UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

or

For the transition period from              to             

Commission File No. 0-7099

CECO ENVIRONMENTAL CORP.

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (214) 357-6181

Securities registered under Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☐   No  ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $166.2 million based upon the closing market price and shares of common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2020, the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter. For the purpose of the foregoing calculation only, all directors and executive officers of the registrant and owners of more than 10% of the registrant’s common stock are assumed to be affiliates of the registrant. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily conclusive for any other purpose.

As of February 25, 2021, the registrant had 35,350,727 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report to the extent described herein.

CECO Environmental Corp. and Subsidiaries

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

For the year ended December 31, 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking statements" provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, other than statements of historical fact, including statements about management’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. These statements are made on the basis of management’s views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance. We use words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “will,” “plan,” “should” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Potential risks and uncertainties, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed under “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and include, but are not limited to:

Many of these risks are beyond management’s ability to control or predict. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should the assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material aspects from those currently anticipated. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements as they speak only to our views as of the date the statement is made. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required under the federal securities laws or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we undertake no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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PART I

General

CECO Environmental Corp. (“CECO,” “we,” “us,” or the “Company”) is a global leader in industrial air quality and fluid handling serving the energy, industrial and other niche markets through an attractive asset-light business model. We focus on engineering, designing, building, and installing systems that capture, clean and destroy airborne contaminants from industrial facilities as well as equipment that controls emissions from such facilities, as well as fluid handling and filtration systems. CECO provides innovative technology and application expertise that helps companies grow their businesses with safe, clean, and more efficient solutions to help protect our shared environment.

CECO serves diverse industries globally by working to improve air quality, optimize the energy value chain, and provide customized engineered solutions in our customers’ mission critical applications. The industries CECO serves include power generation, petrochemical processing, general industrial, refining, oil & gas, electric vehicle production, poly silicon fabrication, battery recycling, and wastewater treatment, along with a wide range of other industries.

CECO has over $6 billion of installed equipment with end users, which we target to expand and grow a higher recurring revenue of aftermarket products and services.  

Our customers include some of the largest natural gas processors, transmission and distribution companies, refineries, power generators, industrial manufacturing, engineering and construction companies, semiconductor manufacturers, compressor manufacturers, metals and minerals, and electric vehicle producers in the world.  

We believe our value differentiators include, but are not limited to, our product quality, reliability, on-time delivery and safety, supported by advanced engineering and operational excellence.  We believe these are critical in maintaining our competitive position and have adopted a spirit of continuous improvement to ensure we maintain our market leadership position.

Industry Overview

We serve a growing $5 billion dollar global market that is highly fragmented and serves various end markets including power generation, natural gas power plants, petrochemical processing, general industrial, refining, oil & gas and wastewater treatment.

We believe demand for our products and services will continue to be driven by the following factors:

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These factors, individually or collectively, tend to cause increases in industrial capital spending that are not directly impacted by general economic conditions, expansion, or capacity increases. In contrast, favorable conditions in the economy generally lead to plant expansions and the construction of new industrial sites. However, in a weak economy, customers tend to lengthen the time from their initial inquiry to the purchase order or defer purchases.

Mission and Strategy

Our mission is to help companies grow their business with safe, clean and more efficient solutions that help protect people and our shared environment.  

We seek to fulfill this mission through established global leadership in air quality and fluid handling solutions focused on serving the energy, industrial, and other niche markets around the world. We will continue to leverage our innovative technology and application expertise to customers around the world.  We work to improve air quality, optimize the energy value chain, and provide custom engineered solutions for applications including power generation, petrochemical processing, general industrial, refining, oil & gas, electric vehicle production, poly silicon fabrication, battery recycling, and wastewater treatment along with a wide range of other applications.  

Our strategy to become the global leader in air quality and fluid handling solutions is to drive an operating environment of performance excellence across the Company with a near term focus on targeted value creation enablers, and growth-oriented business segment performance.

We constantly look for opportunities to gain new customers and penetrate geographic locations and end markets with existing products and services or acquire new product or service opportunities. We intend to continue to expand our customer base and end markets and have continued to pursue potential attractive growth opportunities both domestically and internationally. In the past few years, we have expanded our international presence with new sales & engineering hubs in the United Kingdom, Shanghai, Singapore, Pune India, and Dubai.

Four Value Creation Enablers Driving Growth

All four of these are inter-connected and critical to achieving our objectives.

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Three Business Segments:

The Company operates and reports in three reportable segments focused on attractive end markets.  Each segment is aligned to generate profitable growth for the Company across a targeted industry with a compelling technology and solution set to benefit customers.

Competitive Strengths

Leading market position as a complete solution provider. We believe we are a leading provider of critical solutions in industrial air quality and fluid handling. The multi-billion dollar global market is highly fragmented with numerous small and regional contracting firms separately supplying engineering services, fabrication, installation, testing and monitoring, products and spare parts. We offer our customers a complete end-to-end solution, including engineering and project management services, procurement and fabrication, construction and installation, aftermarket support, and sale of consumables, which allows our customers to avoid dealing with multiple vendors when managing projects.

Long-standing experience and customer relationships in growing industry. We have serviced the needs of our target markets for over 50 years. Our extensive experience and expertise in providing diversified solutions enhances our overall customer relationships, and provides us with a competitive advantage in our markets relative to other companies in the industry. We believe this is evidenced by strong relationships with many of our world-class customers. We believe no single competitor has the resources to offer a similar portfolio of product and service capabilities. We offer the depth of a large organization, while our lean organizational structure keeps us close to our customers and markets, allowing us to offer rapid and complete solutions in each unique situation.

Global diversification and broad customer base. The global diversity of our operations and customer base provides us with multiple growth opportunities. As of December 31, 2020, we had a diversified customer base of approximately 5,000 active customers across a range of industries. We believe that the diversity of our customers and end markets mitigates our risk of a potential fluctuation or downturn in demand from any individual industry or particular customer. We believe we have the resources and capabilities to meet the needs of our customers as they upgrade and expand domestically as well as into new international markets. Once systems have been installed and a relationship has been established with the customer, we are often awarded repetitive service and maintenance business as the customers’ processes change and modifications or additions to their systems become necessary.

Experienced management and engineering team. Our senior management team has substantial experience in industrial air quality and fluid handling solutions. The business experience of our management team enables us to pursue our strategy. Our workforce includes

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approximately 400 engineers, designers, solution experts, and project managers whose significant specialized industry experience and technical expertise enables them to have a deep understanding of the solutions that will best suit the needs of our customers. The experience and stability of our management, operating and engineering teams have been crucial to our growth, developing and maintaining customer relationships, and increasing our market share.

Develop innovative solutions. We leverage our engineering and manufacturing expertise and strong customer relationships to develop new customized products to address the identified needs of our customers or a particular end market. We thoroughly analyze new product opportunities by considering projected demand for the product or service, price point, and expected operating costs, and only pursue those opportunities that we believe will contribute to earnings growth in the near-term. In addition, we continually improve our traditional technologies and adapt them to new industries and processes.

Disciplined acquisition program with successful integration. We believe that we have demonstrated an ability to successfully acquire and integrate companies with complementary product or service offerings. We will continue to seek and execute additional strategic acquisitions and focus on expanding our product service and breadth, as well as entering into new adjacent markets. We believe that the breadth and diversity of our products and services and our ability to deliver full solutions to various end markets provides us with multiple sources of stable growth and a competitive advantage relative to other players in the industry.

Products and Services

We provide a wide spectrum of products and services including dampers and diverters, selective catalytic reduction and selective non-catalytic reduction systems, cyclonic technology, thermal oxidizers, filtration systems, scrubbers, fluid handling equipment and plant engineering services and engineered design build fabrication. Our products primarily compete on the basis of price, performance, speed of delivery, quality, customer support and single source.

Project Design and Research and Development

We seek to achieve our Outside-In Leadership by understanding our customers’ needs and delivering better outcomes for them by focusing new product development efforts that help protect our shared environment while working to improve a variety of operational outcomes including, but not limited to, facility uptime, production quality, employee safety, equipment protection and process performance. We produce specialized products that are often tailored to the specifications of a customer or application.

We continually collaborate with our customers on their projects to develop the proper solution and ensure customer satisfaction. The project development cycle may follow many different paths depending on the specifics of the job and end market. The cycle can take from one to more than twelve months from concept and design to production but may vary significantly depending on developments that occur during the process, including among others, the emergence of new environmental demands, changes in design specifications and ability to obtain necessary approvals.

Sales, Marketing and Support

Our global selling strategy is to provide a solutions-based approach by being a single source provider of technology products and services. The strategy involves expanding our scope of products and services through selective acquisitions and the formation and integration of new business units. We believe this strategy provides a discernible competitive advantage. We execute this strategy by utilizing our portfolio of in-house technologies and those of third-party equipment suppliers. Many of these have been long-standing relationships, which have evolved from pure supplier roles to value-added business partnerships. This enables us to leverage existing business with selective alliances of suppliers and application specific engineering expertise. Our products primarily compete on the basis of price, performance, speed of delivery, quality, customer support, and single source. Our value proposition to customers is to provide competitively priced, customized solutions. Our industry-specific knowledge, accompanied by our product and service offerings, provides valuable synergies for design innovation.

We sell and market our products and services with our own direct sales force, including employees in the United States, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, India, Mexico, China, and Singapore, in conjunction with outside sales representatives in North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and India. We expect to continue expanding our sales and support capabilities and our network of outside sales representatives in key regions domestically and internationally.

We market our offerings to our customers through a variety of channels including, but not limited to, digital, web, social media, email campaigns, individual customer visits, product announcements, brochures, magazine articles, advertisements and cover or article features in trade journals and other publications. We also participate in public relations and promotional events, including industry tradeshows and technical conferences.

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Our customer service organization or sales force provides our customers with technical assistance, use and maintenance information as well as other key information regarding their purchase. We also actively provide our customers with access to key information regarding changes and pending changes in environmental regulations as well as new product or service developments. We believe that maintaining a close relationship with our customers and providing them with the support they request improves their level of satisfaction and enables us to foresee their potential future product needs or service demands. Moreover, this approach can lead to sales of annual service and support contracts as well as consumables. Our website also provides our customers with online tools and technical resources.

Quality Assurance

In engineered systems, quality is defined as system performance. We review with our customers, before the contract is signed, the technical specification and the efficiency of the equipment that will be customized to meet their specific needs. We then review these same parameters internally to assure that warranties will be met. Standard project management and production management tools are used to help ensure that all work is done to specification and that project schedules are met. Equipment is tested at the site to ensure it is functioning properly.

Customers

We are not dependent upon any single customer, and no customer comprised 10% or more of our consolidated revenues for 2020.

Suppliers and Subcontractors

We purchase our raw materials and supplies from a variety of global sources. When possible, we directly secure angle iron and sheet plate products from steel mills, whereas other materials are purchased from a variety of steel service centers. Steel prices have traditionally been volatile, but we typically mitigate the risk of higher prices by including a “surcharge” on our standard products. On contract work, we mitigate the risk of higher prices by including the current price in our estimate and generally include price inflation clauses for protection.

We believe we have a good relationship with our suppliers and do not anticipate any difficulty in continuing to purchase such items on terms acceptable to us. We have not experienced difficulty in procuring a sufficient supply of materials in the past. To the extent that our current suppliers are unable or unwilling to continue to supply us with materials, we believe that we would be able to obtain such materials from other suppliers on acceptable terms.

