Jagadeesh A. Reddy
Thank you, Stefan, and good morning, everyone. During the second quarter, we remained focused on executing our MBX value creation framework. Notably, our adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 130 basis points sequentially despite a 2% decline in net sales. These results underscore the effectiveness of our cost management initiatives and our team's disciplined approach to improving operating leverage. As previously announced, we completed the acquisition of Accu-Fab at the beginning of July. This transaction represents a significant milestone in our transformation as we continue to execute our commercial growth strategy. We remain focused on increasing share of wallet with existing customers and expanding into high-growth adjacent end markets to diversify both our revenue base and customer mix. The addition of Accu-Fab provides diversification into the critical power and data center end market. These are 2 segments with compelling long-term secular tailwinds. While the transaction will be modestly accretive to earnings this year, a broader opportunity lies in market access and platform leverage, addressing unfulfilled demand. This acquisition increases our estimated serviceable addressable market by approximately 60% to approximately $8 billion. In addition, we see meaningful near-term opportunities to drive both revenue and cost synergies by leveraging our proven integration playbook and implementing our MBX framework. We have already begun executing with strong momentum as the team has deployed lean events at both locations. For reference, over the 2-year period since we acquired Mid-States Aluminum, or MSA, our implementation of the MBX framework has improved their adjusted EBITDA margins from approximately 20% to over 30%. This is well ahead of our initial expectations. Furthermore, MSA has been a source of growth within our business even in the current environment, as sales have grown an average of 8.4% through the first 2 quarters of 2025. Given Accu-Fab's high-value commercial opportunities within rapidly growing end markets, we look forward to unlocking the growth and value creation through this acquisition. Looking ahead, we have updated our 2025 financial guidance to reflect both the contribution of the Accu-Fab acquisition and the demand environment in our core end markets. Since our last earnings call, customer orders in the majority of our key end markets have remained soft. Many customers, particularly in the commercial vehicle, powersports and agriculture markets, continue to scale back production capacity. Although channel inventory levels in select end markets have shown modest improvement over the past 6 months, soft end-user demand is prolonging the duration of the destocking cycles. In the commercial vehicle market, specifically, elevated inventory levels persist amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding 2027 EPA regulations and pre-buy timing, that was previously expected later this year. Reflecting this, the most recent ACT forecast projects 2025 commercial vehicle production at approximately 252,000 units, a 24% decline compared to 2024. This weaker outlook is consistent with the order patterns we are currently seeing from our customers. Given these trends, we are no longer expecting a second half recovery in market demand. That said, we remain focused on what we can control. We have recently launched initiatives aimed at further reducing our fixed cost base, rationalizing asset capacity to optimize our manufacturing footprint. These actions are intended to improve our operating leverage over time without compromising our workforce and ability to scale production once demand begins to recover. Turning now to an overview of substantial new business wins during the second quarter. I am pleased to share that our team is tracking ahead of pace to achieve our annual goal of $100 million in new business awards for the year. First, we are excited to share that we have secured our first cross-selling win after the acquisition of Accu-Fab. We were able to quickly capitalize on the strength of the market, securing an award for data center fabrications. This will launch in the third quarter and generate revenues for MEC this year. Building on strategic wins last quarter, we further expanded our market share with our Access customer as they shift their global supply base. Our U.S. manufacturing footprint near this customer remains a key differentiator. In the quarter, we secured additional commercial vehicle wins tied to the 2026 and 2027 model updates, driven by the upcoming regulation changes. We expect to capture further market share in the quarters ahead. Within the critical power end market, we continue to see additional wins related to power generation, securing multiple awards for engine programs launching during the fourth quarter. Lastly, we continue to see some additional wins related to specific applications for additional battery thermal management units. We have continued to build out this product line as our relationship with this customer continues to grow. These wins further reinforce the strength of our comprehensive offering and fully domestic manufacturing footprint. Despite broader market softness, we continue to secure new awards and have not lost any significant customer programs. As we deepen relationships within Accu-Fab's customer base, we see meaningful opportunities to accelerate growth in high-value markets that remain underserved. Our continued emphasis on working capital efficiency generated $12.5 million in free cash flow, resulting in free cash flow conversion of 92% of adjusted EBITDA during the second quarter. Consistent with our capital allocation framework, we deployed this cash flow towards the repayment of debt and planned share repurchases. Following the closing of the Accu-Fab acquisition, our pro forma net leverage increased to approximately 3.1x, up from 1.4x at the end of the second quarter. Our primary focus will be on utilizing free cash flow to repay our debt, targeting below 2x by end of the year 2026. We repurchased $2.9 million of common stock under our share repurchase program during the quarter. Year-to-date, we have repurchased $4.6 million. This is near our previously announced annual commitment of $5 million to $6 million, offsetting the dilution from our annual stock compensation awards. Beyond our minimum repurchase threshold, we will evaluate additional repurchases using a returns-based approach that takes into consideration opportunities to grow our business. Before turning it over to Rachele, I want to address our 2026 financial targets. Given the current macroenvironment, we are withdrawing the 2026 targets issued at our 2023 Investor Day. These prior targets assumed a normalized market demand environment. That said, we continue to believe the financial profile implied by those targets is achievable once demand normalizes, even before factoring the strategic benefits of the Accu-Fab acquisition. Looking beyond 2025, we are focused on building MEC into a scaled, diversified domestic fabricator. We believe our platform can ultimately achieve $1 billion in revenue and adjusted EBITDA margins exceeding 15%. We believe this long-term profile reflects the earnings power of our current platform, supported by organic growth, disciplined M&A and consistent operational execution. As we gain better visibility into a recovery across our core markets, we will share a comprehensive update to our multiyear targets and strategic priorities. In the meantime, we are excited by the progress we're making with our Accu-Fab acquisition. Customer engagement has been strong, revealing opportunities we had not originally anticipated. As a result, we expect to recognize $5 million to $10 million of revenue synergies from the acquisition in 2026, 2 years ahead of schedule. By 2028, we expect that the acquisition could generate $15 million to $20 million in total revenue synergies. This is driven in part by the double-digit growth that we expect in the critical power and data center end markets. These early results reinforce the efficacy of our strategy. Our legacy customer relationships continue to provide foundational strength, while our expansion into high-growth, high-value adjacent markets is accelerating the transformation of MEC into a more balanced, high-margin platform. With reshoring trends gaining momentum, we believe our U.S.-based manufacturing footprint provides us with a durable competitive advantage. As we exit this down cycle, we are confident that MEC is uniquely positioned to deliver above-market growth and profitability. I'm incredibly proud of the progress our team has made and remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable long-term value for both our customers and shareholders. The MBX framework is enabling us to improve our operating leverage and prepare for the next phase of growth. With that, I will now turn the call over to Rachele to review our financial results.