The Flying Factory™:
Mobile Prefabrication & Community Empowerment
The Flying Factory™ is Naikoon’s mobile, modular prefabrication system—bringing the precision of off-site construction directly to the project site.
Housed within transportable shipping containers, this state-of-the-art facility is designed to produce high-performance prefabricated wall panels. Through this model, Naikoon and its partners are proving that advanced construction methods can deliver both high technical quality and essential social value.
More than just an innovation in construction, The Flying Factory™ is a scalable empowerment model partially supported by the British Columbia Workplace Innovation Fund (WIF). By combining technical fabrication with business planning, we provide a comprehensive playbook and documentation, a full curriculum, and formal training that covers every aspect of factory operations—from technical fabrication to essential business planning. The Flying Factory™ program is designed to empower First Nations to independently own and operate these factories—ensuring long-term workforce development and financial control over their economic future.
Innovation isn’t just about technology—it’s about how we work together. This project shows what’s possible when Indigenous vision and technical expertise come together. —Joe Geluch, President, Naikoon
Project Scale and Capabilities
The Flying Factory™ is designed to service a reliable pipeline of housing and infrastructure projects, offering flexibility and high-volume output.
System-Agnostic: The factory is adaptable to various building systems and produces prefabricated wood panels tailored to specific project requirements—from multi-family repeated housing to envelope-ready custom specifications.
Production Capacity: At full capacity (operating 80% of the year), a single Flying Factory can, depending on panel complexity and staffing, produce up to 300,000 square feet of panels annually.
Rapid Mobilization: The factory requires a minimum of 1 acre of flat, serviced land. It can be demobilized and remobilized within 4-6 weeks.
The Challenge vs. The Flying Factory™ Solution
We developed The Flying Factory™ to address specific barriers in the conventional construction market, particularly for remote and underserved communities.
The Challenge
Housing Urgency & Labour Shortages:
Conventional on-site construction struggles to meet demand due to widespread trade shortages.
Remote Barriers & Cost:
High shipping costs for traditional prefab making projects in remote areas cost-prohibitive.
The Capacity Gap:
External crews often leave after the build, taking their training and wages with them.
The Flying Factory™
Efficient Delivery:
Mobile manufacturing provides quality control and predictability, making construction faster, greener, and more cost-effective.
Proximity & Portability:
Building panels near the site reduces emissions and shipping costs, making it ideal for remote or difficult-to-access locations.
Skills & Ownership:
The model builds long-term community capacity, allowing First Nations to take direct ownership of their infrastructure and economic future.
Innovation Meets Social Value
Naikoon has committed to supporting First Nations through the factory’s mobilization and ensuring pipeline optimisation for long-term implementation. Our objective is to establish sustainable construction businesses that build capacity and skills within First Nation communities, keeping money and jobs in each Nation.
Workforce Development
A formal, Naikoon-led training program, including Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), fosters local employment across a variety of roles.
Cultural Safety
The model is founded on a commitment to cultural safety, fostering a respectful, inclusive training and working environment.
Economic Sovereignty
A continuity plan designed to transition the factory into a sustainable, Nation-owned economic entity.
This is an opportunity for Nations to nation-build—creating jobs, skills, and leadership opportunities for our people. —Curtis Thomas, Councillor, Tsleil-Waututh Nation
Pilot Project: Hwul’a’mut Housing Society
The inaugural project utilising this model was the Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Hwul’a’mut Housing Society—a six-storey, 50-unit rental building supported by BC Housing. Kʷasən-Naikoon built and installed approximately 1,700 prefabricated wall panels using the on-site Flying Factory, demonstrating the system’s speed and quality.
Partner With Us
The Flying Factory™ program is currently open for First Nations Expressions of Interest until June 2026. There is currently one spot remaining for new First Nation communities to participate in this transformative construction model.