Typically, on turnkey projects, we subcontract manufacturing, electrical work, concrete work, controls, conveyors and insulation. We use subcontractors with whom we have good working relationships and review each project at the beginning and on an ongoing basis to help ensure that all work is being done according to our specifications. Subcontractors are generally paid when we are paid by our customers according to the terms of our contract with the customer.  The Company’s asset-light business model focuses on effective management of subcontractors, which allows the Company to achieve targeted working capital levels through reduction in certain assets and reduced capital expenditures.

Backlog

Backlog (i.e., unfulfilled or remaining performance obligations) represents the sales we expect to recognize for our products and services for which control has not yet transferred to the customer.  Backlog was $183.1 million as of December 31, 2020 as compared to $216.6 million as of December 31, 2019, $9.8 million of backlog in total was acquired from the Environmental Integrated Solutions (“EIS”) acquisition and the Mader Holding L.P. (“Mader”) joint venture. In addition, the Company removed $9.2 million of orders in 2020 that were previously disclosed as backlog in prior periods, due to cancellations by industrial customers with exposure to aerospace end markets.  Backlog is adjusted on a quarterly basis for adjustments in foreign currency exchange rates. Substantially all backlog is expected to be delivered within 12 to 18 months. Backlog is not defined by United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and our methodology for calculating backlog may not be consistent with methodologies used by other companies.

Competition

The markets we serve are highly fragmented with numerous small and regional participants. We believe no single company competes with us across the full range of our systems and products. Competition in the markets we serve is based on a number of considerations, including timeliness of delivery, technology, applications experience, know-how, reputation, product warranties, service and price.  Demand for our product can vary period over period depending on conditions in the markets we serve. We believe our product quality,

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reliability, on-time delivery and safety supported by advanced engineering and operational excellence differentiate us from many of our competitors, including those competitors who often offer products at a lower price.

Due to the size and shipping weight of many of our projects, localized manufacturing/fabrication capabilities are very important to our customers. As a result, competition varies widely by region and industry. The market for our engineered products is reasonably competitive and is characterized by technological change, continuously changing environmental regulations, and evolving customer requirements. We believe that the additional competitive factors in our markets include:

We believe we compete favorably with respect to these factors.

Government Regulations

We believe our operations are in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations. We believe that changes in environmental laws and regulations create opportunity given the nature of our business.

Our business is subject to numerous laws and regulations. We expect that the change in administration at the federal level will result in an increase in federal regulations applicable to our business.  While there are not currently regulations proposed or pending that we believe will result in material capital, operating or other costs to the business at this time, such regulations could be proposed and/or passed into law in 2021 or beyond.  Other regulations currently in place could be withdrawn and replaced with more stringent requirements in 2021 or beyond.  New laws and regulations and the costs of compliance with such new laws and regulations can only be broadly appraised until their implementation becomes more defined through regulatory guidance and enforcement.

Intellectual Property

We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, employee and third-party nondisclosure/confidentiality agreements and license agreements to protect our intellectual property. We sell most of our products under a number of registered trade names, brand names and registered trademarks, which we believe are widely recognized in the industry. While we hold patents within a number of our businesses, we do not view our patents to be material to our business.

Commitment to Values and Ethics

At CECO, we act in accordance with our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (“Code of Conduct”), which sets forth expectations and guidance for employees to make appropriate decisions. Our Code of Conduct covers topics such as anti-corruption, discrimination, harassment, data privacy, appropriate use of company assets, protecting confidential information, and reporting Code of Conduct violations. The Code of Conduct reflects our commitment to operating in a fair, honest, responsible and ethical manner and also provides direction for reporting complaints in the event of alleged violations of our policies ,including through an anonymous helpline. Our executive officers and managers maintain an “open door” policy, and any form of retaliation is strictly prohibited.

Human Capital Management

CECO recognizes that in order to drive innovation and operational excellence, we must identify, attract, retain and motivate world-class talent. As of December 31, 2020, CECO has approximately 730 employees, across seven countries. One-hundred and fifty of our US employees are unionized in our Pennsylvania, Tennessee and North Carolina facilities.

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Talent, Leadership and People Development

To support personal and professional development, we have strategically committed resources to leadership and management development programs, product knowledge, job skills, and compliance training. In 2020, CECO implemented an online learning platform so our employees could continue to enhance their skill sets and knowledge while working remotely due to COVID-19.  Our learning platform offers over 16,000 courses and certifications ranging from job function to leadership and resource training.  As of December 31, 2020, 72% of CECO’s global workforce registered and engaged with this learning platform. We believe this investment in our team members results in a more knowledgeable and competent workforce while strengthening the commitment between employees and our company.  

We provide a variety of resources to help our employees grow in their current roles and build new skills to thrive in the workplace of the future. Strategic talent reviews are conducted annually across all business areas. The Board is updated on the Company’s people strategy on an annual basis, which is refined based on business drivers, market factors and key initiatives designed to drive the corporate strategy and business results, and meets to review our succession planning strategy and leadership pipeline for key roles, taking into account the company’s long-term strategy.

Health and Safety

At CECO, the health and safety of our employees is one of our highest priorities. We believe that all injuries, occupational illnesses and incidents are preventable, and we are committed to operating with a zero-incident culture. Through our environmental, health and safety program we implement policies and training programs, as well as perform self-audits to ensure our colleagues leave the workplace safely every day. To better understand employee safety at the site level, we have implemented safety committees and developed safety scorecards to share best practices between sites. We currently share scorecard information monthly to foster visibility, accountability and commitment across our workplace, communicating and celebrating successful results across the enterprise. In addition to lagging indicators, such as injury performance, the scorecards highlight leading indicators such as safety observations and near-misses, as well as other proactive actions taken at each site to ensure worker safety. For the year ended December 31, 2020, CECO’s domestic Total Recordable Incident Rate (“TRIR”) was 1.9% as compared to our benchmark industry average TRIR of 4.5%.

Our safety focus is also evident in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic around the globe. We implemented all government, federal and state policies, in addition to the following policies and procedures:

CECO manufactures products and performs services deemed essential to critical infrastructure, including manufacturing, and energy, and, as a result, our facilities have continued operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, during 2020, our experience and

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continuing focus on workplace safety have enabled us to preserve business continuity without sacrificing our commitment to keeping our colleagues and workplace visitors safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diversity, Equity, and an Inclusive Culture

At CECO we believe a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to inspiring innovative thinking, creative problem-solving, performance, and results, so we cultivate an environment where team members feel valued, engaged, and inspired to give their best. The unique characteristics that shape each individual help inform our decisions as a company, and this mindset allows CECO to realize new opportunities and add value to our customers, partners, and stockholders.

As part of our efforts to expand CECO’s diverse workforce, we are:

CECO’s commitment to expanding our diverse workforce and enhancing our inclusive culture is driven by our recognition that a workplace that is reflective of our global customer base establishes a firm foundation to drive creativity and innovation, which lead to problem solving, development, performance, and business success.

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

On July 6, 2020, Mr. Todd Gleason started serving as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company, succeeding Dennis Sadlowski. See “Executive Officers of CECO” below for Mr. Gleason’s biography.

Executive Officers of CECO

The following are the executive officers of the Company as of February 28, 2021. The terms of all officers expire at the next annual meeting of stockholders and upon the election of the successors of such officers.

Todd Gleason (49) most recently served, from April 2015 to July 2020, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Analytics Inc., a predictive analytic technologies and services company. Prior to that position, Mr. Gleason served from June 2007 to March 2015 in a number of senior officer and executive positions for Pentair plc, a water treatment company. During his tenure with Pentair, Mr. Gleason served as Senior Vice President and Corporate Officer from January 2013 to March 2015, President, Integration and Standardization from January 2010 to January 2013, and Vice President, Global Growth and Investor Relations from June 2007 to January 2010. Before joining Pentair, Mr. Gleason served as Vice President, Strategy and Investor Relations for American Standard Companies Inc. (later renamed to Trane Inc. prior to its acquisition by Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited), a global, diversified manufacturing company, and in a number of different roles (including as Chief Financial Officer, Honeywell Process Solutions) at Honeywell International Inc., a diversified technology and manufacturing company. Mr. Gleason’s qualifications to sit on the Board include his financial and business background, as well as his extensive executive and leadership experience.

Matthew Eckl (40) has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 2017.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Eckl served as Vice President, Finance – Energy Group at Gardner Denver, Inc. from 2012 until January 2017.  In this role, he oversaw a $1 billion revenue business group that designs, manufactures, markets and services pumps, fluid transfer equipment and engineered systems for oil & gas and petrochemical industries.  Prior to joining Gardner Denver, Mr. Eckl served in various roles of increasing responsibility within General Electric Company, a global digital industrial company, from 2002 until 2012, where he worked with various business groups to integrate new acquisitions and streamline financial reporting processes.  Mr. Eckl earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Pennsylvania State University.

Paul Gohr (39) has served as the Chief Accounting Officer since May 2017. Mr. Gohr previously served as our Vice President of Financial Reporting since joining the Company in September 2014. From 2004 to 2014, Mr. Gohr served in various roles of increasing responsibility within Grant Thornton LLP, a global public accounting firm, most recently as a Senior Manager of Audit Services. While at Grant Thornton LLP, Mr. Gohr served a broad base of both public and private companies with international operations, many of which were acquisitive in nature. Mr. Gohr is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Gohr earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accountancy and a Masters of Accountancy degree from Miami University.

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Available Information

We use the Investor Relations section of our website, www.cecoenviro.com, as a channel for routine distribution of important information, including news releases, investor presentations and financial information. We post filings as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC, including our annual, quarterly, and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K; proxy statements; and any amendments to those reports or statements. All such postings and filings are available on our website free of charge. The SEC also maintains a website, www.sec.gov, that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The content on any website referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K unless expressly noted.

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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risk factors described below, together with the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before you decide to invest in our securities. The risks described below are the material risks of which we are currently aware; however, they may not be the only risks that we may face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently view as immaterial may also impair our business. Although the risks are organized by headings, and each risk is discussed separately, many are interrelated. If any of these risks develop into actual events, it could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and the trading price of your shares could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment.

COVID-19 Risks

We face risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We face risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The continued spread of COVID-19 has reached geographic areas in which we have operations, suppliers, customers and employees. We expect the continued spread of COVID-19 to continue to have a significant impact on our business, and may affect the demand for our products and disrupt our supply chain and the manufacturing and distribution of our products. It is unknown how long these disruptions could continue and such events may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The continuing spread of COVID-19 has caused volatility, severe market dislocations and liquidity constraints in many markets.  Several countries, including the United States, have taken steps to restrict travel, temporarily close businesses and issue quarantine orders, and it remains unclear how long such measures will remain in place or whether efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 will continue to intensify. The foregoing could lead to a significant economic downturn or recession, increased market volatility, a greater number of market closures, higher default rates and adverse effects on the values and liquidity of securities or other assets.  Such impacts may adversely affect the Company and your investment in the Company.  

The ultimate effect that COVID-19 may have on our operating and financial results is not presently known to us or may present unanticipated risks that cannot be determined at this time.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our business may be adversely affected by global economic conditions.

A national or global economic downturn or credit crisis may have a significant negative impact on our financial condition, future results of operations and cash flows. Specific risk factors related to these overall economic and credit conditions include the following:

These risk factors could reduce our product sales, increase our operating costs, impact our ability to collect customer receivables, lengthen our cash conversion cycle and increase our need for cash, which would ultimately decrease our profitability and negatively impact our financial condition. They could also limit our ability to expand through acquisitions due to the tightening of the credit markets.

Our dependence upon fixed-price contracts could adversely affect our operating results.

