For LIVIO Building Systems, the answer lies in rethinking how these facilities are delivered. Through its LIVIO AI Data Center Factory (LAIF) platform, the company has positioned itself at the vanguard of rapid AI infrastructure deployment, enabling developers to transform land and power into operational AI compute capacity in a fraction of the time traditionally required.

At its core, LAIF is a pre-engineered, multi-trade panelized building system designed specifically for AI data centers. The approach combines LIVIO’s modular wall and roof panels with integrated electrical and plumbing infrastructure, allowing structures to be assembled on site with remarkable speed. The system is designed to support scalable modules ranging from 20 megawatts to more than a gigawatt of capacity, accommodating the massive computing loads required by modern AI systems.

In practical terms, the LAIF approach condenses what would typically be a multi-year development cycle into mere months. Using standardized components shipped directly to the project site and assembled in a LEGO® brick-like manner, the building shell can be delivered in roughly 45 days, with hardware and rack installation following shortly thereafter. A complete AI data center can be converted from “land to compute” in as little as 99 days.

Engineering the next generation of AI infrastructure
The concept builds on LIVIO’s established panelized construction system, which has been evolving rapidly in recent years. In fact, since the company was last featured in Construction in Focus in 2024, two new generations of its building system have been introduced.

Generation 2.0 enhanced LIVIO’s original panelized platform by integrating structural sheathing into wall assemblies and incorporating plumbing and electrical infrastructure directly into the panels themselves. Founder and CEO Navneet Aron says the upgrade dramatically increased the completeness of the company’s off-site manufactured components.

Shortly afterward, Generation 3.0 launched as a fully closed-wall system designed to arrive on site essentially ready for finishing. With the interior surfaces prepared for painting and exterior surfaces ready to accept dry cladding systems, customers can move almost immediately from installation into the finishing phase.

These improvements laid the groundwork for LAIF, which adapts the same manufacturing philosophy specifically for high-performance AI data center environments.

“AI infrastructure is one of the fastest-growing construction segments in the world,” Aron explains. “The challenge is that traditional construction timelines simply cannot keep up with the demand for compute capacity.”

Solving the bottleneck
The surge in generative AI and large-scale machine learning has triggered unprecedented investment in digital infrastructure. Hyperscale technology companies and specialized developers are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into new facilities, yet the pace of construction remains a major constraint. For many developers, the building itself—not the chips or cooling systems—has become the biggest bottleneck.

This is precisely where LAIF can make an impact. By fabricating building components off-site and assembling them quickly on location, LIVIO’s system dramatically reduces the labor requirements and construction time typically associated with large-scale data centers.

In one recent project in Ohio, LIVIO and its partners demonstrated the potential of this approach, delivering a fully operational AI data center facility within weeks of the project’s initiation. The speed and efficiency of that deployment led the developer to commit to using LIVIO systems across its broader project portfolio.

The LAIF platform also incorporates design features tailored to AI workloads, including compatibility with high-density racks, advanced cooling systems, and integrated infrastructure for power distribution and monitoring.

A platform built for global scale
While AI infrastructure has become the company’s most prominent offering, LIVIO’s building systems continue to serve a diverse range of applications, from residential and commercial developments to specialized structures with enhanced security features. Still, the explosive growth of AI computing is shaping the company’s global strategy. In recent months, LIVIO has seen strong demand not only across the United States but also from developers in the Middle East and other emerging markets eager to build new infrastructure quickly. Saudi Arabia has been one of the first regions where the company has engaged with major development groups, while opportunities are also emerging in parts of Africa and Asia.

As word spreads about the efficiency of its systems, Aron says developers are increasingly drawn to the company’s combination of precision, speed, and cost control.

“A developer anywhere in the world wants the same thing,” he says. “They want to build accurately, quickly, and predictably. Our system makes that possible.”

Reimagining how the world builds
Beyond speed, the company’s technology addresses several structural challenges facing the construction sector. Labor shortages continue to affect markets worldwide, while traditional building methods often struggle with delays, cost overruns, and inconsistent quality. LIVIO’s panelized system reduces on-site labor requirements by as much as 80 to 90 percent while delivering construction accuracy within one-eighth of an inch, Aron says.

