhance the business, product and service. As we continue expanding into global markets and build an even more widely distributed team, encouraging and leveraging diversity of perspectives will continue to be integral to the way we do business.

To accomplish our DEI mission, we have united under a purpose-driven platform, dedicated to enhancing the social fabric of our practice both internally and externally. We are resolute in our commitment to creating a workplace that values every individual, fosters collaboration, and champions sustainability in the mining industry. Together, we endeavor to build a better, more inclusive world, one responsible and mindful step at a time.

Board of Directors

  • Charles Gillies
    Executive Chairman of the Board since 2023

    Charles Gillies
    Director since 2021


    Mr. Gillies has been a Director at RCF Jolimont since 2013. He co-founded Jolimont Capital in 2003, completing 30 technology investments. His focus is working with management teams on financings, restructurings, and marketing.

    Charles has 21 years of private equity experience working with management teams on financings, restructurings, and marketing. Prior roles include membership of investment committees, consulting, marketing, and corporate advisory. Charles also has direct experience of start-ups as CEO and founder of an Internet service business in 1999. For 2 years, Charles was a guest lecturer in Strategic Management at Deakin University.

    He also lectured and was a taskforce member for five years in the Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment for the Securities Institute of Australia.

    Charles has an MBA from the Melbourne Business School where he was the HJ Heinz Scholar in 1991, is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and has a Bachelor of Science/Arts from the University of Melbourne.

  • Jim Fisk
    Director since 2023

    Jim Fisk
    Director since 2023


    Mr. Fisk brings over 40 years of experience with engineering, manufacturing, and entrepreneurial companies in railroad and railroad related industries. Jim is a tireless, practical problem solver and dares us all to ask: “What if we succeed?”

    Prior to this, Jim was the Vice President and Chief Mechanical Officer for Kansas City Southern Railroad from 2003 to 2005 and again in 2009 to 2010. In the intervening years, he was the Vice President of Continuous Improvement at locomotive manufacturer Electro Motive Diesel.

    Before that, Jim held various positions of executive leadership for companies such National Railway Equipment Co, Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp, and Milwaukee Road.

    Jim is the only American to ever hold a board seat at the European Railway Commission (UIC) – Mechanical Division. He was formerly the Adviser to the University of Sheffield Railway engineering School.

    Jim is a director at several privately held companies and has worked across the globe.

  • Michelle Ash
    Director since 2020

     

    Michelle Ash
    Director since 2020


    Ms. Ash has over two decades of experience in the mining and manufacturing sectors with a focus on business improvement and change management. Within the mining sector, she is a thought leader in Innovation Strategy, Technology, and Digital Transformation.

    Michelle joined OZ Minerals in March 2022 as Technology Executive, accountable for information and communications technology.

    Prior to this, Michelle was CEO of Dassault Systems GEOVIA software division and was also previously Chief Innovation Officer at Barrick Gold.

    As Chair of the Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG), Michelle has helped develop best practices for the implementation of technology and socially enabled changes in the mining industry. She advises start-ups including Petra Data Science, OffWorld, Behault, Descartes Labs and MineSpider.

    She began her career as a blasting engineer with Rio Tinto and has held operational roles in mining companies and across commodities.

    • 2016: Named one of “100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining” by Women in Mining UK
    • 2019: Technology Innovator of the Year Award by Mines and Technology
    • Degree in Civil Engineering & Executive MBA, Melbourne Business School.
    • Degree in Psychology, Deakin University.

    Follow Michelle on Twitter: MichelleAsh18

  • Lex McArthur
    Director since 2021

    Lex McArthur
    Director since 2021


    Mr. McArthur joined RCF Jolimont in 2013. Prior to that, he co-founded Jolimont Capital in 2003, completing 30 technology investments. His strengths are in deal structuring, transaction negotiation and business strategies.

    Lex works actively in developing growth and exit strategies with each of his investee companies and in guiding and mentoring the CEOs and senior management. He is a director of indurad GmbH, and was a director of Blast Movement Technologies, sold to Hexagon Mining in 2020, and Minnovare, sold to Hexagon Mining in 2022.