The majority of our projects are currently performed on a fixed-price basis, while a limited number of projects are currently performed on a time and materials basis. Under a fixed-price contract, we agree on the price that we will receive for the entire project, based upon a defined scope, which includes specific assumptions and project criteria. If our estimates of the costs to complete the project are below the actual costs that we incur, our margins will decrease, or we may incur a loss. The revenue, cost and gross profit realized on

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a fixed-price contract will often vary from the estimated amounts because of unforeseen conditions or changes in job conditions and variations in labor and equipment productivity over the term of the contract, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While our fixed-price contracts are typically not individually material to our operating results, if we are unsuccessful in mitigating these risks, we may realize gross profits that are different from those originally estimated and incur reduced profitability or losses on projects. Depending on the size of a project, these variations from estimated contract performance could have a significant effect on our operating results. In general, turnkey contracts to be performed on a fixed-price basis involve an increased risk of significant variations. Generally, our contracts and projects vary in length, depending on the size and complexity of the project, project owner demands and other factors. The foregoing risks are exacerbated for projects with longer-term durations and the inherent difficulties in estimating costs and of the interrelationship of the integrated services to be provided under these contracts whereby unanticipated costs or delays in performing part of the contract, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, can have compounding effects by increasing costs of performing other parts of the contract.

Accounting for contract revenue may result in material adjustments that would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from fixed price contracts. We recognize revenue as performance obligations are satisfied and the customer obtains control of the products and services.  A significant amount of our revenue within the Energy Solutions and Industrial Solutions segments is recognized over a period of time as we perform under the contract because control of the work in process transfers continuously to the customer. For performance obligations to deliver products with continuous transfer of control to the customer, revenue is recognized based on the extent of progress towards completion of the performance obligation. Progress is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs to complete the performance obligation. For these contracts, the cost-to-cost measure best depicts the continuous transfer of goods or services to the customer.

Contract revenue and total direct cost estimates are reviewed and revised periodically as the work progresses and as change orders are approved, and adjustments are reflected in contract revenue in the period when these estimates are revised. These estimates are based on management’s reasonable assumptions and our historical experience, and are only estimates. Variation of actual results from these assumptions, which are outside the control of management and can differ from our historical experience, including for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic, could be material. To the extent that these adjustments result in an increase, a reduction or the elimination of previously reported contract revenue, we would recognize a credit or a charge against current earnings, which could be material.

Our inability to deliver our backlog on time could affect our future sales and profitability, and our relationships with our customers.

Our backlog was $183.0 million at December 31, 2020 and $216.6 million at December 31, 2019. Our ability to meet customer delivery schedules for our backlog is dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to, access to the raw materials required for production, an adequately trained and capable workforce, project engineering expertise for certain large projects, sufficient internal manufacturing plant capacity, available subcontractors and appropriate planning and scheduling of manufacturing resources. Our failure to deliver in accordance with customer expectations may result in damage to existing customer relationships and result in the loss of future business. Failure to deliver backlog in accordance with expectations could negatively impact our financial performance and cause adverse changes in the market price of our common stock.

Volatility of oil and natural gas prices can adversely affect demand for our products and services.

Volatility in oil and natural gas prices can impact our customers’ activity levels and spending for our products and services.  Current energy prices are important contributors to cash flow for our customers and their ability to fund capital expenditures.  The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted demand for and expectations about future prices and price volatility, which are important for determining our customers future spending levels.  Lower oil and natural gas prices generally lead to decreased spending by our customers.  While higher oil and natural gas prices generally lead to increased spending by our customers, sustained high energy prices can be an impediment to economic growth, and can therefore negatively impact spending by our customers.  Our customers also take into account the volatility of energy prices and other risk factors by requiring higher returns for individual projects if there is a higher perceived risk.  Any of these factors could affect the demand for oil and natural gas and could have a material effect on our results of operations.

Our financial performance may vary significantly from period to period.

Our annual revenues and earnings have varied in the past and are likely to vary in the future. Our contracts generally stipulate customer specific delivery terms and may have contract cycles of a year or more, which subjects these contracts to many factors beyond our control. In addition, contracts that are significantly larger in size than our typical contracts tend to intensify their impact on our annual operating results. Furthermore, as a significant portion of our operating costs are fixed, an unanticipated decrease in our revenues, a delay or cancellation of orders in backlog, or a decrease in the demand for our products, may have a significant impact on

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our annual operating results. Therefore, our annual operating results may be subject to significant variations and our operating performance in one period may not be indicative of our future performance.

Customers may cancel or delay projects. As a result, our backlog may not be indicative of our future revenue.

Customers may cancel or delay projects for reasons beyond our control, including for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our orders normally contain cancellation provisions that permit us to recover our costs, and, for most contracts, a portion of our anticipated profit in the event a customer cancels an order. If a customer elects to cancel an order, we may not realize the full amount of revenues included in our backlog. If projects are delayed, the timing of our revenues could be affected and projects may remain in our backlog for extended periods of time. Revenue recognition occurs over long periods of time and is subject to unanticipated delays. If we receive relatively large orders in any given quarter, fluctuations in the levels of our quarterly backlog can result because the backlog in that quarter may reach levels that may not be sustained in subsequent quarters. As a result, our backlog may not be indicative of our future revenues. With rare exceptions, we are not issued contracts until a customer is ready to start work on a project. Thus, it is our experience that the only relationship between the length of a project and the possibility that a project may be cancelled is simply the fact that there is more time involved. In a year-long project as opposed to a three-month project, more time is available for the customer to experience a softening in its business, which may cause the customer to cancel a project.

We face significant competition in the markets we serve.

All of the industries in which we compete are highly competitive and highly fragmented. We compete in primarily mature markets against a number of local, regional and national contractors and manufacturers in each of our product or service lines, many of which have been in existence longer than us and some of which have substantially greater financial resources than we do. Our products primarily compete on the basis of price, performance, speed of delivery, quality, customer support and single source. We must also be responsive to any technological developments and related changing customer requirements. Any failure by us to compete effectively in the markets we serve could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may incur material costs as a result of existing or future product liability claims, or other claims and litigation that could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows; and our insurance coverage may not cover all claims or may be insufficient to cover the claims.

Despite our quality assurance measures, we may be exposed to product liability claims, other claims and litigation in the event that the use of our products results, or is alleged to result, in bodily injury and/or property damage or our products actually or allegedly fail to perform as expected. Such claims may also be accompanied by fraud and deceptive trade practices claims. While we maintain insurance coverage with respect to certain product liability and other claims, we may not be able to obtain such insurance on acceptable terms in the future, if at all, and any such insurance may not provide adequate coverage against product liability and other claims. Furthermore, our insurance may not cover damages from breach of contract by us or based on alleged fraud or deceptive trade practices. Any future damages that are not covered by insurance or are in excess of policy limits could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, product liability and other claims can be expensive to defend and can divert the attention of management and other personnel for significant periods of time, regardless of the ultimate outcome.

An unsuccessful defense of a product liability or other claim could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Even if we are successful in defending against a claim relating to our products, claims of this nature could cause our customers to lose confidence in our products and us.

Liability to customers under warranties may adversely affect our reputation, our ability to obtain future business and our results of operations.

We provide certain warranties as to the proper operation and conformance to specifications of the products we manufacture or produce. Failure of our products to operate properly or to meet specifications may increase our costs by requiring additional engineering resources and services, replacement of parts and equipment or monetary reimbursement to customers. We have in the past received warranty claims, are currently subject to warranty claims, and we expect to continue to receive claims in the future. To the extent that we incur substantial warranty claims in any period, our reputation, our ability to obtain future business and our results of operations could be adversely affected.

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Increasing costs for manufactured components, raw materials, transportation, health care and energy prices may adversely affect our profitability.

We use a broad range of manufactured components and raw materials in our products, including raw steel, steel-related components, filtration media, and equipment such as fans and motors. Materials and subcontracting costs comprise the largest components of our total costs. Further increases in the price of these items could further materially increase our operating costs and materially adversely affect our profit margins. Similarly, transportation, steel and health care costs have risen steadily over the past few years and represent an increasing burden for us. Although we try to contain these costs whenever possible, and although we try to pass along increased costs in the form of price increases to our customers, we may be unsuccessful in doing so, and even when successful, the timing of such price increases may lag significantly behind our incurrence of higher costs.

Risks Related to our Business Model and Capital Structure

Our gross margins are affected by shifts in our product mix.

Certain of our products have higher gross profit margins than others. Consequently, changes in the product mix of our sales from quarter-to-quarter or from year-to-year can have a significant impact on our reported gross profit margins. Certain of our products also have a much higher internally manufactured cost component. Therefore, changes from quarter-to-quarter or from year-to-year can have a significant impact on our reported gross margins. In addition, contracts with a higher percentage of subcontracted work or equipment purchases may result in lower gross profit margins.

Our manufacturing operations are dependent on third-party suppliers.

Although we are not dependent on any one supplier, we are dependent on the ability of our third-party suppliers to supply our raw materials, as well as certain specific component parts. The third-party suppliers upon which we depend may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, insolvency, lack of liquidity, adverse economic conditions, operational failure, fraud, loss of key personnel, or other reasons. For example, as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 and government mandated shutdowns, we have noticed our suppliers are experiencing delays in the production or an inability to perform work. We cannot assure you that our third-party suppliers will dedicate sufficient resources to meet our scheduled delivery requirements or that our suppliers will have sufficient resources to satisfy our requirements during any period of sustained demand, and the global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic could result in there being fewer alternative suppliers. Failure of suppliers to supply, or delays in supplying, our raw materials or certain components, or allocations in the supply of certain high demand raw components, for any reason, including, without limitation, disruptions in our suppliers’ due to cybersecurity incidents, terrorist activity, public health crises (such as COVID-19), fires or other natural disasters could materially adversely affect our operations and ability to meet our own delivery schedules on a timely and competitive basis.  Additionally, our third-party suppliers may provide us with raw materials or component parts that fail to meet our expectations or the expectations of our customers, which could subject us to product liability claims, other claims and litigation.

Our use of subcontractors could potentially harm our profitability and business reputation.

Occasionally we act as a prime contractor in some of the engineered projects we undertake. In our capacity as lead provider and when acting as a prime contractor, we perform a portion of the work on our projects with our own resources and typically subcontract activities such as manufacturing, electrical work, concrete work, insulation, conveyors and controls. In our industry, the lead contractor is normally responsible for the performance of the entire contract, including subcontract work. Thus, when acting as a prime contractor, we are subject to risk associated with the failure of one or more subcontractors to perform as anticipated.

Moreover, the outbreak and preventative or protective actions that governments, corporations, individuals or we may take to contain COVID-19 have resulted in, and may continue to result in, a period of reduced operations and business disruption for our subcontractors. The outbreak of COVID-19 and related actions also have prevented, and may continue to prevent, our subcontractors from meeting their obligations to us, which could also contribute to performance delays on our customer obligations and increase our costs. Any costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may not be fully recoverable or adequately covered by insurance.  

We employ subcontractors at various locations around the world to meet our customers’ needs in a timely manner, meet local content requirements and reduce costs. Subcontractors generally perform the majority of our manufacturing for international customers. We also utilize subcontractors in North America. The use of subcontractors decreases our control over the performance of these functions and could result in project delays, escalated costs and substandard quality. These risks could adversely affect our profitability and business reputation. In addition, many of our competitors, who have greater financial resources and greater bargaining power than we have, use the same subcontractors that we use and could potentially influence our ability to hire these subcontractors. If we were to lose relationships with key subcontractors, our business could be adversely impacted.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the progress of construction projects across the globe and will likely continue to cause delays and disruptions.  If projects are delayed or cancelled it could have a material adverse effect upon our business and financial condition.

A significant portion of our accounts receivable are related to larger contracts, which increases our exposure to credit risk.