“Our mission has been to reduce reliance on a highly skilled labor force on the job site,” he explains. “If we can simplify the process and make it more predictable, we can fundamentally improve how buildings are delivered.”

To help achieve that goal, LIVIO systems are designed to be intuitive to assemble, with clearly labeled components and step-by-step installation guidance.

The road ahead
As the global AI infrastructure boom accelerates, LIVIO expects its LAIF platform to become an increasingly central part of its business. The company is already preparing future generations of its building system, which will introduce additional pre-installed elements such as roofing assemblies, interior doors, and expanded finishing options.

The ultimate goal is to push the boundaries of how quickly complete structures—particularly complex facilities like AI data centers—can be delivered.

“We will continue to deliver to our current customers and expand our markets here nationally and globally,” Aron says. “AI infrastructure is only going to grow, and we believe our technology will play a major role in enabling that growth.”

The post Leveraging Technology for Global Success<p class="company">LIVIO Building Systems</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

“We focus on philosophy in design first, so we can then enhance products in the very dynamic office world that we’ve lived in since immediately pre-and post-COVID,” explains President and CEO, Bill Melnik. “Our goal has always been to build safe, sustainable, healthy, and productive environmental products.”

Tayco is upfront about promoting its key values, including inclusivity, sustainability, and fostering a strong employee culture. For three years in a row, Tayco has been certified by the Great Place to Work® Institute Canada and remains widely admired for its levels of inclusivity, equity, personal satisfaction, and employee engagement.

Strong leadership
In October 2022, Bill Melnik became Tayco’s CEO, succeeding Kevin Philips. Originally founded in 1976 by Kevin’s father, Phil, the company started producing value-conscious, space-dividing office furniture panels. A recent immigrant at the time, Phil brought the concept of local-supply, Canadian-made craftsmanship to the market.

“Their early success was based on building strong customer relationships, almost direct to customers and resellers,” says Melnik. “That culture still exists and is defining for Tayco today. We produce locally made Canadian products and ship them around the world. We value our strong customer relationships, which are a core element of our success. And of course, our craftsmanship helps keep that legacy alive.”

Adapting to market needs
The office environment has transformed over the decades, and Tayco continues to create and modify products to meet evolving needs. In the ’70s and ’80s, office panels were heavy and featured wood trim, but as time went on, Tayco introduced more value-added products to the market. Hiring additional workers with new skill sets, the company created office panels using materials like aluminum and steel. These changes saw the development of Tayco’s modernized Cosmo Integrated Panel System, which is customizable, features a highly functional tilt-and-frame design, and utilizes modern finishes such as glass, acrylic, metal, fabric, and laminate.

“Now that same panel—with a different kind of engineering structure and a different design—can have a wood bottom,” says Melnik. “It can have two kinds of different fabric on the top, and on the other side, it can have a completely different mix of fabric and/or other materials as well. So that’s where the advances have taken us.” Today’s panels are highly design-focused, suit a range of price points, and are customizable.

The company’s original panelling line was one of the pillars of its success and remained in production until around 2011. Tayco continued to build robust lines from 1976 to 2012, including Metro, previously known as Metropolis. The private Metro line is sleek and elegant, and includes storage, desking, and Tayco’s Volley Height Adjustable Tables casegoods furniture.

Recent years have seen the company greatly enhance its product lines to meet today’s office and home office demands, calling for features like ergonomic and height-adjustable solutions, provisions for power and communication, enhancements to original panelling products for privacy, and noise reduction.

Tayco continues to work closely with customers to create flexible, modular, long-life products with clean aesthetics that are highly adaptable and prioritize functionality. But Melnik observes that the sector is far from static. “I think it’s accurate to say that, since the COVID years, the office environment has been a truly dynamic market, particularly in furnishings,” he shares.

The office environment is indeed constantly changing, with younger people entering the market who may work solely in offices, solely at home, or a combination of both. “Our products focus on solutions for all those kinds of markets,” says Melnik.

A great place to work
Along with its superior office products, one of the first things Melnik noticed when he became Tayco’s CEO was the company’s outstanding workplace culture. As he said in 2022, “The entire team champions the brand and is passionate about providing the ultimate products and services to our customers. The Tayco culture truly demonstrates how a positive workforce directly correlates to employee engagement. I am proud to represent an organization with such a strong culture and enjoyable atmosphere, and look forward to watching it continue to blossom.”