    Prior to founding Jolimont Capital, Lex was CEO of ADI, a technology seed investor whose shareholders included Ernst & Young. Previously, he was CEO of Emerge CMC Ltd, a joint venture between leading IT vendors including Oracle, NEC, Telstra and four major universities to commercialize online and multimedia business applications.

    Lex’s professional experience and contacts span a range of industry sectors including investment, IT, and mining. It includes two start-up IT businesses that Lex founded and operated between 1992 and 1996. His mining industry experience includes time as a Mining Engineer at Mt Isa in Queensland.

    Lex has a B. Eng. (Hons) from the University of Melbourne, a Post Grad Dip in Mineral Economics and is a FINSIA Associate.

  • Thomas Rissman
    Director since 2011

    Thomas Rissman
    Director since 2011


    Mr. Rissman works as a corporate lawyer headquarted in Chicago, Illinois. He currently serves on the boards of several companies working in the surface transportation industry in North America.

    In addition to Railveyor, Mr. Rissman has served as a director of numerous public and private companies, including Electro-Motive Diesel, Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation, English Welsh & Scottish Railways, Tranz Rail Holdings, Australian Transport Network, Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, Gateway Western Railroad, Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, Hallcrest, ShopperTrak RCT Corporation, and Excalibur Technology Corporation.

    • 1979: Graduated from Cornell University
    • 1982: Graduated from the Law School at the University of Chicago

Board of Directors


 

Charles Gillies
Director since 2021


Mr. Gillies has been a Director at RCF Jolimont since 2013. He co-founded Jolimont Capital in 2003, completing 30 technology investments. His focus is working with management teams on financings, restructurings, and marketing.

Charles has 21 years of private equity experience working with management teams on financings, restructurings, and marketing. Prior roles include membership of investment committees, consulting, marketing, and corporate advisory. Charles also has direct experience of start-ups as CEO and founder of an Internet service business in 1999. For 2 years, Charles was a guest lecturer in Strategic Management at Deakin University.

He also lectured and was a taskforce member for five years in the Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment for the Securities Institute of Australia.

Charles has an MBA from the Melbourne Business School where he was the HJ Heinz Scholar in 1991, is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and has a Bachelor of Science/Arts from the University of Melbourne.

Jim Fisk
Director since 2023


Mr. Fisk brings over 40 years of experience with engineering, manufacturing, and entrepreneurial companies in railroad and railroad related industries. Jim is a tireless, practical problem solver and dares us all to ask: “What if we succeed?”

Prior to this, Jim was the Vice President and Chief Mechanical Officer for Kansas City Southern Railroad from 2003 to 2005 and again in 2009 to 2010. In the intervening years, he was the Vice President of Continuous Improvement at locomotive manufacturer Electro Motive Diesel.

Before that, Jim held various positions of executive leadership for companies such National Railway Equipment Co, Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp, and Milwaukee Road.

Jim is the only American to ever hold a board seat at the European Railway Commission (UIC) – Mechanical Division. He was formerly the Adviser to the University of Sheffield Railway engineering School.

Jim is a director at several privately held companies and has worked across the globe.

Michelle Ash
Director since 2020


Ms. Ash has over two decades of experience in the mining and manufacturing sectors with a focus on business improvement and change management. Within the mining sector, she is a thought leader in Innovation Strategy, Technology, and Digital Transformation.

Michelle joined OZ Minerals in March 2022 as Technology Executive, accountable for information and communications technology.

Prior to this, Michelle was CEO of Dassault Systems GEOVIA software division and was also previously Chief Innovation Officer at Barrick Gold.

As Chair of the Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG), Michelle has helped develop best practices for the implementation of technology and socially enabled changes in the mining industry. She advises start-ups including Petra Data Science, OffWorld, Behault, Descartes Labs and MineSpider.

She began her career as a blasting engineer with Rio Tinto and has held operational roles in mining companies and across commodities.