Significant portions of our sales are to customers who place large orders for custom products and whose activities are related to the power and oil & gas industries. As a result, our exposure to credit risk is affected to some degree by conditions within these industries and governmental and or political conditions. We frequently attempt to reduce our exposure to credit risk by requiring progress or milestone payments and letters of credit as well as closely monitoring the credit worthiness of our customers. However, the continuing economic climate and other unanticipated events that affect our customers could have a materially adverse impact on our operating results. Further, we believe that the outbreak and worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to adversely impact our sales.

Changes in billing terms can increase our exposure to working capital and credit risk.

Our products are generally sold under contracts that allow us to bill upon the completion of certain agreed upon milestones or upon actual shipment of the product, and certain contracts include a retention provision. We attempt to negotiate progress-billing milestones on all large contracts to help us manage the working capital and credit risk associated with these large contracts. Consequently, shifts in the billing terms of the contracts in our backlog from period to period can increase our requirement for working capital and can increase our exposure to credit risk.

Currency fluctuations may reduce profits on our foreign sales or increase our costs, either of which could adversely affect our financial results.

Given that approximately 35% of our 2020 revenues are outside the United States, we are subject to the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Although our financial results are reported in U.S. dollars, a portion of our sales and operating costs are realized in foreign currencies.  Our sales and profitability are impacted by the movement of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies in the countries in which we generate sales and conduct operations.  Long-term fluctuations in relative currency values could have an adverse effect on our operations and financial conditions.

If our goodwill or indefinite lived intangibles become impaired, we may be required to recognize charges that would adversely impact our results of operations.

As of December 31, 2020, goodwill and indefinite lived intangibles were $174.8 million, or 41.7%, of our total assets. Goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets are not amortized, but instead are subject to annual impairment evaluations (or more frequently if circumstances require). Major factors that influence our evaluations are estimates for future revenue and expenses associated with the specific intangible asset or the reporting unit in which the goodwill resides. This is the most sensitive of our estimates related to our evaluations. Other factors considered in our evaluations include assumptions as to the business climate, industry and economic conditions. These assumptions are subjective and different estimates could have a significant impact on the results of our analyses. While management, based on current forecasts and outlooks, believes that the assumptions and estimates are reasonable, we can make no assurances that future actual operating results will be realized as planned and that there will not be material impairment charges as a result. In particular, an economic downturn could have a material adverse impact on our customers thereby forcing them to reduce or curtail doing business with us and such a result may materially affect the amount of cash flow generated by our future operations. Any write-down of goodwill or intangible assets resulting from future periodic evaluations could adversely materially impact our results of operations.

We may incur costs as a result of certain restructuring activities, which may negatively impact our financial results, and we may not achieve some or all of the expected benefits of our restructuring plans.

We are continuously seeking the most cost-effective means and structure to serve our customers, protect our stockholders and respond to changes in our markets. From time to time, we may engage in restructuring activities in an effort to improve cost competitiveness and profitability.  We may not achieve the desired or anticipated benefits from these restructuring activities. As a result, restructuring costs may vary significantly from year to year depending on the scope of such activities. Such restructuring costs and expenses could adversely impact our financial results.

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We are party to asbestos-containing product litigation that could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our subsidiary, Met-Pro, along with numerous other third parties, has been named as a defendant in asbestos-related lawsuits filed against a large number of industrial companies including, in particular, those in the pump and fluid handling industries. In management’s opinion, the complaints typically have been vague, general and speculative, alleging that Met-Pro, along with the numerous other defendants, sold unidentified asbestos-containing products and engaged in other related actions that caused injuries (including death) and loss to the plaintiffs. The Company’s insurers have hired attorneys who, together with the Company, are vigorously defending these cases. The Company believes that its insurance coverage is adequate for the cases currently pending against the Company and for the foreseeable future, assuming a continuation of the current volume, nature of cases and settlement amounts. However, the Company has no control over the number and nature of cases that are filed against it, nor as to the financial health of its insurers or their position as to coverage. The Company also presently believes that none of the pending cases will have a material adverse impact upon the Company’s results of operations, liquidity or financial condition.

See Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding the asbestos-related litigation in which we are involved.

We have $74.0 million of indebtedness as of December 31, 2020, and incurrence of additional indebtedness could adversely affect our ability to operate our business, remain in compliance with debt covenants, make payments on our debt and limit our growth.

Our outstanding indebtedness could have important consequences for investors, including the following:

Our ability to meet our expenses and debt obligations will depend on our future performance, which will be affected by financial, business, economic, regulatory and other factors. We will not be able to control many of these factors. We cannot be certain that our earnings will be sufficient to allow us to pay the principal and interest on our existing or future debt and meet our other obligations. Moreover, we currently expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to negatively impact our cash flow and liquidity. If we do not have enough money to service our existing or future debt, we may be required to refinance all or part of our existing or future debt, sell assets, borrow more money or raise equity. We may not be able to refinance our existing or future debt, sell assets, borrow more money or raise equity on terms acceptable to us, if at all, particularly in light of COVID-19’s impact on capital markets.

We might be unable to protect our intellectual property rights and our products could infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which could expose us to costly disputes.

Although we believe that our products do not infringe patents or violate the proprietary rights of others, it is possible that our existing patent rights may not be valid or that infringement of existing or future patents or proprietary rights may occur. In the event our products infringe patents or proprietary rights of others, we may be required to modify the design of our products or obtain a license for certain technology. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so in a timely manner, upon acceptable terms and conditions, or at all. Failure to do any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect upon our business. Moreover, if our products infringe patents or proprietary rights of others, we could, under certain circumstances, become liable for damages, which also could have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Risks related to our pension plan may adversely impact our results of operations and cash flow.

Significant changes in actual investment return on pension assets, discount rates, and other factors may adversely affect our results of operations and pension plan contributions in future periods. GAAP requires that we calculate the income or expense of our plan using actuarial valuations. These valuations reflect assumptions about financial markets and interest rates. We establish the discount rate used to determine the present value of the projected and accumulated benefit obligation at the end of each year based upon the available market rates for high quality, fixed-income investments. An increase in the discount rate would increase future pension expense and, conversely, a decrease in the discount rate would decrease future pension expense. Funding requirements for our pension plan may become more significant. The ultimate amounts to be contributed are dependent upon, among other things, interest rates, underlying asset returns and the impact of legislative or regulatory changes related to pension funding obligations. For a discussion regarding the significant assumptions used to estimate pension expense, including discount rate and the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, and how our financial statements can be affected by pension plan accounting policies, see “Critical Accounting Policies” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

We may be subject to substantial withdrawal liability assessments in the future related to multiemployer pension plans to which certain of our subsidiaries make contributions pursuant to collective bargaining agreements.

Under applicable federal law, any employer contributing to a multiemployer pension plan that completely ceases participating in the plan while the plan is underfunded is subject to payment of such employer’s assessed share of the aggregate unfunded vested benefits of the plan.  In certain circumstances, an employer can be assessed a withdrawal liability for a partial withdrawal from a multiemployer pension plan.  If any of these adverse events were to occur in the future, it could result in a substantial withdrawal liability assessment that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We have made and may make future acquisitions or divestitures, which involve numerous risks that could impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our operating strategy has involved expanding or contracting our scope of products and services through selective acquisitions or divestitures and the formation or elimination of new business units that are then integrated or separated into or out of our family of turnkey system providers. We have acquired other businesses, product or service lines, assets or technologies that are complementary to our business. We may be unable to find or consummate future acquisitions at acceptable prices and terms. We continually evaluate potential acquisition opportunities in the ordinary course of business.

Although we conduct what we believe to be a prudent level of investigation regarding the operating and financial condition of the businesses, product or service lines, assets or technologies we purchase, an unavoidable level of risk remains regarding their actual operating and financial condition. Until we actually assume operating control of these businesses, product or service lines, assets or technologies, we may not be able to ascertain their actual value or understand potential liabilities. This is particularly true with respect to acquisitions outside the United States.

In addition, acquisitions of businesses may require additional debt or equity financing, resulting in additional leverage or dilution of ownership. Our Credit Facility contains certain covenants that limit, or which may have the effect of limiting, among other things, acquisitions, capital expenditures, the sale of assets and the incurrence of additional indebtedness.

Our ability to obtain financing for future growth opportunities may be limited.

Our ability to execute our growth strategies may be limited by our ability to secure and retain additional financing on terms reasonably acceptable to us or at all. Certain of our competitors are larger companies that may have greater access to capital, and therefore, may have a competitive advantage over us should our access to capital be limited.

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Risks Related to Human Capital Management

We may not be able to attract and retain qualified employees.

Our future success depends upon the continued service of our executive officers and other key management and technical personnel, and on our ability to continue to identify, attract, retain and motivate them. Implementing our business strategy requires specialized engineering and other talent, as our revenues are highly dependent on technological and product innovations. The market for employees in our industry is extremely competitive, and competitors for talent, particularly engineering talent, increasingly attempt to hire, and to varying degrees have been successful in hiring, our employees, including by establishing local offices near our headquarters. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified employees, our business may be harmed.

Work stoppages or similar difficulties could significantly disrupt our operations.

As of December 31, 2020, approximately 150 of our approximately 730 employees are represented by international or independent labor unions under various union contracts that expire from June 30, 2021 to May 31, 2023. It is possible that our workforce will become more unionized in the future. Although we consider our employee relations to generally be good, our existing labor agreements may not prevent a strike or work stoppage at one or more of our facilities in the future and we may be affected by other labor disputes. A work stoppage at one or more of our facilities may have a material adverse effect on our business. Unionization activities could also increase our costs, which could have an adverse effect on our profitability.

Additionally, a work stoppage at one of our suppliers could adversely affect our operations if an alternative source of supply were not readily available. Work stoppages by employees of our customers also could result in reduced demand for our products.

Information Technology and Cyber Security Risks

Our dependence on information systems and the failure of such systems, could significantly disrupt our business and negatively affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We are highly dependent on information systems that are increasingly operated by third-parties and as a result we have a limited ability to ensure their continued operation.  We rely on information technology systems, networks and infrastructure in managing our day-to-day operations. In the event of systems failure or interruption, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will have limited ability to affect the timing and success of systems restoration. Any failure or interruption of our systems could cause delays or other problems in the delivery of our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.  

Increased information technology cyber security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime could pose a risk to our systems, networks, and products.

Increased global information technology cyber security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data and communications. While we attempt to mitigate these risks by employing a number of measures, including employee training, comprehensive monitoring of our networks and systems, and maintenance of backup and protective systems, our systems, networks and products remain potentially vulnerable to advanced persistent threats. Depending on their nature and scope, such threats could potentially lead to the compromising of confidential information and communications, improper use of our systems and networks, manipulation and destruction of data, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions, which in turn could adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness and results of operations. We have cybersecurity insurance related to a breach event covering expenses for notification, credit monitoring, investigation, crisis management, public relations and legal advice. However, damage and claims arising from such incidents may not be covered or exceed the amount of any insurance available, or may result in increased cybersecurity and other insurance premiums.  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and an increased reliance on our information technology systems, we have taken proactive measures to strengthen our information technology systems, including completing a National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) assessment, upgrading of security patches across all servers, development of best-in-class hack protection service, implemented recurring company wide security training and enablement of advanced security for our major information systems.

In addition, we could be subject to legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information and regulatory penalties if confidential information relating to our employees or other parties is misappropriated from our systems and networks.

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Regulatory Compliance and International Operations Risks

Our business can be significantly affected by changes in regulatory standards.

