Topic: End-market diversification and construction/access recovery outlook
Key points:
Critical power end market is "reasonably diversified" with blue-chip names and next-tier OEMs; no significant concentration expected.
In construction, build rates are already increasing; customers are bringing back capacity and employees, hitting demand and EDI rates.
In access, rental houses increased demand in Q4, but customer commentary was "softer"; recovery is to be watched, but overall positive on construction and access.
Mgmt stance: Neutral-to-bullish on construction (already seeing improvement), cautious on access (starts and stops, waiting to see development).
Q7 — Ted Jackson
Topic: Capacity for data center growth, legacy business impact, margin investments, and revenue synergy definition
Key points:
For 2026, MEC has enough capacity to ramp data center business (20% of 2026 revenue) while improving legacy run rates; no need to turn down legacy business.
For 2027, capacity expansion is needed; teams are using MBX framework, adding shifts, hiring employees, and increasing throughput.
Excluding AccuFab facilities, equipment capacity utilization is ~55% on a 24/7 basis; shifting from two 10-hour shifts (4 days) to three 8-hour shifts (5 days) to increase run capacity.
Revenue synergies for 2026 are $40–$50 million, defined as data center customer work made in legacy MEC plants.
Upfront investments include project management, engineering, MBX resources, additional capital for automation/new machines, and rethinking assembly/product flow/logistics (e.g., one data center customer quadrupled demand in January, requiring shift of product line from Raleigh to Defiance, Ohio).
Mgmt stance: Bullish on capacity and growth (enough capacity for 2026, actively expanding for 2027), neutral on margins (acknowledges upfront investment costs but sees pricing/margin choices in 2027).