The many skill sets of Tayco workers include welding, steel working, upholstery, fabric assembly, and applications to produce custom and semi-custom products. Some staff have been a part of Tayco since the ’70s and can share their wealth of knowledge with younger employees, a dedication that is a testament to the company’s culture. “That word’s really thrown around these days, but there is a culture of respect for our employees and customers, and respect for all aspects of doing business. Employees are valued for their input, feel comfortable, and are part of a long-term, safe culture,” Melnik says.

Indeed, Tayco regularly reaffirms its core values to its team and others: ownership, progressive [mindset], enjoyable experiences, and efficiency. These values have led to Tayco’s consistently being named to the Best Workplaces™ in Manufacturing list, based on direct employee feedback and an independent analysis by Great Place to Work®.

Along with its employees and customers, Tayco is also proud of its robust dealer partner network and independent representatives across North America. In the past few years, the company has stepped up efforts to sell products to clients not just in Canada and the United States but also in Mexico, the Caribbean, emerging markets in the Middle East, and key countries in South America.

“Our clients are the Who’s Who of the business clientele of any city and any country,” says Melnik. “But ultimately, they are our partners. They include corporate and commercial office spaces, from banks to legal firms and insurance companies. This broadly includes education, financial sectors, automotive sectors, and any and all levels of government,” he explains.

Ethical and sustainable
In today’s world, sourcing and buying Canadian-made products is more important than ever, and Tayco buys local materials to use in production whenever possible.

“Canada can be very proud of itself,” comments Melnik. “We are leaders in wood and panel products, bar none.” Purchasing most of its steel products locally, the company processes them internally in its own steel facilities, resulting in added value directly from Tayco and good, solid jobs for employees. “It is a strong selling point that we are a North American-based company,” says Melnik. “Our Canadian customers appreciate that we are Canadian and a Canadian-focused manufacturer.”

In January 2024, Tayco released a document on Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains detailing the company’s commitment to ridding its supply chains of every incidence of forced labour and child labour. Such vigilance means continually monitoring its supply chain, structure, and activities for any occurrence, or even the slightest warning signal, of these activities.

Melnik notes that sometimes there is a “wilful blindness” about the purchases we make—including a shallow view of the cost: if something doesn’t cost much, it can be replaced in the future, and it doesn’t really matter where it comes from. “This flies in the face of the value statement Tayco has, as well as its core values,” he stresses. Tayco expects its suppliers and others to be consistent with their reporting and to adhere to guidelines against forced labour. “It is tragic to think that, in the world we live in today, children would have to be exploited for the benefit of some cost-savings in North America,” he says. “For me, it would be a personal slight to think we are selling something because a child made it, that they could be exploited because it is made in another country. And if we brought it into our own country and profited on it, this goes against us as a company, as Canadians, and against me personally, to think that is something we would tolerate. I say no.”

50 years of success
To succeed in business for half a century is a major milestone. This year, Tayco will celebrate its dedicated employees with a focus on the generations of families who have worked there, along with acknowledging customers and representatives who have been with the company for decades. This will see different marketing campaigns with a focus on voices that have made the company the success it is today.

“Our employees do truly live and breathe our core values every single day,” says Emily Boland-Slinn, Director of Marketing and Communications. “In turn, that helps our dealer partners—the people we sell to, our resellers—live and breathe those core values as well, and have trust in us. So we will be acknowledging that through social media, different marketing initiatives, and events throughout the entire year.” And to acknowledge its milestone, Tayco will release a special new 50^th anniversary logo.

Today, the Tayco team includes about 240 staff members and around 30 reselling and independent agents. And while roles vary widely from the factory floor to the office, they all have one thing in common: continually striving to produce the best, sustainably made, ethically produced office furniture on the market.

“When you think about 50 years, it’s not just a corporation that has survived over 50 years; it’s a corporation that has significantly grown, changed, and is continuing to do exactly that after 50 years,” says Melnik. “It represents 50 years of substantially 100 percent Canadian jobs. Although some of our selling partners and agents are elsewhere in the world, there is a substantial Canadian job component. There are 50 years of trust, and I don’t think you stay in business that long without developing trust,” he says.