The markets that the Company serves are characterized by competitively imposed process standards and regulatory requirements, each of which influences the demand for our products and services. Changes in legislative, regulatory or industrial requirements may render certain of our products and processes obsolete. Conversely, these changes may present new business opportunities for us. Acceptance of new products and services may also be affected by the adoption of new government regulations requiring stricter standards. Our ability to anticipate changes in regulatory standards and to respond with new and enhanced products on a timely basis will be a significant factor in our ability to grow and to remain competitive. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to achieve the technological advances that may be necessary for us to remain competitive or that certain of our products or services will not become obsolete.

Changes in current environmental legislation and enforcement could have an adverse impact on the sale of our environmental control systems and products and on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our business is primarily driven by capital spending, clean air rules, plant upgrades by our customers to comply with laws and regulations governing the discharge of pollutants into the environment or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment or human health.  These laws include, but are not limited to, United States federal statues such as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Air Interstate Rule, and the regulations implementing these statutes, as well as similar laws and regulations at state and local levels and in other countries.  These United States laws and regulations may change and other countries may not adopt similar laws and regulations.  Our business may be adversely impacted to the extent that environmental regulations are repealed, amended, implementation dates are delayed, or to the extent that regulatory authorities reduce enforcement.

Our operations outside of the United States are subject to political, investment and local business risks.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, approximately 35% of our total revenue was derived from products or services ultimately delivered or provided to end users outside the United States. As part of our operating strategy, we intend to expand our international operations through internal growth and selected acquisitions. Operations outside of the United States, particularly in emerging markets, are subject to a variety of risks that are different from or are in addition to the risks we face within the United States. Among others, these risks include: (i) local, economic, political and social conditions, including potential hyperinflationary conditions and political instability in certain countries; (ii) tax-related risks, including the imposition of taxes and the lack of beneficial treaties, that result in higher effective tax rate for us; (iii) imposition of limitations on the remittance of dividends and payments by foreign subsidiaries; (iv) difficulties in enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through certain foreign local systems; (v) domestic and foreign customs, tariffs and quotas or other trade barriers; (vi) risk of nationalization of private enterprises by foreign governments; (vii) managing and obtaining support and distribution channels for overseas operations; (viii) hiring and retaining qualified management personnel for our overseas operations; (ix) the results of the United Kingdom’s referendum on European Union membership, advising for the exit from the European Union; and (x) the effects of COVID-19 and the extent to which the outbreak may disrupt global capital markets, supply chains, and/or our foreign operations.

We are also exposed to risks relating to U.S. policy with respect to companies doing business in foreign jurisdictions. Changes in laws or policies governing the terms of foreign trade, in particular increased trade restrictions, tariffs or taxes on import from countries where we procure or manufacture products, such as China, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. For instance, the U.S. and Chinese governments have imposed a series of significant incremental retaliatory tariffs to certain imported goods. Given the uncertainty regarding the duration of the imposed tariffs, as well as the potential for additional tariffs by the U.S., China or other countries, as well as other changes in tax policy, trade regulations or trade agreements, and the Company’s ability to implement strategies to mitigate the impact of changes in tax policy, tariffs or other trade regulations, our exposure to the risks described above could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In addition, compliance with foreign and domestic legal and regulatory requirements, including import, export, defense regulations and foreign exchange controls and anti-corruption laws, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations and similar laws of other jurisdictions, could adversely impact our ability to compete against companies in such jurisdictions. Moreover, the violation of such laws or regulations, by us or our representatives, could result in severe penalties including monetary fines, criminal proceedings and suspension of export privileges. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree and, in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. We cannot assure you that our internal controls and procedures will always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. If we are found to be liable

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for such violations, we could suffer from criminal or civil penalties or other sanctions, including loss of export privileges or authorization needed to conduct aspects of our international business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The occurrence of one or more of the foregoing factors could have a material adverse effect on our international operations or upon our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Changes in laws or regulations or the manner of their interpretation or enforcement could adversely impact our financial performance and restrict our ability to operate our business or execute our strategies.

New laws or regulations, or changes in existing laws or regulations, or the manner of their interpretation or enforcement, could increase our cost of doing business and restrict our ability to operate our business or execute our strategies. In particular, there may be significant changes in U.S. laws and regulations and existing international trade agreements by the current U.S. presidential administration that could affect a wide variety of industries and businesses, including those businesses we own and operate. If the current or future U.S. presidential administrations materially modifies U.S. laws and regulations and international trade agreements, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance and investors may not be able to resell shares they purchase at their purchase price.

The stock market has experienced and may in the future experience volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. The market price of our common stock has experienced, and may continue to experience, substantial volatility. During 2020, the sales price of our common stock on the NASDAQ ranged from $3.53 to $9.00 per share. We expect our common stock to continue to be subject to fluctuations. Broad market and industry factors may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Factors that could cause fluctuation in the common stock price may include, among other things:

The realization of any of these risks and other factors beyond our control could cause the market price of our common stock to decline significantly.

We are not currently paying dividends and cannot make assurances that we will pay dividends on our common stock and our indebtedness could limit our ability to pay dividends.

The timing, declaration, amount and payment of future dividends to our stockholders fall within the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on many factors, including our financial condition, results of operations and capital requirements, as well as

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applicable legal, regulatory constraints, industry practice and other business considerations that our Board of Directors considers relevant. On November 6, 2017, the Board of Directors reviewed the Company’s dividend policy and determined that it would be in the best interest of the stockholders to suspend dividend payments. Future dividends and the dividend policy may be changed at the Board of Director’s discretion at any time. There can be no assurance that we will pay a dividend in the future. Payment of dividends is also subject to the continuing compliance with our financial covenants under our Credit Facility.

Our ability to issue preferred stock could adversely affect the rights of holders of our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 10,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series on terms that may be determined at the time of issuance by our Board of Directors. Accordingly, we may issue shares of any series of preferred stock that would rank senior to our common stock as to voting or dividend rights or rights upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up.

Certain provisions in our charter documents have anti-takeover effects.

Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us. Such provisions, including those limiting who may call special stockholders’ meetings, together with the possible issuance of our preferred stock without stockholder approval, may make it more difficult for other persons, without the approval of our Board of Directors, to make a tender offer or otherwise acquire substantial amounts of our common stock or to launch other takeover attempts that a stockholder might consider to be in such stockholder’s best interest.

General Risk Factors

Failure to maintain adequate internal controls could adversely affect our business.

Under Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, we are required to include in each of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, a report containing our management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and an attestation report of our independent auditor. These laws, rules and regulations continue to evolve and could become increasingly stringent in the future. We have undertaken actions to enhance our ability to comply with the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, including, but not limited to, the engagement of consultants, the documentation of existing controls and the implementation of new controls or modification of existing controls as deemed appropriate.

We continue to devote substantial time and resources to the documentation and testing of our controls, and to plan for and the implementation of remedial efforts in those instances where remediation is indicated.  If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, including remediating any material weaknesses or deficiencies in our internal controls, as such standards are modified, supplemented or amended in the future, we could be subject to regulatory actions, civil or criminal penalties or stockholder litigation. In addition, failure to maintain adequate internal controls could result in financial statements that do not accurately reflect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We believe that the out-of-pocket costs, the diversion of management’s attention from running our day-to-day operations and operational changes caused by the need to comply with the requirements of Section 404 will continue to be significant.

There are inherent limitations in all internal control systems over financial reporting, and misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

While we continue to take action to ensure compliance with the internal control, disclosure control and other requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the SEC, there are inherent limitations in our ability to control all circumstances. Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, do not expect that our internal controls and disclosure controls can prevent all errors and all frauds. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. In addition, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefit of controls must be evaluated in relation to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Further, controls can be circumvented by individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more persons, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, a control may be inadequate because of changes in conditions or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

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If we are not able to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, including any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or if we experience difficulties in their implementation, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed. We can give no assurances that any additional material weaknesses will not arise in the future due to our failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting.

Not Applicable.

The Company has 25 principal operating facilities across 11 states and seven foreign countries. The Company’s executive offices are located in Dallas, Texas. We maintain our facilities in good operating condition, and we believe they are suitable and adequate for the purposes for which they are intended to conduct business. Our current capacity, with limited capital additions, is expected to be sufficient to meet production requirements for the near future. It is anticipated that most leases coming due in the near future will be renewed at expiration. The property we own is subject to collateral mortgages to secure the amounts owed under the Credit Facility. Information on the number and location of principal operating facilities by segment was as follows as of December 31, 2020.

See Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding legal proceedings in which we are involved.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol “CECE.”

Performance Graph

The following graph sets forth the cumulative total return to CECO’s stockholders during the five years ended December 31, 2020, as well as the following indices: Russell 2000 Index, Standard and Poor’s (“S&P”) 600 Small Cap Industrial Machinery Index, and S&P 500 Index. Assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2015, including the reinvestment of dividends, in each category.

Dividends

Our dividend policy and the payment of cash dividends under that policy are subject to the Board of Director’s continuing determination that the dividend policy and the declaration of dividends are in the best interest of our stockholders. On November 6, 2017, the Board of Directors reviewed the Company’s dividend policy and determined that it would be in the best interest of the stockholders to suspend dividend payments. Future dividends and the dividend policy may be changed at the Board of Director’s discretion at any time. Payment of dividends is also subject to the continuing compliance with our financial covenants under our Credit Facility.

Holders

The approximate number of registered stockholders of record of our common stock as of February 25, 2021 was 295, although there are a larger number of beneficial owners.

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Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

We did not repurchase any shares of our common stock during 2020.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

Not applicable.

Item 6.Selected Financial Data

Reserved.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which include additional information about our accounting policies, practices and the transactions underlying our financial results. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes including various claims and contingencies related to lawsuits, taxes, environmental and other matters arising during the normal course of business. We apply our best judgment, our knowledge of existing facts and circumstances and actions that we may undertake in the future in determining the estimates that affect our consolidated financial statements. We evaluate our estimates on an ongoing basis using our historical experience, as well as other factors we believe appropriate under the circumstances, such as current economic conditions, and adjust or revise our estimates as circumstances change. As future events and their effects cannot be determined with precision, actual results may differ from these estimates.

Overview

Business Overview

CECO is a global leader in industrial air quality and fluid handling serving the energy, industrial and other niche markets through an attractive asset-light business model. We focus on engineering, designing, building, and installing systems that capture, clean and destroy airborne contaminants from industrial facilities as well as equipment that controls emissions from such facilities, as well as fluid handling and filtration systems. CECO provides innovative technology and application expertise that helps companies grow their businesses with safe, clean, and more efficient solutions to help protect our shared environment.

CECO serves diverse industries globally by working to improve air quality, optimize the energy value chain, and provide customized engineered solutions in our customers’ mission critical applications. The industries CECO serves include power generation, petrochemical processing, general industrial, refining, oil & gas, electric vehicle production, poly silicon fabrication, battery recycling, and wastewater treatment, along with a wide range of other industries.

COVID-19

On January 30, 2020, the WHO announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) originating in Wuhan, China and the risks to the international community as the virus spreads globally beyond its point of origin. On March 11, 2020, the WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. As of March 3, 2021, the virus continues to spread and has had a significant impact on worldwide economic activity and on macroeconomic conditions and the end markets of our business.  Vaccine administration is underway, however new variants of COVID-19 continue to emerge. There is uncertainty regarding the efficacy of vaccines and current tests and treatments with regard to the new variants. Several countries, including the United States, have taken steps to restrict travel, temporarily close businesses and issue quarantine orders, and it remains unclear how long such measures will remain in place or whether efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 will continue to intensify. 

Within the United States, certain portions of our business have been designated an essential business, and we continue to operate our business in compliance with applicable state and local laws. This allows us to continue to serve our customers, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has also disrupted our global operations. Some of our facilities and our suppliers have experienced temporary disruptions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we cannot predict whether our facilities will experience more significant disruptions in the future or the impact on our suppliers.  

