RAE Corporation Q3 2026 Update
RAE Corporation continues to grow, creating new opportunities for our employees while strengthening relationships with customers across our markets. During our Q3 Company Update, members of RAE’s leadership team shared the company’s progress, the challenges still ahead and the work underway to support our long-term success.
RAE’s three primary company objectives continue to guide this work:
Become the most desirable place to work
Provide an exceptional partner experience
Drive growth that creates opportunities
Although we have not reached every goal exactly as planned, our leadership and initiative teams are actively developing strategies to improve performance and keep the company moving forward.
Growing RAE and Creating New Opportunities
RAE Corporation now has more than 700 employees and continues to prepare for future growth.
Some of the company’s largest opportunities are developing within the grocery retail and data center markets. RAE is building relationships and beginning to receive orders from major customers, including Safeway, H-E-B, Kroger, Albertsons and WinCo.
These customers could bring significant additional business to RAE. Earning that business—and keeping it—will depend on our ability to consistently deliver high-quality equipment on time.
Walmart has also recognized RAE as an example of a strong vendor and encouraged others to follow the level of service and partnership RAE provides. That recognition reflects the work of employees across the company who continue to take care of our customers.
RAE’s leadership remains optimistic about the company’s direction and is investing in the equipment, facilities and people needed to support future growth. If we continue improving and serving our customers well, that growth can create greater opportunities for advancement throughout the company.
Listening to Employee Feedback
RAE’s recent employee Net Promoter Score survey received participation from 96% of employees across the company. Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback.
Although the overall score decreased from the previous survey, the results give leadership a clearer understanding of where additional attention and improvement are needed.
Employees are what make RAE successful. The feedback provided through these surveys helps leadership determine where to invest time and resources to make RAE a better place to work.
Safety Comes First
Safety remains one of the company’s most important areas of focus. RAE has experienced several injuries and serious near misses this year, making it essential for everyone to take a proactive approach to workplace safety.
Every employee has stop-work authority. If you see something that appears unsafe, stop and ask whether there is a safer way to complete the task. Safety is not only the responsibility of the employee performing the work or the safety team, it requires participation from everyone.
Throughput and on-time delivery are important, but nothing is more important than every employee leaving work safely at the end of the day.
Sales and Market Update
While some markets have softened, RAE continues to adjust its strategy and pursue new opportunities across each sales division.
RAE Coils
The coil market remains strong, particularly because of increased demand from data centers driven by the continued growth of artificial intelligence. RAE Coils is positioned for record sales as the company completes Q3 and moves through Q4.
Century Refrigeration
Century Refrigeration experienced a slower Q2 and start to Q3, but the sales and marketing teams are gaining traction and working to capture additional market share. Leadership expects improvement through the remainder of Q3 and Q4, along with a strong backlog entering 2027.
Refrigeration Systems
RSI has continued to perform well despite lower commodity prices within the potato and onion markets. The team has remained focused on available opportunities and has performed better than expected year to date.
RAE Retail
The RAE Retail team is making up ground following a slower Q2 and expects strong activity in Q4 and the first quarter of 2027. The division has received an order from H-E-B and is preparing for an anticipated first purchase order from Albertsons.
Aftermarket Parts
The Aftermarket Parts division continues to perform ahead of plan. The team is on track for a strong finish to the year and could exceed its annual sales budget.
Quality Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Every piece of equipment leaving RAE eventually arrives at a customer’s facility. Customers judge RAE by whether that equipment arrives on time, operates correctly and reflects the quality associated with our company.
Every employee, regardless of department or position, has a role in protecting that reputation. Mistakes that move from one department to another make it more difficult to meet customer expectations and committed ship dates.
Paying attention to details, following established procedures and addressing problems before they move forward will help RAE provide the exceptional partner experience our customers deserve.
Facility and Equipment Investments
Several projects are moving forward to improve production capacity and prepare RAE for anticipated growth.
Current projects include:
A new test tank for Coil Line 2
The purchase and installation of a new fin press
Development of a unit cooler assembly line
Work on a new MDRS lab
These investments will help RAE support growing opportunities in the data center and retail markets while improving production flow and capacity.