  • 2016: Named one of “100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining” by Women in Mining UK
  • 2019: Technology Innovator of the Year Award by Mines and Technology
  • Degree in Civil Engineering & Executive MBA, Melbourne Business School.
  • Degree in Psychology, Deakin University.

Follow Michelle on Twitter: MichelleAsh18

Lex McArthur
Director since 2021


Mr. McArthur joined RCF Jolimont in 2013. Prior to that, he co-founded Jolimont Capital in 2003, completing 30 technology investments. His strengths are in deal structuring, transaction negotiation and business strategies.

Lex works actively in developing growth and exit strategies with each of his investee companies and in guiding and mentoring the CEOs and senior management. He is a director of indurad GmbH, and was a director of Blast Movement Technologies, sold to Hexagon Mining in 2020, and Minnovare, sold to Hexagon Mining in 2022.

Prior to founding Jolimont Capital, Lex was CEO of ADI, a technology seed investor whose shareholders included Ernst & Young. Previously, he was CEO of Emerge CMC Ltd, a joint venture between leading IT vendors including Oracle, NEC, Telstra and four major universities to commercialize online and multimedia business applications.

Lex’s professional experience and contacts span a range of industry sectors including investment, IT, and mining. It includes two start-up IT businesses that Lex founded and operated between 1992 and 1996. His mining industry experience includes time as a Mining Engineer at Mt Isa in Queensland.

Lex has a B. Eng. (Hons) from the University of Melbourne, a Post Grad Dip in Mineral Economics and is a FINSIA Associate.

Thomas Rissman
Director since 2011


Mr. Rissman works as a corporate lawyer headquarted in Chicago, Illinois. He currently serves on the boards of several companies working in the surface transportation industry in North America.

In addition to Railveyor, Mr. Rissman has served as a director of numerous public and private companies, including Electro-Motive Diesel, Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation, English Welsh & Scottish Railways, Tranz Rail Holdings, Australian Transport Network, Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, Gateway Western Railroad, Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, Hallcrest, ShopperTrak RCT Corporation, and Excalibur Technology Corporation.

  • 1979: Graduated from Cornell University
  • 1982: Graduated from the Law School at the University of Chicago

Leadership

  • Tas Mohamed
    Interim Chief Executive Officer

    Tas Mohamed
    Interim Chief Executive Officer


    Based in Toronto, Tas Mohamed brings over 35 years of finance & accounting experience to Railveyor. Tas has held executive leadership positions in the functional areas of Finance, Legal and IT. Prior to working at Railveyor, Tas acted as the CFO for a global architecture firm spanning Asia, North America, and the Middle East. She also notably served as Vice President of Finance for Votorantim Cimentos & Aggregates, as well as the publicly traded Aecon Group Inc.

    Tas holds an MBA in Finance and Accounting from UCAM and a Postgraduate in Business Management from Cambridge, U.K. She is a member of CMI, U.K., and completed a company-sponsored Executive Strategic Leadership program at the Ivey Business School in Ontario. Tas has lived and worked in Canada, UAE, and South Africa.

  • Stephen Heighway
    Vice President, Procurement & Logistics

    Stephen Heighway
    Vice President, Procurement & Logistics


    Stephen has been with Railveyor for 5 years and has spent his career in heavy manufacturing.

  • Russ Pietila
    Vice President, Product Development

    Russ Pietila
    Vice President, Product Development


    Russ holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University with 22 years of experience focused in the machine design and manufacturing. He has worked for Rail-Veyor for 16 years, the first 12 years as a supplier, joined RVTG in Oct 2017. His career started as a Design Engineer in the automotive industry designing welding and assembly lines for major automobile manufacturers. Just prior to joining Railveyor, Russ was a principal in an 3D Consulting Group, LLC for 13 years working in the medical device & instrumentation, heavy equipment, and machine design industries. The customer base included several repeat customers that manufactured and marketed: welding and assembly equipment, manufacturing equipment, concrete laser screeds, heavy duty gearboxes, Pilates exercise equipment, and spinal implants and instrumentation along with RVTG’s material haulage system.