CECO has undertaken necessary measures in compliance with government directives to remain open across its business and continues to work closely with its global supply chain to proactively support customers during this critical time.  As a key supplier to critical infrastructure projects, CECO has worked to maintain ongoing essential operations while observing recommended CDC guidelines to minimize the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus including implementing, where possible, work-from-home procedures and additional sanitization efforts where facilities remain open to provide necessary services.  Additionally, in 2020, CECO took several proactive cost reduction measures in response to the economic pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, including: headcount reductions, lower discretionary spend, senior management team’s temporary salary reduction, elimination or reduction of certain corporate-level costs, travel restrictions across all segments, and the Company implemented a number of furloughs which included, a rolling 2-week furlough of United States-based employees during the 6-week period beginning the week of April 6, 2020.

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The senior management team meets regularly to review and assess the status of the Company's operations and the health and safety of its employees. The senior management team continues to monitor and manage the Company’s ability to operate effectively and, to date, the Company has not experienced any significant disruptions within its supply chain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Notwithstanding the Company's continued efforts, COVID-19 has had and may have further negative impacts on its operations, customers and supply chain despite the preventative and precautionary measures being taken.  COVID-19 began to impact the Company during the first quarter of 2020 and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is fluid and continues to evolve, and therefore, we cannot currently predict the extent to which our business, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity will ultimately be impacted.

Industry Trends and Corporate Strategy

We are a global corporation with worldwide operations. As a global business, our operations are affected by worldwide, regional and industry-specific economic factors, wherever we operate or do business. Our geographic and industry diversity, and the breadth of our product and services portfolios, have helped mitigate the impact of any one industry or the economy of any single country on our consolidated operating results.

We believe growth for our products and services is driven by the increasing demand for energy consumption and a shift towards cleaner sources such as natural gas, nuclear, and renewable sources. These trends should stimulate investment in new power generation facilities, pipeline expansion and related infrastructure, and in upgrading of existing facilities.

With a shift to cleaner, more environmentally responsible power generation, power providers and industrial power consumers are building new facilities that use cleaner fuels. In developed markets, natural gas is increasingly becoming one of the energy sources of choice.  We supply product offerings throughout the entire natural gas infrastructure value chain and believe expansion will drive growth within our Energy Solutions segment for our pressure products and SCR systems for natural-gas-fired power plants.  Increased global natural gas production as a percent of total energy consumption, miles of new pipeline being added globally, and an increase in liquification capacity all stand to drive the need for our products.

We also believe there is a trend in both developed and emerging markets to control and reduce emissions of harsher fuel sources for which our air pollution control equipment is required.  In emerging markets including China, India, and South East Asia our business is positioned to benefit from tightening of air pollution standards.  In developed markets, growth of industrialization will drive greater output of emissions requiring our equipment as well.  In both markets, we expect capital expenditures for our equipment to increase and the need for our aftermarket services to grow as companies seek to meet new standards.

We continue to focus on increasing revenues and profitability globally while continuing to strengthen and expand our presence domestically. Our operating strategy has historically involved horizontally expanding our scope of technology, products, and services through selective acquisitions and the formation of new business units that are then vertically integrated into our growing group of turnkey system providers. Our continuing focus will be on global growth, market coverage, and expansion of our Asia operations. Operational excellence, margin expansion, after-market recurring revenue growth, and safety leadership are also critical to our growth strategy.

Operations Overview

We operate using an “outside-in” customer approach to our business model.  We are structured to win in target markets with a core focus on understanding customer needs. Our business model requires scalable efficiencies enabling us to serve our customers with a variety of products that we typically classify into three categories: make-to-order, configure-to-order, and engineer-to-order.  We use an asset light model to accomplish this by focusing on application and technical expertise throughout our operations.

The Company’s segments are led by presidents with distinct industry expertise coupled with strong leadership skills resulting in a customer-first mindset across the business.  They manage their teams who are responsible for successfully running the segment operations.  The segment presidents work closely with our Chief Executive Officer on global growth strategies, operational excellence, and employee development.

Within our segments we have monthly operating reviews to ensure we are both winning in the markets and winning as a business.  These reviews include, but are not limited to, deal reviews, project reviews, and manufacturing reviews.  Each of these reviews takes a customer-first approach where we adopt the metrics that matter most to our customer and to our stockholders.  In these reviews we focus on metrics such as quality, customer satisfaction, on-time-delivery, lead-times, price, position, project margins, backlog, and above all, safety.  

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The headquarters focuses on enabling the core back-office key functions for scale and efficiency, that is, accounting, payroll, human resources/benefits, legal, information technology, marketing, safety support, internal control over financial reporting, and administration. We have excellent organizational focus from headquarters throughout our divisional businesses with clarity and minimal duplicative work streams.

Our three reportable segments are:

Our contracts are obtained either through competitive bidding or as a result of negotiations with our customers. Contract terms offered by us are generally dependent on the complexity and risk of the project as well as the resources that will be required to complete the project. Our focus is on increasing our operating margins as well as our gross margin percentage, which translates into stronger operating results.

Our cost of sales is principally driven by a number of factors, including material and subcontract prices and labor cost and availability. Changes in these factors may have a material impact on our overall gross profit margins.

We break down costs of sales into five categories. They are:

In general, subcontracts provide us the most flexibility in margin followed by labor, material, and equipment. Across our various product lines, the relative relationships of these factors change and cause variations in gross margin percentage. Material costs have also increased faster than labor costs, which also reduces gross margin percentage.  As material cost inflation occurs, the Company seeks to pass this cost onto our customers as price increases.

Selling and administrative expense principally includes sales and engineering payroll and related fringes, advertising and marketing expenditures as well as all corporate and administrative functions and other costs that support our operations. The majority of these expenses are fixed. With our asset light model, we expect our operations to leverage our fixed cost structure as revenue grows.

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Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company’s consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). These GAAP financial statements include certain charges the Company believes are not indicative of its ongoing operational performance.

As a result, the Company provides financial information in this MD&A that was not prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to the information prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company provides this supplemental non-GAAP financial information, which the Company’s management utilizes to evaluate its ongoing financial performance, and which the Company believes provides greater transparency to investors as supplemental information to its GAAP results.

The Company has provided the non-GAAP financial measures including non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, and non-GAAP net income as a result of the adjustment for items that the Company believes are not indicative of its ongoing operations. These items include charges associated with the Company’s acquisitions, divestitures and the items described below in “Consolidated Results.” The Company believes that evaluation of its financial performance compared with prior and future periods can be enhanced by a presentation of results that exclude the impact of these items. The Company has incurred substantial expense and income associated with acquisitions and divestitures. While the Company cannot predict the exact timing or amounts of such charges, it does expect to treat these charges as special items in its future presentation of non-GAAP results. 

Results of Operations

Consolidated Results

Our consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 are as follows:

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Non-GAAP Measures

To compare operating performance between the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company has adjusted GAAP operating income to exclude (1) amortization of intangible assets, earnout and retention expenses, (2) restructuring expenses primarily relating to severance, facility exits, and associated legal expenses, (3) acquisition and integration expenses, which include legal, accounting, and other expenses, (4) executive transition expenses, including severance for its former Chief Executive Officer, fees and expenses incurred in the search, for and hiring, of a new Chief Executive Officer, (5) loss on divestitures, net of selling costs necessary to complete the divestiture such as legal, accounting and compliance and (6) intangible asset impairment.  See “Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” above. The following tables present the reconciliation of GAAP operating income and GAAP operating margin to non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating margin, and GAAP net income (loss) to non-GAAP net income.

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In June 2020 the Company acquired Environmental Integrated Solutions (“EIS”), EIS engineers products that clean air through a variety of technologies including volatile organic compounds (“VOC”) abatement, odor control, regenerative thermal oxidizers, and other air pollution control solutions, which complements our Industrial Solutions Segment businesses. In July 2020, the Company entered into joint venture agreement (the “JV agreement”) with Mader Holding L.P. (“Mader”) in which CECO contributed the net assets of its Effox-Flextor damper business and Mader contributed the net assets of their damper business. During 2020, EIS and the joint venture accounted for $15.8 million in revenue. In 2018, we divested three non-core businesses; the Keystone Filter brand (“Keystone”) and Strobic Air Corporation (“Strobic”) in the first quarter and Zhongli in the fourth quarter (collectively, “the Divestitures”). The exclusion of the operating results subsequent to their disposition impacts the comparability of our consolidated and segment operating results.

Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019

Consolidated net sales in 2020 were $316.0 million compared with $341.9 million in 2019, a decrease of $25.9 million. The decrease is primarily attributable to decreases of $24.5 million in our Industrial Solutions air pollution control technologies, $18.2 million in custom-designed FCC cyclone systems serving the refinery markets, and $4.4 million in volume decreases in the Company’s filtration and pump solutions sales. These decreases in net sales are offset by increases of $10.1 million in the Company’s custom acoustical technologies that serve the natural gas power generation markets, $8.1 million in volatile organic compounds (“VOC”) abatement solutions from the EIS acquisition and $3.3 million in volume increases in our emissions management and water filtration solutions technologies.

Gross profit decreased by $9.0 million, or 7.9%, to $105.1 million in 2020 compared with $114.1 million in 2019. The decrease in gross profit is primarily due to the decrease in sales as noted above, partially offset by favorable changes to product mix from previous period and cost reduction actions including employee furlough. Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 33.3% and 33.4% in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Orders booked were $279.6 million in 2020 compared with $383.7 million in 2019. The decrease is primarily attributable to decreases in refinery, oil & gas, and pollution controls end markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting our customers starting in March 2020.

Selling and administrative expenses were $76.9 million in 2020 compared with $85.9 million in 2019. The decrease in administration expenses is primarily attributable to proactive cost reduction measures noted above taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic including: headcount reductions, lower discretionary spend, the senior management team’s temporary salary reduction, elimination of certain corporate-level costs, a 2-week furlough of United States-based employees, and travel restrictions across all segments. Selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales were 24.3% in 2020 compared with 25.1% in 2019. The decrease in selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales is primarily attributable to the items described above.  

Amortization and earnout expense was $8.8 million in 2020 and $8.5 million in 2019. The increase in expense is primarily attributable to $1.4 million in earnout expenses related to the EIS acquisition. The fair value adjustments to the earnout that were recorded in 2020 were the result of EIS performing above the acquisition operational expectations. The increase was partially offset by $1.1 million decrease in definite lived intangible asset amortization.

Acquisitions and integration expenses related to the acquisition of EIS and the Mader joint venture were $1.4 million in 2020, which include legal, accounting and banking expenses, compared to $0.5 million in 2019 related to various merger and acquisition diligence activities.

In 2020, the Company incurred $1.5 million in executive transition expense related to severance for the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer, as well as fees and expenses incurred in the search for, and hiring of, a new Chief Executive Officer.

In 2020, after conducting the annual impairment testing for goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $0.9 million. The charge of $0.9 million was recorded to impair the carrying value of a tradename intangible asset in the Company’s Fluid Handling Solutions Segment. The impairment was recorded due to declining revenue related to the tradename exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Operating income for 2020 was $13.3 million, a decrease of $4.7 million from $18.0 million in 2019. Operating income as a percentage of sales for 2020 was 4.2% compared with 5.3% for 2019. The decrease in operating income is primarily attributable to $1.5 million in executive transition expenses which did not occur in 2019, $1.2 million increase in restructuring expenses, $0.9 million increase in acquisition and integration expenses in connection to the EIS acquisition and the Mader joint venture, intangible asset impairment of $0.9 million, $0.3 million increase in amortization and earnout expenses, and a decrease in net sales as noted above,

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partially offset by the decrease in selling and administration expenses due to the cost reduction measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Non-GAAP operating income was $28.2 million in 2020 and 2019. Non-GAAP operating income as a percentage of sales for 2020 was 8.9% compared with 8.2% for 2019. Non-GAAP operating income was equal year over year due to cost reductions described above offset by the decline in sales.