IFS, DOT and ISO Progress
Employees are asked to continue working in real time within IFS and ensuring that entered information is accurate. Accurate materials, labor hours, shop-order clockings and cost information allow teams throughout the company to make better decisions.
An initiative team is also working to address IFS data issues. Employees should continue reporting problems as soon as they are identified so they can be corrected.
RAE has officially earned its ISO certification, an accomplishment made possible by employees throughout the company. The next step is continuing to improve our processes and strengthening our commitment to quality.
Current procedures and training documents are available through DOT. Employees can access DOT through the RAE Apps page. If a document does not accurately represent the work being performed, employees should submit a change request so the procedure can be reviewed and updated.
The goal is to have accurate documentation available for every role by the end of the year. Reaching that goal will require input from the employees who perform these processes every day.
Five Company Initiatives
Earlier this year, leadership identified 11 initiatives connected to RAE’s three primary objectives. That list has since been narrowed to five priorities so teams can focus their resources and make meaningful progress.
1. Increased Bookings
This initiative focuses on identifying ways to win more business, including reviewing production capacity and determining where RAE can offer customers shorter lead times.
2. Coil Shop Improvement
The Coil Shop has consistently reached its throughput goals throughout the year. This initiative will address additional factors affecting the department, including safety, morale, culture and the overall employee experience.
3. Velocity Scheduling System
After a successful test in the Coil Shop, the Velocity Scheduling System will be introduced across RAE’s primary production lines.
The system is designed to reduce work in process, identify late orders and provide clear direction regarding which shop orders should be completed next. Employees should continue documenting why work does not go according to plan through RAE’s Process of Ongoing Improvement. That feedback helps identify where resources and support are needed.
SQDCP boards will also support daily conversations about safety, quality, delivery, cost and people.
4. On-Time Delivery Improvement
This initiative will examine the issues preventing production teams from meeting throughput and delivery goals, including engineering-related delays. Employee feedback will help the team identify recurring problems and determine where improvements are needed.
5. Data Excellence
The Data Excellence initiative focuses on improving the accuracy of information within IFS. RAE has already made significant progress with shop-order clockings, material information and employee training.
Employees should continue following established processes and reporting instructions or workflows that need to be corrected.
Strengthening Manufacturing Leadership
RAE has made several leadership changes to provide additional support throughout manufacturing.
Will Morales has joined RAE as Director of Manufacturing and will oversee manufacturing operations. His experience includes improving throughput, quality and safety. Employees are encouraged to share their knowledge and feedback as he becomes more familiar with RAE’s processes and production areas.
Tyler Martin and Tommy Ray have also been promoted to manufacturing management positions. Tyler will oversee Aftermarket Parts, Final Assembly and RAE South, while Tommy will oversee Engineering and the Coil Shop.
These additional leadership positions will provide greater focus on safety, quality, delivery, cost and employee support within each manufacturing area.
Financial Performance
RAE established a goal of increasing revenue by 25.8% this year. Year-to-date revenue growth reached 25.7%, placing the company just one-tenth of a percentage point below that ambitious goal.
Margins also improved by approximately 2% to 2.5%. Although that increase was slightly below the company’s projection, it represents positive progress.
Operating expenses increased as expected because of the company’s higher volume, but those expenses remain below budget. When revenue, margins and operating expenses are considered together, RAE achieved approximately 92% of its financial plan.
Every employee contributed to that performance. Continuing to reduce scrap, rework and warranty costs while improving materials management, engineering accuracy and production flow will help strengthen future results.
Join Us for RAEFest
RAEFest is RAE’s opportunity to thank employees for the work and dedication that make the company’s progress possible.
This year’s event will be held Saturday, October 3, from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Mayes County Fairgrounds. Employees can look forward to food trucks, live music, games and activities for family and friends.
The registration deadline is September 18. Visit RAE HQ to RSVP and watch for additional event updates.
Moving Forward Together
RAE has significant opportunities ahead, particularly within the retail and data center markets. Taking advantage of those opportunities will require continued focus on safety, quality, accurate information and on-time delivery.
Thank you to every RAE employee for your hard work, feedback and commitment. The company’s continued progress is possible because of the people who serve our customers and support one another every day.