Industries

Pixo is based in the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign-Urbana, right in the middle of the Midwest. That’s not just a zip code. It’s the reason we do what we do.

We go deep in a few industries, on purpose.

Here in Central Illinois, we’re surrounded by the people who feed the country, build its machines, educate its next generation, and keep its public systems running. Those are the industries that shaped our region, and they’re the industries we’ve chosen to serve. We’ve been at it since 1998, and with more than 1,500 projects completed, we’ve learned what these fields actually need from technology: tools that hold up in the field, on the shop floor, in the office, and on the go.

Here’s where we focus, and why.

Agriculture & AgTech: Software built for the way Ag actually works.

We sit in the middle of one of the most productive agricultural regions on the planet, a few miles from the University of Illinois’ agriculture college and a short drive from row crops in every direction. Ag isn’t an abstract market for us—it’s our neighbors, our colleagues, our clients.

We’ve built internal AI tools for a Fortune 100 Ag company, digital products that move data from the field to the office, and platforms that help ag teams make faster, better-informed decisions. We understand the realities of seasonal cycles, spotty connectivity, complex supply chains, and users who don’t have time for software that gets in their way.

If you’re modernizing legacy systems, launching a new AgTech product, or trying to get more value from the data you already collect, we’ve been there. We speak the language.

Ag projects
CABBI data modeling hub login screenshot on a desktop monitor
Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI)
CABBI Data Modeling Hub
Pixo built a custom database framework and updated user interfaces to improve accessibility and UX.
teal file folder stuffed full of papers stamped with the words
agriculture enterprise
Software Confidential: Streamlined ag operations + custom IP
Pixo developed a robust custom software solution to connect systems and streamline multi-facility operations.
mobile phone and desktop monitor displaying different responsive views from the SodRunner web application, over a sod grass photo background
SodRunner
Productized custom app streamlines operations and opens new revenue stream
Pixo developed a client's spreadsheet-based manual workflows into a professional custom web app designed specifically for turfgrass farms.

Manufacturing: Practical technology for the people who make things.

Manufacturing built the Midwest, and it’s still building it. From the shops in our backyard to statewide initiatives like Make it in Illinois—a state-sponsored campaign to grow the state’s manufacturing workforce—we’ve spent years working alongside manufacturers and the organizations that support them.

We know the pressures: tight margins, aging systems, hard-to-fill roles, and the constant push to do more with the team and tools you have. We build software that respects all of that—websites, custom applications, dashboards, and internal tools that make work measurably easier for the people doing it.

Whether you’re a manufacturer, a workforce program, or an industry association serving the sector, we’ll meet you where you are and build something durable.

Manufacturing projects
teal file folder stuffed full of papers stamped with the words
heavy industrial manufacturing facility
Software Confidential: Custom UI for industrial setting
Pixo developed a custom user interface (UI) design to make our client's core software more usable in heavy industrial settings.
screenshots of the Make it in Illinois website homepage displayed on a smartphone and laptop
Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) & Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
Make it in Illinois: empowering manufacturing in Illinois
A multi-agency partnership created a compelling campaign website, driving engagement in manufacturing training programs across Illinois.
teal file folder stuffed full of papers stamped with the words
sporting goods manufacturer
Software Confidential: Classifying forced-matched sporting equipment
Pixo developed custom technology for a sporting goods manufacturer to help them test equipment and classify it according to industry regulations.

Higher ed isn't just a vertical we serve—it's our daily environment.

For more than 27 years, we’ve partnered with colleges, research centers, on university-wide initiatives, and for the networks that connect them, including long-running collaborations across the University of Illinois system.

We understand the unique shape of higher ed work: distributed stakeholders, shared governance, grant cycles, accessibility requirements, and audiences that range from prospective students to senior researchers. We build websites, applications, and research tools that handle that complexity without forcing your team to become technologists.

If you’re a department, a research group, or a system-wide initiative trying to translate a big idea into a working digital product, we’re a natural fit.

Higher ed projects
CABBI data modeling hub login screenshot on a desktop monitor
Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI)
CABBI Data Modeling Hub
Pixo built a custom database framework and updated user interfaces to improve accessibility and UX.
CARLI logo on computer screen
Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)
E-resources portal for libraries in Illinois
Creating a suite of custom web applications for the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI).
Trivia and basketball games on phone screens
Interactive games for alumni engagement
Helping Illini Ngage develop and test new ways to attract millennial alumni on the web.

Government: Public-serving technology, built to actually serve the public.

Government work isn’t just another industry for us. It’s the one with the highest stakes for accessibility, accountability, and clarity. Our team has delivered for state agencies, public-private partnerships, and organizations supporting public infrastructure, including data visualization tools that help transportation authorities make smarter decisions about the roads we all drive on.

We bring a few things that matter in this space: a deep commitment to accessibility (it’s a responsibility, not a checkbox), comfort working inside procurement and compliance constraints, and a track record of shipping software that holds up after the launch. We also know how to translate between policy people, program staff, and engineers, and how to keep a project moving when all three are at the table.

If you’re a public agency or a partner that serves one, we’d like to help.

Government projects
mobile phone and laptop computer displaying the homepage of the PBM4M website over a road pavement textured background
National Academy of Sciences National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Centralizing critical knowledge: a resource hub for highway maintenance leaders
In partnership with Applied Pavement Technologies (APTech) and the National Academy of Sciences National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Pixo developed an open-access digital document library to centralize and improve access to critical highway maintenance knowledge.
Ride Jax website displayed on laptop computer and smartphone over a brand red background photo of a bus interior
JAX Mass Transit District
Website redesign accelerates transit district's bold rebranding
Collaborating closely with our clients and their marketing agency partners on a clean, responsive, modern website to reflect and amplify the new JAX brand.
screenshots of the Make it in Illinois website homepage displayed on a smartphone and laptop
Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) & Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
Make it in Illinois: empowering manufacturing in Illinois
A multi-agency partnership created a compelling campaign website, driving engagement in manufacturing training programs across Illinois.

Don’t see your industry? Let’s talk anyway.

These are the sectors we know best, but they’re not the only ones we serve. Every custom project requires us to learn a new landscape—its audiences, constraints, goals, and opportunities. That’s something we both enjoy and excel at. If you’ve got a hard problem and a real audience to serve, let’s talk.