Other income for 2020 was $2.0 million, an increase of $1.2 million from $0.8 million in 2019. The increase in other income was primarily attributable to a net periodic gain on pension assets of $0.3 million in 2020 compared to a net periodic expense of $0.3 million on pension assets in 2019 and $0.4 million increase year over year in foreign currency transaction gains.

Interest expense decreased to $3.5 million in 2020 from $5.4 million in 2019.  The decrease is due to lower interest rates and lower average debt balances in 2020 compared to 2019. During the year 2020, the Company had net borrowings of $9.5 million on its revolving credit facility, which consisted of $10.3 million used to fund the EIS acquisition on June 4, 2020 and $2.6 million used to pay term debt assumed in connection with the Mader joint venture, and $3.4 million in net repayments on the revolving credit facility.

Income tax expense (benefit) was $3.7 million and $(4.4) million in 2020 and 2019, respectively. The effective tax rate for 2020 was 30.1% compared with (32.7)% in 2019.

Income tax expense and the effective tax rate for 2020 were affected by certain permanent differences, including state income taxes, non-deductible incentive stock-based compensation, the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”) inclusion and Foreign-Derived Intangible Income (“FDII”) deduction, tax credits, and differences in tax rates among the jurisdictions in which we operate.

Income tax benefit and the effective tax rate for 2019 were significantly impacted by a $4.4 million tax benefit on finalization of a tax position related to the 2018 divestiture of Zhongli. In addition, the Company recorded $3.5 million tax benefit related to U.S. and foreign tax incentives.

Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

See the Management Discussion and Analysis section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 for a discussion of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018.

Business Segments

The Company’s operations in are organized and reviewed by management along its product lines or end markets that the segment serves and are presented in three reportable segments. The results of the segments are reviewed through the “Income from operations” line on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The amounts presented in the Net Sales table below and in the following comments regarding our net sales at the reportable business segment level exclude both intra-segment and inter-segment net sales. The Income from Operations table and corresponding comments regarding operating income (loss) at the reportable segment level include both intra-segment and inter-segment operating income. The exclusion of the Divestitures’ operating results subsequent to their disposition impacts the comparability of our segment operating results.

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Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019

Energy Solutions segment

Our Energy Solutions segment net sales decreased $4.8 million to $205.5 million in 2020 compared with $210.3 million in 2019, a decrease of 2.3%.  The decrease is primarily attributable to decreases of $18.2 million in custom-designed FCC cyclone systems serving the refinery markets offset by increases of $10.1 million in the Company’s custom acoustical technologies that serve the natural gas power generation markets and $3.3 million in volume increases in our emissions management and water filtration solutions technologies.  

Operating income increased $0.3 million to $34.2 million for 2020 compared with $33.9 million in 2019, an increase of 0.8%. The increase in operating income in 2020 is primarily attributable to the decrease of $2.6 million in selling and administrative expenses related to the cost reductions as described above and the decrease in amortization expenses of $1.1 million partially offset by a decrease in gross profit of $3.1 million due to lower net sales and unfavorable product mix and an increase of $0.3 in restructuring expense.

Industrial Solutions segment

Our Industrial Solutions segment net sales decreased $16.6 million to $74.7 million in 2020 compared with $91.3 million in 2019, a decrease of 18.2%.  The decrease is primarily attributable to decreases of $24.5 million in our air pollution control technologies partially offset by $8.1 million increase in VOC abatement solutions from the EIS acquisition.

Operating income decreased $3.5 million to $2.2 million for 2020 compared with $5.7 million in 2019. The decrease is primarily attributable to a $4.6 million decrease in gross profit due to lower net sales, an increase of $0.5 million in restructuring expenses, and items related to the EIS acquisition including an increase of $1.4 million in earnout expense and $0.4 million in amortization expense. These decreases were partially offset by $3.2 million decrease in selling and administration related to cost reductions described above.

Fluid Handling Solutions segment

Our Fluid Handling Solutions segment net sales decreased $4.4 million to $35.8 million in 2020 compared with $40.2 million in 2019, a decrease of 10.9%. The decrease is primarily attributable to volume decreases in the Company’s filtration and pump solutions product line driven by lower demand from oil & gas and automotive end market customers.

Operating income decreased $0.6 million to $5.0 million for 2020 compared with $5.6 million for 2019, a decrease of 10.7%.  The decrease is primarily attributable to $1.6 million decrease in gross profit due to lower net sales and a $0.9 million intangible asset impairment expense partially offset by $1.8 million decrease in selling and administration related to cost reductions described above.

Corporate and Other segment

Operating expense for the Corporate and Other segment increased $0.9 million to $28.0 million for 2020 compared with $27.1 million for 2019. The increase is primarily attributable to a $1.5 million increase in executive transition expenses, $0.9 million increase in acquisition and integration expenses, partially offset by $1.5 million decrease in selling and administration expenses related to cost reductions described above.

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Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

See the Management Discussion and Analysis section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 for a discussion of our results of operations for our business segments and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of liquidity are cash flow from operations and available borrowings under our Credit Facility (as defined below). Our principal uses of cash are operating costs, payment of principal and interest on our outstanding debt, working capital and other corporate requirements. Depending on market conditions, our liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors, we may also repurchase some of our outstanding shares of common stock.

When we undertake large jobs, our working capital objective is to make these projects self-funding. We work to achieve this by obtaining initial down payments, progress billing contracts, when possible, utilizing extended payment terms from material suppliers, and paying sub-contractors after payment from our customers, which is an industry practice. Our investment in net working capital is funded by cash flow from operations and by our revolving line of credit.

At December 31, 2020, the Company had working capital of $74.1 million, compared with $64.3 million at December 31, 2019.  The ratio of current assets to current liabilities was 1.68 to 1.00 at December 31, 2020 as compared with a ratio of 1.56 to 1.00 at December 31, 2019.  

At December 31, 2020 and 2019, cash and cash equivalents totaled $36.0 million and $35.6 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, $28.0 million and $27.4 million, respectively, of our cash and cash equivalents were held by non-U.S. subsidiaries, as well as being denominated in foreign currencies.

Debt consisted of the following:

In 2020, the Company made repayments of $2.5 million on the term loan and net borrowings on the revolving credit lines of $9.5 million, consisting of $10.3 million used to fund the EIS acquisition on June 4, 2020 and $2.6 million used to pay term debt assumed in connection with the Mader joint venture, offset by $3.4 million in net repayments on the revolving credit facility.

Under the terms of the Credit Facility, the Company is required to maintain certain financial covenants, including the maintenance of a Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Facility).  Through September 30, 2021, the maximum Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio is 3.50, after which time it will decrease to 3.25 until the end of the term of the Credit Facility.

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company was in compliance with all related financial and other restrictive covenants under the Credit Facility.

Foreign Debt

In addition, the Company has a number of bank guarantee facilities and bilateral lines of credit in various foreign countries currently supported by cash, letters of credit or pledged assets and collateral under the Credit Facility.  The Credit Facility allows letters of credit and bank guarantee issuances of up to $50.0 million from the bilateral lines of credit secured by pledged assets and collateral under the Credit Facility.

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See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on the Company’s foreign debt.

Total unused credit availability under our Credit Facility and other non-U.S. credit facilities and agreements, exclusive of any potential asset base limitations, is as follows:

Overview of Cash Flows and Liquidity

Operating Activities

In 2020, $4.4 million of cash was provided by operating activities compared with $10.2 million in 2019, a decrease of $5.8 million.  Net earnings, adjusted for non-cash items decreased $5.7 million year-over-year.  Additionally, working capital change year over year increased by $0.1 million which negatively affected cash flow from operations.

In 2019, $10.2 million of cash was provided by operating activities compared with $22.0 million provided in 2018, a decrease of $11.8 million.  Net earnings, adjusted for non-cash items increased $16.0 million year-over-year.  Working capital change year over year from operating activities in 2019 had a negative year-over-year net impact primarily from increases in accounts receivable and costs in excess of billings and decreases in other liabilities as reflected in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.  

Investing Activities

In 2020, $9.2 million of cash was used in investing activities, which consisted of $5.9 million for acquisitions, $3.9 million of acquisition of property and equipment, offset by $0.6 million of proceeds from the disposal of assets held for sale.

In 2019, $5.1 million of cash was used in investing activities, which consisted of $5.7 million of acquisition of property and equipment offset by $0.5 million of proceeds from disposals of assets held for sale.  

Financing Activities

Financing activities in 2020 provided cash of $3.7 million, which consisted primarily of $9.2 million in net borrowings from our revolving credit lines of which $10.3 million was used to fund the EIS acquisition on June 4, 2020. This was offset by $2.5 million of payments on our term loan, $2.6 million used to pay term debt assumed in connection with the Mader joint venture on July 31, 2020, and $0.5 million in payments on capital leases.

Financing activities in 2019 used cash of $12.1 million, which consisted primarily of $3.0 million of payments on our term loan, $7.6 million net payments on our revolving credit lines, and $1.1 million payment of financing fees related to the refinancing of our Credit Facility.

We believe that cash flows from operating activities, together with our existing cash and borrowings available under our Credit Facility, will be sufficient for at least the next twelve months to fund our current anticipated uses of cash. After that, our ability to fund these expected uses of cash and to comply with the financial covenants under our debt agreements will depend on the results of future operations, performance and cash flow. Our ability to fund these expected uses from the results of future operations will be subject to

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prevailing economic conditions and to financial, business, regulatory, legislative and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.

Employee Benefit Obligation

Based on current assumptions, estimated contributions to our pension plan required in 2021 is zero. The amount and timing of required contributions to the pension trust depends on future investment performance of the pension funds and interest rate movements, among other things and, accordingly, we cannot reasonably estimate actual required payments. Currently, our pension plan is under-funded. As a result, absent major increases in long-term interest rates, above average returns on pension assets and/or changes in legislated funding requirements, we will be required to make contributions to our pension trust of varying amounts in future years.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

None.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes the Company’s contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020:

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires the use of estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. We believe that, of our significant accounting policies, the following accounting policies involve a higher degree of judgments, estimates, and complexity.

Use of Estimates

Preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions affecting the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related contingent liabilities. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenues, bad debts, warranties, share based compensation, income taxes, goodwill and intangible asset valuation, and contingencies and litigation. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

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Revenue Recognition

A substantial portion of our revenue is derived from fixed-price contracts. We account for a contract after it has been approved by all parties to the arrangement, the rights of the parties are identified, payment terms are identified, the contract has commercial substance and collectability of consideration is probable.

We recognize revenue as performance obligations are satisfied and the customer obtains control of the products and services.  A significant amount of our revenue within the Energy Solutions and Industrial Solutions segments is recognized over a period of time as we perform under the contract because control of the work in process transfers continuously to the customer. For performance obligations to deliver products with continuous transfer of control to the customer, revenue is recognized based on the extent of progress towards completion of the performance obligation. Progress is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs to complete the performance obligation. For these contracts, the cost-to-cost measure best depicts the continuous transfer of goods or services to the customer.

