Steelhead Technologies just landed an $84M growth investment, and it feels like the moment the manufacturing world finally admitted the truth. The shops running on paper travelers were never “traditional.” They were hostages. Watching Jeff Halonen turn that reality into a vertical SaaS powerhouse out of Calumet is the kind of plot twist that could only come from someone who’s lived the industry from the inside out. This round led by Mainsail Partners signals that the last mile of manufacturing is not a side quest anymore. It is the main arena, and Steelhead Technologies is walking in like someone who already read the final score.
The founding crew built this thing the way real operators build anything worth trusting. Jeff Halonen bringing the GM engineering discipline. Dean Halonen driving revenue like someone who has lived inside a job shop rhythm. Mark Halonen architecting a platform that handles high-mix variability without breaking a sweat. Aaron Halonen shaping the early foundation. Brent and Keith rounding out the engineering core. No mythology. Just people who listened when a Canadian anodizing shop said they needed a real digital system instead of a 1990s clipboard parade.
Now the platform runs quoting, scheduling, inventory, quality, production tracking and accounting with a precision that makes generic ERPs feel like dial-up. C#/.NET on the backend, React on the frontend, Azure pipelines carrying the load. The workflow engine models everything from acid zinc plating to multi-stage powder lines, and AI tools now push automated scheduling, labor optimization and real-time job costing. This is the kind of system that does not ask operators to change who they are. It removes the friction that kept shops from operating at full speed.
The scoreboard is loud. 320% YoY revenue growth. 175% YoY customer expansion. 1.6B+ parts processed. A factory adoption rate north of 1.25 per week. Shops seeing 17% revenue growth post-implementation and cycle times falling from 35 days to 7. Clients like D&K Powdercoating tripling size in 4 years. Investors Innovius Capital, Stage 2 Capital, TIA Ventures and C2 Ventures helped push the early acceleration, and now the board lineup of Jeb Dasteel, Mark Roberge, Jay Po and Andy Storm adds heavyweight clarity to every strategic decision.
This $84M infusion is fuel for the next chapter. Automated job costing that thinks ahead. AI-driven labor efficiency that understands real-world chaos. Predictive plant visibility that removes guesswork from generational businesses ready to modernize. Tens of thousands of shops still run on spreadsheets, but the market is shifting. When Steelhead Technologies steps in, paperwork stops being destiny and digital intelligence becomes the new operating muscle for an industry that finally wants more.
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