  • Tim Wiitanen
    Vice President, Project Engineering

    Tim Wiitanen
    Vice President, Project Engineering


    Tim has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineer degree with 27 years of experience in the engineering field. He joined RVTG in October of 2017 as Manager, Systems Design and Engineering. In April of 2019 he was promoted to Director, and in April of 2021 promoted to his current position. Prior to his hiring at RVTG, he was a General Member of 3D Consulting Group, LLC, which provided RVTG with engineering services since RVTG’s start up. During this time, he was also involved with projects in many different industries including automotive and medical tooling. He also spent 2-1/2 years as a liaison engineer working in the defense industry working on military aircraft with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

  • Eric Zanetti
    Vice President, Operations

    Eric Zanetti
    Vice President, Operations


    Based in Sudbury, Ontario, Eric Zanetti has been a member of the Railveyor team since 2011. His education in Electrical Engineering Technology underpins his expertise in automation and project management. Eric has played a key role in developing, installing, and commissioning numerous Railveyor systems globally.

Leadership Team


 

Tas Mohamed
Interim Chief Executive Officer


Based in Toronto, Tas Mohamed brings over 35 years of finance & accounting experience to Railveyor. Tas has held executive leadership positions in the functional areas of Finance, Legal and IT. Prior to working at Railveyor, Tas acted as the CFO for a global architecture firm spanning Asia, North America, and the Middle East. She also notably served as Vice President of Finance for Votorantim Cimentos & Aggregates, as well as the publicly traded Aecon Group Inc.

Tas holds an MBA in Finance and Accounting from UCAM and a Postgraduate in Business Management from Cambridge, U.K. She is a member of CMI, U.K., and completed a company-sponsored Executive Strategic Leadership program at the Ivey Business School in Ontario. Tas has lived and worked in Canada, UAE, and South Africa.

Stephen Heighway
Vice President, Procurement & Logistics


Stephen has been with Railveyor for 5 years and has spent his career in heavy manufacturing.

Russ Pietila
Vice President, Product Development


Russ holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University with 22 years of experience focused in the machine design and manufacturing. He has worked for Rail-Veyor for 16 years, the first 12 years as a supplier, joined RVTG in Oct 2017. His career started as a Design Engineer in the automotive industry designing welding and assembly lines for major automobile manufacturers. Just prior to joining Railveyor, Russ was a principal in an 3D Consulting Group, LLC for 13 years working in the medical device & instrumentation, heavy equipment, and machine design industries. The customer base included several repeat customers that manufactured and marketed: welding and assembly equipment, manufacturing equipment, concrete laser screeds, heavy duty gearboxes, Pilates exercise equipment, and spinal implants and instrumentation along with RVTG’s material haulage system.

Tim Wiitanen
Vice President, Project Engineering


Tim has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineer degree with 27 years of experience in the engineering field. He joined RVTG in October of 2017 as Manager, Systems Design and Engineering. In April of 2019 he was promoted to Director, and in April of 2021 promoted to his current position. Prior to his hiring at RVTG, he was a General Member of 3D Consulting Group, LLC, which provided RVTG with engineering services since RVTG’s start up. During this time, he was also involved with projects in many different industries including automotive and medical tooling. He also spent 2-1/2 years as a liaison engineer working in the defense industry working on military aircraft with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

Eric Zanetti
Vice President, Operations


Based in Sudbury, Ontario, Eric Zanetti has been a member of the Railveyor team since 2011. His education in Electrical Engineering Technology underpins his expertise in automation and project management. Eric has played a key role in developing, installing, and commissioning numerous Railveyor systems globally.

Our History

Railveyor: A Dream Forestalled is
Now a Model of Mining Efficiency


At this writing in 2021, it has been over a decade since the first commercial application of the Railveyor system was installed at the Phakisa Mine in South Africa (2007). At that site, and at a growing number of other successful installations worldwide, Railveyor Materials Handling systems have hauled many millions of tons of material – making our client mining operations more efficient, cleaner and more profitable along the way. It may look easy looking back over our accomplishments now, but to suggest the road to Railveyor’s success was an easy one would be to ignore significant challenges overcome in the years between.