The judgments and estimates involved include management’s ability to accurately estimate the contracts’ progress to completion at each financial reporting period. In addition, certain contracts are highly dependent on the work of contractors and other subcontractors participating in a project, over which we have no or limited control, and their performance on such project could have an adverse effect on the profitability of our contracts. Delays resulting from these contractors and subcontractors, changes in the scope of the project, weather, and labor availability also can have an effect on a contract’s profitability. Changes to job performance, job conditions, and estimated profitability may result in revisions to contract revenue and costs and are recognized in the period in which the revisions are made.

Provisions for estimated losses on uncompleted contracts are made in the period in which such losses are determined. No provision for estimated losses on uncompleted contracts was needed at December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.

Credit and Collections

The Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts receivable for probable estimated losses resulting from either customer disputes or the inability of its customers to make required payments.  If the financial condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, resulting in their inability to make the required payments, the Company may be required to record additional allowances or charges against income.  The Company determines its allowance for doubtful accounts by considering all known collectability problems of customers’ accounts and reviewing the aging of the outstanding receivables.  The resulting allowance for doubtful accounts receivable is an estimate based upon the Company’s knowledge of its business and customer base, and historical trends.  The amount ultimately not collected may differ from the reserve established.

Inventories

The Company’s inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value using the first-in, first-out inventory costing method. Inventory quantities are regularly reviewed and provisions for excess or obsolete inventory are recorded primarily based on the Company’s forecast of future demand and market conditions. Significant unanticipated changes to the Company’s forecasts could require a change in the provision for excess or obsolete inventory.

Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment are carried at the cost of acquisition or construction and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Depreciation and amortization are provided using the straight-line method in amounts sufficient to amortize the cost of the assets over their estimated useful lives (buildings and improvements—generally five to 40 years; machinery and equipment—generally two to 15 years).

Intangible assets

Indefinite life intangible assets are comprised of tradenames, while finite life intangible assets are comprised of technology, customer lists, and tradenames. Finite life intangible assets are amortized on a straight line or accelerated basis over their estimated useful lives of seven to 10 years for technology, five to 20 years for customer lists, and 10 years for tradenames.

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Long-lived assets

Property, plant and equipment and finite life intangible assets are reviewed whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that indicate possible impairment. If events or changes in circumstances occur that indicate possible impairment, our impairment review is based on an undiscounted cash flow analysis at the lowest level at which cash flows of the long-lived assets are largely independent of other groups of our assets and liabilities. This analysis requires management judgment with respect to changes in technology, the continued success of product lines, and future volume, revenue and expense growth rates. We conduct annual reviews for idle and underutilized equipment, and review business plans for possible impairment. Impairment occurs when the carrying value of the assets exceeds the future undiscounted cash flows expected to be earned by the use of the asset or asset group. When impairment is indicated, the estimated future cash flows are then discounted to determine the estimated fair value of the asset or asset group and an impairment charge is recorded for the difference between the carrying value and the estimated fair value.

Additionally, we also evaluate the remaining useful life each reporting period to determine whether events and circumstances warrant a revision to the remaining period of depreciation or amortization. If the estimate of a long-lived asset’s remaining useful life is changed, the remaining carrying amount of the asset is amortized prospectively over that revised remaining useful life.

The Company completes an annual (or more often if circumstances require) impairment assessment of its indefinite life intangible assets. As a part of its annual assessment, typically, the Company first qualitatively assesses whether current events or changes in circumstances lead to a determination that it is more likely than not (defined as a likelihood of more than 50 percent) that the fair value of an asset is less than its carrying amount. If there is a qualitative determination that the fair value of a particular asset is more likely than not greater than its carrying value, we do not need to proceed to the quantitative estimated fair value test for that asset. If this qualitative assessment indicates a more likely than not potential that the asset may be impaired, the estimated fair value is determined by the relief from royalty method. If the estimated fair value of an asset is less than its carrying value, an impairment charge is recorded for the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds its estimated fair value.

During 2020 and 2019, our annual impairment test indicated that one and zero, respectively, of our indefinite-lived tradenames was impaired. Accordingly, we recognized impairment charges in our financial results of $0.9 million and zero for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. For additional information on impairment testing results, see Note 6 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Goodwill

The Company completes an annual (or more often if circumstances require) goodwill impairment assessment on October 1 on a reporting unit level, at or below the operating segment level.  As a part of its annual assessment, the Company first qualitatively assesses whether current events or changes in circumstances lead to a determination that it is more likely than not (defined as a likelihood of more than 50 percent) that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If there is a qualitative determination that the fair value of a particular reporting unit is more likely than not greater than its carrying value, the Company does not need to quantitatively test for goodwill impairment for that reporting unit. If this qualitative assessment indicates a more likely than not potential that the asset may be impaired, the estimated fair value is calculated using a weighting of the income method and the market method. If the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, an impairment charge is recorded.  

The Company bases its measurement of the fair value of a reporting unit using a 50/50 weighting of the income method and the market method. The income method is based on a discounted future cash flow approach that uses the significant assumptions of projected revenue, projected operational profit, terminal growth rates, and the cost of capital. Projected revenue, projected operational profit and terminal growth rates are significant assumptions because they are three primary drivers of the projected cash flows in the discounted future cash flow approach. Cost of capital is a significant assumption as it is the discount rate used to calculate the current fair value of those projected cash flows.   The market method is based on financial multiples of comparable companies and applies a control premium.  Significant estimates in the market approach include identifying similar companies with comparable business factors such as size, growth, profitability, risk and return on investment and assessing comparable revenue and operating income multiples in estimating the fair value of a reporting unit. Based on the analysis, the resultant estimated fair value of all of the reporting units exceeded their carrying value as of December 31, 2020. For additional information on goodwill impairment testing results, see Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are determined using the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 740, “Income Taxes”. Income tax expense includes federal, state and foreign income taxes.

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Deferred income taxes are provided using the asset and liability method whereby deferred tax assets are recognized for deductible temporary differences and operating loss and tax credit carry-forwards and deferred tax liabilities are recognized for taxable temporary differences. Temporary differences are the differences between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases and are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effects of changes in tax laws and rates on the date of enactment.   Tax credits and other incentives reduce income tax expense in the year the credits are claimed.

Management must assess the need to accrue or disclose uncertain tax positions for proposed potential adjustments from various federal, state and foreign tax authorities who regularly audit the Company in the normal course of business. In making these assessments, management must often analyze complex tax laws of multiple jurisdictions, including many foreign jurisdictions. The accounting guidance prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The Company records the related interest expense and penalties, if any, as tax expense in the tax provision.

Management must assess the realizability of the Company’s deferred tax assets. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities (including the impact of available carryback and carry forward periods), projected future taxable income, and tax-planning strategies in making this assessment. The amount of the deferred tax assets considered realizable, however, could be reduced in the near term if estimates of future taxable income during the carryforward period are reduced.  

The company has made an accounting policy election to record the U.S. income tax effect of future global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) inclusions in the period in which they arise, rather than establishing deferred taxes with respect to the expected future tax liabilities associated with future GILTI inclusion.

Certain of the Company’s undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries are not permanently reinvested. A liability has been recorded for the deferred taxes on such undistributed foreign earnings. The amount is attributable primarily to the foreign withholding taxes that would become payable should the Company repatriate cash held in its foreign operations.

Pension Benefit Plan Assumptions

We sponsor a pension plan for certain employees. Several statistical and other factors that attempt to anticipate future events are used in calculating the expense and liability related to the plan. These factors include key assumptions, such as a discount rate and expected return on plan assets. In addition, our actuarial consultants use subjective factors such as withdrawal and mortality rates to estimate the liability. The actuarial assumptions we use may differ materially from actual results due to changing market and economic conditions, higher or lower withdrawal rates or longer or shorter life spans of participants. These differences may result in a significant impact to the amount of pension expense we have recorded or may record in the future. An analysis for the expense associated with our pension plan is difficult due to the variety of assumptions utilized. For example, one of the significant assumptions used to determine projected benefit obligation is the discount rate. At December 31, 2020, a 25 basis point change in the discount rate would change the projected benefit obligation by approximately $1.1 million and the annual pension expense by approximately $16,000. Additionally, a 25 basis point change in the expected return on plan assets would change the pension expense by approximately $69,000.

Share-Based Compensation

We measure the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments and recognize this cost over the period during which an employee is required to provide the services, based on the fair value of the award at the date of the grant as determined by the Black-Scholes valuation method for stock options, or current publicly traded market price on the grant date for restricted stock units.

Certain of our awards of restricted share units include performance conditions for achieving designated levels of operating performance.  We must estimate the probability of achieving the performance condition at each reporting period.

Product Warranties

The Company’s warranty reserve is to cover the products sold. The warranty accrual is based on historical claims information. The warranty reserve is reviewed and adjusted as necessary at each reporting period.

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Other significant accounting policies

Other significant accounting policies, not involving the same level of uncertainties as those discussed above, are nevertheless important to an understanding of our financial statements. See Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, which discusses accounting policies that must be selected by us when there are acceptable alternatives.

New Accounting Pronouncements

For information regarding recent accounting pronouncements, see Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

We are exposed to certain market risks, primarily changes in interest rates. Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices, such as foreign currency exchange and interest rates. For the Company, these exposures are primarily related to changes in interest rates. We do not currently hold any derivatives or other financial instruments purely for trading or speculative purposes.

The carrying value of the Company’s total long-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt at December 31, 2020 was $74.0 million. Market risk was estimated as the potential decrease (increase) in future earnings and cash flows resulting from a hypothetical 10% increase (decrease) in the Company’s estimated weighted average borrowing rate at December 31, 2020. Most of the interest on the Company’s debt is indexed to either the LIBOR or EURIBOR market rates. The estimated annual impact of a hypothetical 10% change in the estimated weighted average borrowing rate at December 31, 2020 is $0.2 million.

The Company has wholly-owned subsidiaries in several countries, including in the Netherlands, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, Mexico, United Kingdom, Singapore, Shanghai, Pune India, Dubai and Chile. In the past, we have not hedged our foreign currency exposure, and fluctuations in exchange rates have not materially affected our operating results. Future changes in exchange rates may positively or negatively impact our revenues, operating expenses and earnings.  Since most of our foreign sales are denominated in the local currency, we do not anticipate that exposure to foreign currency rate fluctuations will be material in 2021.

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The Consolidated Financial Statements of CECO Environmental Corp. and subsidiaries for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 and other data are included in this report following the signature page of this report and incorporated into this Item 8 by reference:

None.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) are controls and other procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and made known to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

In connection with the preparation of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020. Based on that evaluation, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2020.

The management of the Company does not expect that its disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all fraud.  A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met.  Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs.  Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected.  These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur due to simple errors or mistakes.  The design of any system of controls is based in part upon certain assumptions regarding the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

The management of the Company is responsible for the preparation and accuracy of the financial statements and other information included in this report.  Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Company conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on the criteria set forth in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) (the “Framework”) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on this assessment, management concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, its internal control over financial reporting was effective based on the Framework.

There are inherent limitations on the effectiveness of any system of internal controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures. Accordingly, even effective internal controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives.

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Item 9A includes the audit report of BDO USA, LLP on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Shareholders and Board of Directors

CECO Environmental Corp. and Subsidiaries

Cincinnati, Ohio

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited CECO Environmental Corp. and Subsidiaries’ (the “Company’s”) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the “COSO criteria”). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes and our report dated March 3, 2021, expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Item 9A, Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit of internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ BDO USA, LLP

Cincinnati, Ohio

March 3, 2021

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None.

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PART III

The information called for by this Item 10 of Part III of Form 10-K is incorporated by reference to the information set forth in our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act within 120 days from December 31, 2020 (the “Proxy Statement”). Reference is also made to the information appearing in Item 1 of Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption “Business— Executive Officers of CECO.”