“If we were not consistent and trustworthy and did not have a progressive mindset, we wouldn’t be selling to customers after 50 years, nor to people who buy our products and resell them. They would just move elsewhere. It’s 50 years of showing up—consistently coming back and being there for all of our customers, all our resellers. So here we are. We are not looking back on 50 years, but focusing on setting the stage for the next 50 years. We are proud of that, we are thankful, and we congratulate the whole team for the momentum we’ve created.”

The post Quality People and Products Make Quality Years—50 of Them<p class="company">Tayco</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Except for food and medicine, then-President John. F. Kennedy banned trade with Cuba in February 1962. By March, the U.S. was preparing “a new intervention against Cuba,” with additional bans put in place on all Cuban-made goods. Tensions increased, ultimately culminating in October’s Cuban Missile Crisis.

It was against this backdrop of global uncertainty that German businessman and entrepreneur Ortwin Stieber decided to diversify. Founder of the Munich-based transmission company Heynau Antriebtechnik, Stieber began investigating other countries in which to do business, including Canada. Invited by the Kitchener Chamber of Commerce to visit the Ontario city, Stieber soon purchased an industrial property and founded a gear manufacturing business, calling it Ontario Drive & Gear Limited (ODG).

“The reason he called it Ontario Drive & Gear was so that he knew where it was and what they did,” says ODG’s Director of Program Management, Stephen Brown.

ARGO
In 1967, the year of Canada’s centennial, the company moved to New Hamburg, Ontario. ODG was manufacturing steering transmissions for an amphibious all-terrain vehicle company when that business failed. ODG was left with a number of transmissions and no customer. This led to Stieber’s building his own amphibious all-terrain vehicle named ARGO.

Continuously refined over the decades, ARGO remains, according to the company, “the world’s most successful amphibious vehicle” in terms of units produced. Other models were introduced, including Centaur (known as ARGO’s big brother), the three-wheel ATV Taurus, and Artemis, a robotic concept rover for exploring the Moon and Mars.

For a time, Ontario Drive & Gear and ARGO were under one roof. The ARGO business was cyclical, explains Brown—busy in spring and fall with hunting and fishing, but slowing down over the winter months. Not wanting to lose skilled labour, the company began looking for outside customers. “Over the years, the machine shop side of the business started to grow and grow,” says Brown. “In 2000, we built the gear division building, because we grew both the ARGO side and the gear side of the business beyond the walls of the one building. Today, ARGO makes up about 15 percent of our manufacturing capacity; 85 percent of what we do is work other than ARGO.”

In the gear division, the company builds transmissions and some mechanical components for ARGO, while the rest of the vehicle is made and assembled in another building. While some materials, like tires and engines, are purchased, ODG does everything else, including vacuum forming of the upper and lower vehicle bodies, welding the frame, powder coating and painting, final assembly, and shipping directly to dealers from the factory.

A different breed of machinist
Family-run for many years and under the long-time leadership of Ortwin’s son, Joerg Stieber, ODG is today under its second private equity ownership. With a dedicated team of about 200 staff members between its two facilities, ODG’s work demands a different breed of machinist. “Although it’s manufacturing gears, the type of machining is different,” says Brown. “Knowledge requirements for gear manufacturing is specialized, and the equipment itself is highly specialized as well.”

Like many other companies employing highly skilled professionals, Ontario Drive & Gear is facing challenges arising from retiring workers. To address this, the company is striving “to bring knowledge to the next generation,” says Brown. “It’s not something where you can sit in a boardroom and come out being a gear expert, but developed over a long period. It’s a learning exercise—hands-on, working on machines—and requires a lot of investment in people. Since few educational institutes teach gear manufacturing, a lot of what we do is develop good machinists into good gear manufacturers. There’s a lot of in-house training, and we rely on some of our machine manufacturers to provide some training.”

The recently renamed Motion and Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA)—formerly the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA)—provides some training as well. “We have to grow our own talent in many respects,” says Brown.

Local business, worldwide reach
Through its global dealer network, the company ships to customers across North America, South America, and Europe. Customers choose to work with ODG for many reasons, including the company’s outstanding work, customer service, and reduced lead and travel time. “We are a very high-quality, high-skilled manufacturing facility, where the product we put out the door is the best quality,” Brown says. “If there is a problem, we are very responsive. If there is a design change requirement, we are very responsive. And if there is a demand change—whether they need to expedite or draw back—we are very responsive. We can be on site with most of our customers within 24 hours if need be.”

