In 2010, the McKay family home burned to the ground in a matter of minutes due to an electrical fire that started in the garage. Fortunately, it was during the daytime, and everyone escaped with their lives, albeit with little more than the clothes on their backs. For Todd McKay, MgO’s founder and former general contractor and electrician, this event would solidify into a single mission: to build stronger, safer buildings. This mission led to the creation of MgO Systems Ltd.
In the last hundred years, technology has driven every industry in the world forward except for construction. The production of commonly used materials, such as Portland cement, has some of the highest carbon footprints on the planet. The time to build is lengthy and continually changing, costing clients millions in project delays and change orders. Traditional construction materials are built to minimum standards that are frankly, unsafe and unreliable. Thirty years ago, you had seventeen minutes to escape from a house fire; today, that has been drastically reduced to just three minutes! In 2013, 100,000 people throughout southern Alberta were uprooted from their homes due to catastrophic flooding. In the 2016 the forest fire that devastated Fort McMurray claimed 4400 homes that were either totally destroyed or contaminated beyond repair. Just last year, 88 people were killed in the California fires and 10,000 buildings destroyed. Fires and floods are only two events in a long list of disasters that destroy homes, buildings and lives every day, yet the construction industry maintains its dedication to the same disaster-prone materials. MgO Systems Ltd. exists to change this narrative by building faster, stronger, safer and more sustainably.
MgO Systems Ltd. recognizes that traditional materials for constructing walls, roofs, and floors demonstrate unacceptable performance when it comes to the devestaing effects of force, fire, water, mold and insects. Thus, they’ve developed, and now manufacture, technologically-advanced building solutions for various construction applications such as commercial, residential, education, hospitality, healthcare, etc.
The company’s proprietary building technologies, developed around patented magnesium oxide-based construction materials, are used in the design and manufacturing of the C3 Engineered Wall Systems. These systems provide clients with greater structural performance, superior fire rating with no toxic offgassing, resistance to mold, mildew and insect, increases insulation efficiencies and enhances acoustic performance. The utilization of digital component technology affords custom design integration and precise off-site manufacturing to provide an all-in-one solution that is both cost-effective and quick to build.
MgO Systems is, at its roots, a technology company. Striving to push environmental responsibility with its sustainable North American made building products developed inhouse by its own Ph.D. Chemist, Dr. Doug Brown and his team of scientists.
Each member of the management team has been personally selected by Todd for their unique set of skills and experience to build his vision into reality. MgO Systems curates a family-style culture harnessed around integrity and a passion for technology, innovation and creating meaningful change.
MgO’s goal is to disrupt the traditional construction industry and to create safer, hassle free roof solutions, greener standards for building. Its primary strategy to achieve this is to continue gaining market share with new projects and by educating people through conferences and forums that focus on innovation, green technologies and construction such as the International Builders’ Show and Greenbuild. They also have a MgO Insiders mailing list for anyone and everyone who wants to stay in the know. Insiders receive only relevant information: upcoming presentations or conferences, bi-monthly blogs and company press releases. The aim is to better inform people about the current state of the construction industry and to open their minds to new technologies and better materials.
Todd has over 30 years of diverse construction experience as both a contractor and business owner. It’s his vision and dream for truly building better has led the company to where it is today. Change is constant, and with the right mindset and commitment for a better way, MgO Systems is well on its way to becoming industry leaders.