A proud member of EMC and the Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge Consortium

Their vehicle division makes the Argo amphibious vehicle and the gear division has built a solid reputation for the design and manufacture of quality gears and transmissions. This is a fantastic accomplishment for a busy plant. This is a plant that focuses strongly on employee involvement and has had strong growth when others have had a decline in business. ODG is also a strong EMC supporter and often opens their doors for our local events as well as recent tours with visitors from Alberta and Columbia. It was truly a privilege to present them with these awards.

Ontario Drive and Gear (ODG) is proof that hard work, innovation and belief in making opportunities, lead to great success. "Drive and dedication underscore the way we do business," Joerg Stieber, Chairman of the Board at ODG, says. These key attributes have taken this business from small beginnings to the world stage and propelled it to a position of leadership.

In 1962, Joerg Stieber's father was invited by the Kitchener Chamber of Commerce to come for a visit from his native Germany. He was so impressed with what he witnessed in Kitchener he immediately bought a property on Fairway Road. With an already very successful business in Munich, Germany, Mr. Stieber Sr. began a subsidiary machine shop here, manufacturing gears. ODG quickly grew to include making transmissions for all-terrain vehicles and by 1967, the young business decided to build its own all-terrain vehicle. And so the world-renowned ARGO was born.

Having taken on a life of its own and outgrown its Kitchener space, ODG became an independent company in 1970 and moved to New Hamburg. In 1983, Joerg Stieber's father sent him and his brother to Canada. Stieber took over the management of ODG in 1985 while his brother joined the Canadian Space Agency. "Canada is the land of the future," said Stieber enthusiastically, clearly excited by the possibilities and opportunities that lay in ODG's future.