OFGO STUDIO believes that everyone should have access to great design and great quality at a great price. This idea of “Premium for All,” that everyone deserves the best, is the company’s mission and guides every decision at the Toronto-based furniture maker, from manufacturing to sales to distribution.
And if you think you know this scrappy company based on its long history, think again. A new generation is at the helm and they have transformed the company from a small, regional office furniture maker to one that is poised to take the industry by storm.
So how does a Canadian company offer well-designed products that are almost completely made in North America for less? They focus on manufacturing efficiency. Almost everything is built in-house, said Nicole Shamir, executive director.
“When it comes to upholstery we manufacture everything we can from start to finish. All of the frames are designed by us. We make them in our wood facility. We do the assembly, we do all the cutting and sewing ourselves. We make the majority of metal components ourselves, so from start to finish, other than buying foam, is actually manufactured in our facility,” she said.
The company uses what it calls Duratek for a variety of its seating. Duratek is the name for the tough, durable frame that utilizes steel instead of hardwood or plywood construction. Steel does not warp, stretch or crack over time and each of the components on the seating are replaceable. That means if a seat is in a high traffic area like a university and the seat pan is somehow ruined, just that component can be replaced. OFGO provides a lifetime warranty on its Duratek constructed products.
It also uses what it calls Reforce on the construction of its casegoods, a system of building where the sides, back and top of the product reinforce each other. Reforce products are more durable than the average casegood unit. And its design is cleaner as well since a router bit is used for joinery, which means there are no lines or exposed connectors.
OFGO also pays attention to the foam it uses. It is lower density, which gives the furniture a softer sit while still maintaining quality and durability. Add to that a barrier that the company uses to back fabrics on its seating products. The barrier acts as a second backing for the fabric and also protects the foam, giving the foam a much longer life.
Everything OFGO produces has parts that are easily field replaceable. So if an arm pad is cut, for example, a new piece can be shipped and installed. Modular construction is not unique to OFGO, but the products at the price point is definitely rare, said Alex Sisk, vice president of sales.
OFGO’s largest markets are corporate, education and government, in that order. While the company has products that cover every part of the office from the front of the house to the back of the house, the company is always adding new furniture. New products are driving much of its sales as well, said Shamir.
OFGO started from more humble roots, a casegoods office furniture maker that crafted wood products mainly for regional customers. But as the second generation of owners have grabbed the reins of the company, they are breathing new life into OFGO.
“When my brother (Cory Shamir, director of technology) and I took over the company, we completely changed everything,” said Shamir. “There’s not one thing about the company that is the same. The way we manufacture the products completely changed. All of our systems that we use in house completely changed and the actual products themselves started to change really quickly. I think we were launching on average maybe seven products every year. Most of the products that you see out of our company, they haven’t actually been around for a very long time, even though the company’s been around for a very long time. I think our product development is happening at a very good pace in my mind. I think it probably will take us about three to four years for me to feel like that catalog is very complete.”
The new generation of owners have different skills as well — marketing, technology, finance — that are helping the company grow in different ways. They are changing the way OFGO views its markets.
Though the company does employ some outside designers, it mainly uses its internal team since they focus on rapid product development.
It’s not all about products. Creating long-lasting partnerships is a cornerstone of the company as well, said Shamir.
“Aside from products, we want to be a company that people want to work with because we look at our dealers as partner, they’re the ones out of the field, they’re the ones selling and we’re partners with them,” she said.
The combination of products, manufacturing and service have helped OFGO grow. In fact, as the industry shrunk during COVID, OFGO grew each year during the pandemic.
OFGO has three separate divisions: woodworking, upholstery and metal. All of them use state-of-the-art manufacturing, a major departure from the company founders who were highly skilled with their hands. Much of the early work at OFGO was done manually.
In recent years, the company has made major investments in plant automation. This year, the company is entering its second phase of investment. When the new high-tech machinery is in place, almost everything the company builds won’t be touched by human hands until it reaches assembly. The investments were made so the company could grow without the growing pains sometimes associated with it.
The environment is also benefitting from changes at OFGO. The company just launched eco-surfaces that are made from recycled materials. The amount of packaging has been reduced so there is less to recycle when the furniture arrives on the job site, though it is still fully protected.