Sometime, customers come to ODG with finished drawings; other times, they arrive with just an idea. In either case, the professionals at ODG can help. “We manufacture to print or help develop a concept,” says Brown of the company and its in-house design capabilities. “It just depends on the scope and size of the project. We like to call it design, manufacture, assemble, and test. We are a custom gear shop, small to medium production volume. We are niche, and we do very high-precision work and lower volume than most gear manufacturers do.”

Decades of gear knowledge, a high level of service, in-house engineering and design, and the ability to pinpoint potential issues puts ODG at an advantage. Sometimes customers come to the company with an existing design that just doesn’t work. Other times, the design works, but not as efficiently or quietly as it could. In those cases, ODG’s talented engineers can take a client’s existing design, perform a gear analysis or assembly analysis, and suggest small changes to the gear geometry could take the decibels down to an acceptable level.

“It really depends on what the customer needs,” Brown explains. “Is it weight savings? Is it cost savings? Is it noise concerns? And that’s where we lean on our design expertise, our capabilities, our talented team members, over 60 years of manufacturing experience, and some of the latest equipment to develop a better product for an existing customer.”

As a production facility, ODG typically pursues production volumes, or projects that will have a future in production. This can range from as few as one or two pieces in the prototyping and pre-production phases up to about 100,000 pieces a year, depending on the product, market, and customer needs. “Much of what we do today is lot sizes from 50 pieces up to 3,500 pieces a lot, and annual volumes ranging up to 35,000 is fairly common,” says Brown.

Gears range in size from 6mm to 500mm in diameter. Although most are made from ferrous or non-ferrous alloys which are case-hardened, ODG will also handle plastics, bronze, and brass. “Gearing is about carrying torque and power, so really soft materials are rare in the gear industry—it would be niche applications for actuators. The vast majority, probably 98 percent of what we do, is ferrous metals that can be case-hardened,” explains Brendan Purcell, Business Development Manager.

The solutions customers are seeking
Ontario Drive & Gear considers itself a ‘Customer first’ business, Brown tells us. “We like to be a solutions provider, and realistically, if it’s outside of our scope of internal expertise, we can help you source whatever you need.”

The gear industry is complex, and investments can be significant for companies seeking to be a jack of all trades of gear manufacturing. In approaching its customers to determine their needs, the ODG team—who refer to themselves as “a bunch of gear geeks”—listens to their customers, their requirements, and any existing or potential design issues.

“We aren’t just a machine shop; we are much more than that,” says Purcell. “We have a design, manufacture, and assemble philosophy here. So we can help with everything from black box design, where the requirements of the mechanical system itself are unknown, all the way through to production, or anything in between. And for the size of our company, we are a large supply chain both domestically and internationally.”

Gearing up for the future
In business for 64 years, Ontario Drive & Gear continues to grow mindfully. Many times, the runway for projects is very long—sometimes six months to a year or longer from the quoting stage to production. And continuing to invest in equipment means the team looks not only for replacements, but for the next advanced technology. “Parts are getting more complex,” says Brown. “That’s the niche environment we live in, and we have to have specialty equipment to do it. It’s about investing in the people as well.”

Owing to the company’s location, ODG is able to draw on the next generation of talent from institutions such as the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College. At any one time, the company has several co-op students from the University in various departments including manufacturing, engineering, and quality engineering. “We are also going further, planting some seeds with the local school board here, to see if we can get some interest at the high school level as well,” says Purcell.

Although the company advertises through its website and LinkedIn page, ODG finds word-of-mouth is still its best promotion. “We attend trade shows, but we don’t necessarily show at them,” says Brown. “Having these connections—and with our sister company in the off-road recreational space—we often say, ‘Come to our factory, see what we do and how we manage our processes.’ We’re not just gear manufacturers; we are also gear users. We put these products into our own vehicles, and we know how they work, and we know the legacy of them in the field,” he says.

“Once we have someone interested in engaging with us on a project, we like to get them into a plant, introduce them to our processes and our people, and I think that’s what really draws people to continue to work with us. Our best marketing tools are our factory and our people.”

The post Proven Products, Superior Service<p class="company">Ontario Drive & Gear (ODG)</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.