Inspiring Conversations with Rick Acker of Capital Industrial & Capital Rack & Shelving Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Acker

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I got my start in the material handling industry in 2008 as a store fixture liquidator. My role was to travel around the country and sell off surplus fixtures and assets from shuttering retail stores (Linen’s N Things, Rite Aid, Circuit City, etc). At that time, I had no prior experience in the industry, but quickly learned there is a great need for used warehouse equipment in good condition at a great price.

After spending many years working for a large corporation, cultivating a decommission services division, in 2021, I set out on my own to start Capital Industrial Group, LLC. We rounded out 2021 with $1.8mm in sales, and 3 short years later, we’re targeting to exceed $7mm in sales in 2024.

Within those 3 years, we’ve grown to a team of seven full-time staff, with as many as 40-50 subcontractors working in the field at any given time.

Our specialty is helping businesses source new & used warehouse equipment, pallet racking, shelving, mezzanines, and conveyors. We also build trusted-partner relationships with commercial realtors to ensure their industrial and flex spaces are tenant ready, by providing industrial demolition services.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve said to our new hires multiple times that we’re building this locomotive as we’re barreling down the tracks.

We’ve intentionally hired exceptional humans who are capable of achieving tremendous results. When you’re leading a business with explosive growth, there are ever changing challenges to face day to day. I never would have had the opportunity to work on the vast leadership challenges in myself, had I not been fortunate to experience this kind of growth. By surrounding myself with extremely capable people, I’ve become much more accustomed to deferring challenges to a teammate who is more gifted in that area, creating a high level of efficiency in the company and sense of ownership from the team.

Our approach to solving problems is always a “fail-forward” mindset. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and improve. I would say that many of our SOP’s (standard operating procedures) have been cultivated by the challenges that we’ve experienced along the way.

I’m very fortunate to have some great “systems-thinkers” on my team, who are extraordinary at flushing out processes.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Capital Industrial & Capital Rack & Shelving Co.?
There are two major buckets of revenue under our organization. Capital Industrial is the parent company. Capital Industrial partners with material handling dealers, commercial realtors, and building product suppliers. We drive installation, decommission, and retrofit projects to the finish line and beyond. Capital Rack & Shelving Co. is the online marketplace for our new & used warehouse equipment. Capital Rack & Shelving Co. allows us the unique opportunity to serve both large businesses and our local customer’s needing solutions for smaller projects.

To give perspective of our services, every warehouse needs shelving, or some means of storage & handling of that company’s products or raw goods. Even in retail stores such as Home Depot, Costco, or Ikea that display their goods on those giant shelves, someone had to set those up safely and in an organized manner. We provide that service in thousands of warehouses, retail spaces and distribution centers across the country.

We also buy the material from the shelving back when a company is moving or closing its doors. We dismantle and ship the product back to our storage warehouse, where we then resell that racking to other growing businesses, and start the process all over again. In 2023, we estimated that we recycled over 4 million pounds of reusable steel.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Every time we engage with a client on a project, we “invest” in them and our mutual success. Every step along the way is an investment into the mutually beneficial outcome of a project. We hire character & coachability over experience which has cultivated a team who is passionate about their job and truly loves working together. Our team members are collaborative and creative. If there are ways & means for the client to save money, we get great satisfaction in helping them save money, while also getting the results they desire.

Most importantly, we feel it is our God-given responsibility to help charitable organizations in our area by supplying them with gently used equipment to help them grow their organizations. Our LiftUp Program is designed to give resources to those who are serving our community in a meaningful way. This giving spirit is central to our core values and we coach our new hires how to bake generosity to into everything we do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.capitalindustrial.net/ and https://www.capitalrack.net/
• Instagram: Insta – @capital_industrial_group_llc
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/capitalindustrialgroup