In fact, the development and commercialization of Railveyor was sparked and enabled by the perseverance of a passionate inventor, survived the tragic passing of an instrumental entrepreneur and was finally catalyzed by a tireless, inspired businessperson.

The first attempt to combine rail and conveyor technology in mine hauling applications was dreamt up at a French state railroad company (SECCAM) in the 1960s. Unfortunately, since the mechanical applications developed at that time required significant improvements and the sophisticated software that drives Railveyor’s modern system was decades from reality, the initial French experiment was destined for obscurity.

A seminal date came at the turn of the millennium when Michigan Tech graduate and engineer Mike Dibble secured a grant from the Florida Institute of Phosphate Research (FIPR) to build, test and demonstrate a system of his design called “Rail-Veyor.”

Although this “backyard” demo system was far smaller in scale than today’s fully commercialized applications, within a few trial runs it proved that the concept of combining rail and conveyors into a single system could remarkably improve energy efficiency in material transport.

Dibble’s academic efforts led to the world’s first commercial installation of Railveyor at Harmony Gold’s Phakisa Mine in South Africa in 2007 – which quickly proved successful, reducing operating costs by a third or more.

Around that time, Mike Dibble enlisted the aid of Canadian entrepreneur Risto Laamanen, who incorporated the business, secured global distribution rights and set up a second test site with Vale S.A. at the Frood Stobie mine in Sudbury, Ontario in 2008. More impressive results there led to a third site at Vale’s Copper Cliff Mine, which became operational in 2012. Tragically, just as the momentum of the business was gaining, Risto Laamanen passed away suddenly in 2009. His passing left majority ownership in Rail-Veyor Technologies Global to his family.

A relative of Risto Laamanen’s had worked with self-taught engineer and successful businessperson Jim Fisk at Electromotive Diesel (later acquired by CAT). As the Railveyor company sat in a state of uncertainty, Jim Fisk flew to Sudbury to observe the test site.

“When I first laid eyes on Railveyor and the engineers told me the energy it was using to move the payload, I didn’t believe them,” laughed Fisk. “I pulled out my calculator and ran the numbers. The result was still unbelievable – I thought I must have entered a wrong value somewhere. But I ran it twice more and the numbers checked out. I’ve been on board ever since, knowing that as good as the system was then – it could be improved and made even more efficient.”

A year later, Jim Fisk became Chairman of the Board of Railveyor. Since that time, multiple commercial applications have successfully been installed in sites as far flung as South America, Kazakhstan and Missouri. Along the way, the Railveyor team has tackled challenges at individual sites, adapting their processes to local conditions and further improving the product – see how in our Case Studies.

“The mining industry talks about how it pursues ‘innovation’,” says Fisk, “But often what they really mean is ‘continuous improvement.’ Traditionally, it’s about small, incremental changes that add up to gradual progress, not truly revolutionary innovation.”

“Railveyor, as it exists now, represents a true revolution in bulk material handling technology,” he said. “And that is not hyperbole. The savings we make possible can not only make mines significantly more efficient and profitable – they can literally save some operations from closure. When you consider that materials handling can make up about 80% of any given mine’s operational costs – well, do the math.”

“And, we’re far from finished,” he continued. “We’re always looking for new ways to improve the system. The best way to find those opportunities is to closely partner with our customers, addressing their unique operational needs in practical, concrete ways that lead to real-world results. Of course, we always strive to go above and beyond and deliver unexpected improvements and surprising solutions.”

With its conceptual roots stretching back to a past when its developers were largely unaware of the challenges of the present, Railveyor is a big step into the future of bulk material handling for the mining industry – and likely other industries, as well. With decades of hard work and ingenuity applied to a novel system, Railveyor offers an ESG-friendly solution that dramatically improves efficiency and profitability. Contact us today to take that step into the future of material handling technology.

How Can We Help You

Let’s get moving.

Questions? We would love to hear from you! Fill out the form and one of our experts will be in touch within 24 hours.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.