Fusion Capital Invests in Excel Engineering to Power Next-Gen Mobility

DIAGONAL, IA – January 06, 2026

Excel Engineering, Inc., a specialized testing firm that has quietly become a critical partner for major automotive and industrial manufacturers, announced today it has received a strategic investment from Fusion Capital Partners. The deal injects new capital from the Los Angeles-based private equity firm into the Iowa-based company, positioning it to scale its operations significantly amidst a revolution in mobility and energy.

Founded in 2002 by its current CEO, Doug Sobotka, Excel provides essential testing services for engines, powertrains, and advanced battery systems. This new partnership with Fusion, a firm known for its focus on engineered products, aims to enhance Excel’s capacity and capabilities, ensuring that the next generation of vehicles and industrial equipment meets increasingly stringent performance and regulatory standards. While terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the move signals a major growth phase for the company.

"We are excited to partner with Fusion as we embark on our next chapter of growth," said Doug Sobotka in a statement. He highlighted Fusion's "extensive industry experience and expertise" as key factors in the decision, noting their "collaborative approach to strategically scaling businesses is what helped them stand out as the ideal firm for Excel."

Navigating a Market in Transition

The investment arrives at a pivotal moment for the global Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) industry. The entire sector, valued at over $226 billion in 2022, is projected to surge past $400 billion by 2032, driven by technological complexity and a tightening regulatory landscape. Excel Engineering operates at the epicenter of the most dynamic segments within this market.

The primary catalyst is the global shift to electric vehicles (EVs). The market for EV battery testing alone is expanding at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 19%, expected to approach $9.5 billion by 2030. As manufacturers race to develop safer, longer-lasting, and faster-charging batteries, the demand for rigorous validation has exploded. Companies like Excel provide the critical environmental simulation and durability testing that ensures these complex energy systems can withstand real-world conditions, from extreme temperatures to constant vibration, and prevent catastrophic failures.

Simultaneously, regulations governing traditional internal combustion engines are becoming more stringent than ever. Agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) continue to lower emissions thresholds, forcing manufacturers to innovate and validate cleaner powertrain technologies. Excel's deep expertise in emissions and durability testing serves as a crucial compliance gateway for blue-chip original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) looking to bring their products to market. This dual-front demand—supporting both the electric revolution and the evolution of combustion engines—places Excel in a uniquely powerful market position.

The Strategic Playbook of Fusion Capital

For Fusion Capital Partners, the investment in Excel Engineering is a characteristic move that fits squarely within its established strategy. The private equity firm specializes in control-oriented investments in companies that provide highly engineered, mission-critical products and services to the industrial sector. A look at their recent acquisitions reveals a clear pattern of targeting specialized market leaders.

In the past two years, Fusion has added companies like AeroBase Group, a provider of distribution and MRO services for the aerospace industry, and C&C Manufacturing, a maker of custom-engineered industrial pressure vessels, to its portfolio. These businesses, much like Excel, are not household names but are indispensable cogs in their respective supply chains. Fusion’s approach is not passive; it actively engages with its portfolio companies to drive growth.

Jeff Chaney, a Principal at Fusion, described this as a "partnership-driven growth playbook." In the announcement, Chaney noted that Excel's "strong market position and deep customer relationships coupled with attractive industry tailwinds, creates a strong foundation" for this strategy. He added, "We look forward to helping Excel continue to ascend as an industry leader and create value for their stakeholders." This indicates that Fusion will likely provide not just capital, but strategic guidance and operational support to help Excel navigate its expansion, mirroring the hands-on approach it has taken with its other industrial investments.

From Iowa Roots to a National Stage

The story of Excel Engineering is a testament to how niche expertise can cultivate success far from traditional technology hubs. Founded over two decades ago in Diagonal, Iowa—a town with a population of a few hundred—the company has steadily built a reputation as a world-class testing provider. Under the leadership of founder Doug Sobotka, Excel has become deeply entrenched within the engineering and compliance departments of its OEM clients.

The company's location has not been a barrier to growth but rather a foundation for focused, methodical development. By specializing in complex environmental simulation testing, Excel carved out a defensible niche, becoming the go-to partner for companies needing to validate that their most critical components can perform reliably under pressure. This deep-seated expertise is what ultimately attracted the attention of a sophisticated, bicoastal investment firm like Fusion Capital.

The partnership ensures that Excel's leadership will remain in place, with Mr. Sobotka and the current management team continuing to steer the company from its Iowa headquarters. This continuity is crucial for maintaining the deep customer relationships and technical culture that have been the bedrock of the company's success. The investment serves as a powerful validation of a business model built on specialized knowledge and long-term reliability, demonstrating that world-class industrial innovation can thrive in America's heartland.

Fueling the Future of Testing

The strategic investment from Fusion is poised to act as a powerful accelerant for Excel Engineering, transforming its operational capacity and service offerings. With new capital, the company is expected to embark on significant expansion projects to meet the surging demand from the mobility and industrial sectors. This will likely involve expanding its physical testing facilities in Diagonal to accommodate a higher volume of projects and more sophisticated testing apparatus.

Key investments will almost certainly target cutting-edge technology. To maintain its leadership in battery testing, Excel will need to acquire the latest generation of battery cyclers, thermal runaway chambers, and advanced data acquisition systems capable of validating next-generation fast-charging and high-density battery packs. On the powertrain front, upgrading dynamometers and emissions analysis equipment will be critical to testing against evolving global standards. Furthermore, the infusion of capital could enable Excel to embrace the digital transformation sweeping the TIC industry by integrating AI-based data analysis and Digital Twin technologies to enhance testing accuracy and efficiency.

Beyond bolstering existing services, the partnership opens the door for diversification into adjacent high-growth areas. This could include developing capabilities for testing hydrogen fuel cell powertrains, validating the complex sensor suites for autonomous vehicles and Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), or even establishing services for automotive cybersecurity. To power this growth, a significant expansion of Excel's workforce is anticipated, with a focus on recruiting highly specialized engineers, software experts, and technicians to deepen its talent pool and tackle the industry's most complex validation challenges. This strategic evolution will enable Excel to not only serve its current clients more effectively but also to compete on a larger scale against global TIC giants like Intertek and SGS.