As Accelevation begins its next chapter as a public company, co-founders Michael Rubiera and Shawn Rubiera reflect on the journey from a small Ohio-based manufacturer to the Accelevation of today, and the culture and principles that made it possible.

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A letter from our founders

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Thank you for your interest in Accelevation. We are grateful that you are considering an investment in Accelevation and are reading this letter. The pages that follow explain the products we make, the exciting markets we serve and our historical financial performance. But they do not address the most important question of all—how did we do this? How did a small, Ohio-based manufacturing company started less than a decade ago grow from under $3.0 million in revenue in January 2021 to where we are today?

The answer begins with how we operate.

Accelevation is not a conventional manufacturing company, nor do we intend to become one. We started Accelevation because we wanted to change the paradigm of modern manufacturing by showing that companies can remain nimble and innovative, regardless of their size. We have intentionally created a culture and a company that operates differently.

At our core, we are innovators. We don’t just build products; we design and manufacture solutions to the most demanding scaling challenges of the modern era. We have often said that our growth required the scaffolding to be built as we climbed it, and in many ways that remains true. Staying nimble requires a culture that embraces calculated risk, pivots quickly as business landscapes shift and never loses sight of long-term goals.

We believe this transition will bring important benefits for our employees, our present and future stockholders, our customers and most of all, the communities in which we live and work. It will also help us preserve our exceptional culture, guided by our Core Values and our clearly defined operating principles, The Accelevation Way. These principles are core to who Accelevation is and how we expect we will continue to win.

Who is Accelevation?

It began with a name. One that would represent our belief that innovation is at the heart of everything we wanted to build. A name that could speak to the speed with which we knew we would move, adapt and create. Accelerate. Innovation.

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In 2018, we acquired two small tool and die manufacturing companies that, combined, employed approximately 25 people primarily serving the automotive and defense industries. On March 22, 2020, Ohio ordered all non-essential businesses to stay home, causing most of our customers to close their facilities and put on hold all open orders. The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. As small business owners who had personally guaranteed all loans, the news was devastating and meant everything we owned both personally and professionally was at risk.

Amid market chaos, we immediately implemented two of our most critical values—Speed and Fearless Innovation—and began to understand one of our most important operating principles—Win in the Turns.

Win in the Turns means leveraging moments of market upheaval and chaos—the “turns”—to outpace competitors, innovate and turn potential crises into sustainable, long-term competitive advantages. We did just that. In under 48 hours, we designed a platform of solutions out of our garage to help hospitals and schools open safely. During the next 12 months, we were not only able to keep every employee on our payroll, but also posted an increase in revenue.

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to stabilize, we looked at how air barriers could be used in other industries. Data center air flow containment was a natural progression and in January 2021, we launched that new business line. In the first 30 days, we landed a major job for a well-known hyperscaler. They had an immediate need for containment due to a competitor not being able to hit their deadline. We accepted the job and had less than three weeks to deliver.

The problem was that the COVID-19 pandemic was still impacting supply chains, and a critical fastener required on every panel was unavailable globally. We had to adapt and pivot, which is another key principle of Accelevation. Our small team designed our own fastener that we could make on our CNC machines. To make this work, we had a choice: transition all machines to make this one component for this one order, moving away from our existing 30+ customers, or walk away. We chose to commit 100% to the mission-critical space.

Over the next five years, we added over 1,700 new employees and expanded from 20,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity to approximately 1.1 million. Our team launched infrastructure metal solutions, mechanical cooling and power distribution products within weeks of development, not years.

What Makes This Team Special?

As we take this next step in our journey, we want to share the core principles that guide how we operate, how we make decisions and how we intend to keep delivering long-term value. This is “The Way” we build Accelevation.

Innovation Driven by Curiosity and Simplicity

True innovation does not come from doing things the way they have always been done. It is fueled by curiosity, and we lead with it. We acknowledge that we do not know everything, and we actively challenge the status quo to find a better way. But as we innovate, we fiercely guard against complexity. Our engineering philosophy is grounded in Keeping it Simple. By eliminating unnecessary complexity in our systems, products and communication, we enhance clarity, lower the risk of failure and optimize resource efficiency.

Getting the Right People in the Right Seats

We are uncompromising when it comes to talent. We look for Builders—individuals who thrive on doing things that have never been done before, drive efficiency and leave things better than they found them. We believe leadership is about evolving while staying true to your authentic self. Trust is built on authenticity, and we encourage people to use their values and personality as their leadership compass.

A High-Performance Culture Built on Radical Transparency

We have extraordinarily high expectations for ourselves and our teams. To maintain this standard, we foster an environment of Radical Truth and Radical Transparency. We get comfortable being uncomfortable, because growth and comfort cannot coexist.

Agility Is Our Muscle

Business landscapes are constantly evolving. To thrive in this environment, we rely on The Pivot Principle. At Accelevation, we fail fast and learn faster. When setbacks occur, we reflect on what part of the system failed and what we will do differently next time. We work hard to not repeat mistakes; we view pain plus reflection as the ultimate driver of progress.

Judgment and Accountability

Decisive discernment is critical at Accelevation. When data is incomplete, success depends on translating context, risk and human dynamics into timely, strategic action. We make decisions without waiting for perfect certainty. It is a core value that moves us from “why” to “how,” rejecting blame with a focus on solutions. See it. Own it. Solve it.

People

We are a purpose-built, people-first organization driven by a belief that success starts with investing in our people and strengthening the communities around us. We’re dedicated to leading with intention by paying above market compensation, introducing bold and innovative incentives and expanding benefits that truly make a difference—like our AcceleHOME first-time homebuyer program. At every step, we’re focused on supporting our people not just at work but in life.

The Accelevation Academy develops skilled trades talent from within through the tools, training and confidence to build meaningful careers. Through hands-on learning, internships, apprenticeships and professional development, we are creating real opportunities for advancement.

Moving Forward

As the astronaut and scientist Mae Jemison noted, “I like to think of ideas as potential energy. They're really wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action.” At Accelevation, we take that risk every day. We combine a relentless culture of innovation with an unwavering commitment to the human beings who power it. We are proud of our team of innovators, entrepreneurs and builders. At Accelevation, we will continue to build, driven by possibility, grounded in purpose and fearless in pursuit of what comes next.

American manufacturing ingenuity is alive and well and growing every day. We invite you to join us on this journey as we scale our platform, empower our builders and manufacture the future.

—Michael and Shawn Rubiera