A message from our Founder, CEO, and Head Engineer: Ace Shelander
As this year comes to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect on the company’s wins—especially in light of the uncertainty we faced at the beginning of the year.
Team Loyalty: One of the greatest wins for any small business owner is having a loyal team. Despite a slow start this year, our team stayed strong, continued to show up, and put in the work necessary to ensure our customer service remained elite.
Brand Reputation: Our brand continues to be recognized and trusted throughout the industry—a reputation built through consistency, integrity, and results.
Customer Loyalty: Even with the industry slowdown, we have incredible clients who kept us busy all year long. Client loyalty is something we never take lightly. Without our clients, we would not be where we are today.
Product Distribution: Although there wasn’t a new product launch this year, this marked the first year we delivered the BW-SR50 as a serial production unit. Thankfully, the equipment has been extremely well received.
New Industry Applications: This year also opened the door to new industries adopting our technology—an exciting sign of continued growth and versatility. For example, we successfully branched out into the hop oil industry, which was a tremendous achievement for the company.
Company Certifications: Our team achieved ISO 9001 certification this year, which was another tremendous win for us. This means the company consistently meets rigorous standards of accuracy and precision. The certification reinforces what our clients already know: they can continue to count on us to deliver precision-engineered systems with integrity and care.
And the biggest win of them all is being able to say that Beaker & Wrench is in business—and will remain in business as long as there is a demand for innovative, turnkey distillation solutions.
The year began with significant challenges. The industry stalled due to several factors. We had already seen a contraction over the last three years among manufacturing producers, which led to an influx of used equipment flooding the market. Add to that the uncertainty caused by tariffs, and many companies tightened their wallets. We felt the brunt of these factors early in the year. Demand dropped so low that we had to move to a four-day work week for a few months.
Some small business owners might not share that, but I believe transparency matters. This is what the roller coaster of small business ownership really looks like. And through all of that uncertainty, I knew Beaker & Wrench would persevere.
No one can predict what a new year will bring, but in 2026 I look forward to pushing the new BW-SR50 into more diverse industries like flavors and specialty chemicals. I also plan to expand our line of distillation equipment and continue improving our wiped film systems. Overall, the goal for 2026 is continued growth. Lastly, I’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a safe New Year. If you read all the way to the end—thank you. Cheers to a new year.
-Ace
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