UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number 001-40147

QualTek Services Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)




Delaware		83-3584928
(State or other jurisdiction of		(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)		Identification No.)

475 Sentry Parkway E, Suite 200
Blue Bell, PA		19422
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (484) 804-4585

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:



Title of each class	Trading symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Class A Common Stock	QTEK	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Warrants	QTEKW	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

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 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.


Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	☒
Emerging growth company	☒

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 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 the voting securities held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, June 30, 2021, was approximately $113,505,000 million based upon the closing sale price of $9.87 of our common stock on such date. As of April 13, 2022, there were 24,446,284 shares of Class A Common Stock, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding and 26,663,575 shares of our Class B Common Stock, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.

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		Page
PART I		3
Item 1.	Business	3
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	14
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	36
Item 2.	Properties	36
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	36
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	36

PART II		37
Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	37
Item 6.	[Reserved]	37
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	37
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	39
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	39
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	39
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	40
Item 9B.	Other Information	41

PART III		42
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	42
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	47
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters	47
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	49
Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	54

PART IV		56
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	56
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	57

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

On February 14, 2022, QualTek Services Inc. (f/k/a Roth CH Acquisition III Co. (“ROCR”)) (the “Company” or “QualTek”) closed its business combination (the “Business Combination”) with QualTek HoldCo, LLC (f/k/a BCP QualTek HoldCo, LLC), a Delaware limited liability company (“QualTek HoldCo”), pursuant to that certain Business Combination Agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”) dated as of June 16, 2021, by and among (i) ROCR, (ii) Roth CH III Blocker Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of ROCR (“Blocker Merger Sub”), (iii) BCP QualTek Investors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Blocker”), (iv) Roth CH III Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of ROCR (“Company Merger Sub”), (v) QualTek HoldCo and (vi) BCP QualTek, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, solely in its capacity as representative of the Blocker’s equityholders and QualTek HoldCo’s equityholders (the “Equityholder Representative”). In connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, the Company changed its name from Roth CH Acquisition III Co. to QualTek Services Inc.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K principally describes the business and operations of the Company following the Business Combination, other than the financial statements and related Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations which describe the business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources of ROCR prior to the Business Combination. On April 1, 2022, we filed an amendment to our Current Report on Form 8-K, initially filed on February 16, 2022, which includes the audited consolidated financial statements of QualTek HoldCo for the year ended December 31, 2021 and related Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Interested parties should refer to our Current Report on Form 8-K, as amended, for more information.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination and the financial condition, results of operations, earnings outlook and prospects of QualTek. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of the Company, as applicable and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed and identified in public filings made with the SEC by the Company and include, but are not limited to, the following:

expectations regarding the Company’s strategies and future financial performance, including its future business plans or objectives, prospective performance and opportunities and competitors, revenues, products and services, pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and the Company’s ability to invest in growth initiatives and pursue acquisition opportunities;

our limited operating history as a combined company makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects;

our management team’s limited experience managing a public company;

the highly competitive industries that the Company serves, which are also subject to rapid technological and regulatory changes, as well as customer consolidation;

unfavorable market conditions, market uncertainty, public health outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and/or economic downturns;

failure to properly manage projects, or project delays;

failure to recover adequately on charges against project owners, subcontractors or suppliers for payment or performance;

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the loss of one or more key customers, or a reduction in their demand for the Company’s services;

The Company’s backlog being subject to cancellation and unexpected adjustments;

the seasonality of the Company’s business, which is affected by the spending patterns of the Company’s customers and timing of governmental permitting, as well as weather conditions and natural catastrophes;

system and information technology interruptions and/or data security breaches;

failure to comply with environmental laws;

The Company’s significant amount of debt, which could adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations or could affect its ability to access capital markets in the future, and may prevent the Company from engaging in transactions that might benefit it due to its debt’s restrictive covenants; and

The Company’s status as a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq rules and, as a result, qualifying for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements, as a result of which you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made by the management of the Company prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.

All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the matters addressed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and attributable to the Company or any person acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

In addition, statements that the Company “believes” and similar statements reflect the Company’s beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to such party as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and while the Company believes such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and these statements should not be read to indicate that the Company has conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

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PART I

Item 1. Business.

Overview

We are a technology-driven, leading provider of communications infrastructure services, power grid modernization, and renewables solutions to the North American telecommunications and utilities industries. We provide a variety of mission-critical services across the telecom and renewable energy value chain, including wireline and fiber optic terminations, wireless, fiber-to-the-home, or FTTH, and customer fulfillment activities. Our experienced management team has leveraged our technical expertise, rigorous quality and safety standards, and execution track record to establish and maintain long-standing relationships with blue-chip customers.

We operate out of two business segments: Telecom and Renewables & Recovery Logistics. Telecom consists of wireless, wireline, and power, which represented 81% of our revenues for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. We entered the renewable infrastructure sector with our acquisition of Fiber Network Solutions, LLC (“FNS”) in January 2021, which represented 5% of our revenues for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Recovery Logistics represented 14% of our revenues for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.

Telecommunications

We provide a full suite of services to the telecom sector across both the wireless and wireline markets, from site acquisition and permitting to initial engineering and design to installation, maintenance, program management and fulfillment. Our core offerings consist of:

Engineering and construction services including the design and construction of aerial and underground fiber optic and coaxial systems for homes, businesses, cell towers, and small cells.

Installation services including the placement and splicing of fiber and coaxial cable, in addition to upgrades and new site builds for cellular towers.

Site acquisition services to determine the location for new sites prior to new site builds.

We also provide cable and satellite fulfillment services for residential and commercial customers. These services are provided for telecom companies in connection with the maintenance or expansion of new and existing networks.

While the telecommunications industry is naturally concentrated, we maintain customer diversification across our business segments. We have numerous long-established relationships with telephone companies, wireless carriers, multiple cable system operators and electric utilities companies, which have been built upon and cultivated through numerous Master Service Agreements (“MSAs”) that extend for periods of one or more years (majority are for three or more years, some of which have auto-renewal provisions). Blue-chip, investment grade customers including AT&T, Verizon, COX Communications, T-Mobile, Spectrum, and Comcast comprise a substantial portion of our revenue.

Within our Telecommunications segment we also provide electrical contracting, and utility construction and maintenance services. We construct and maintain overhead and underground distribution systems for municipalities, electric membership cooperatives, and electric-utility companies.

Renewables and Recovery Logistics

We entered the renewable infrastructure sector with our acquisition of FNS in January 2021. FNS is a full-service provider of fiber optic and electrical services, focusing primarily on renewable energy projects. Our capabilities in the space include expertise in wind and solar farm fiber, installation, and testing, optical ground wire (“OPGW”) & all-dielectric self-supporting, or ADSS, aerial transmission line installation, and large-scale data com solutions and installation.

In serving our customers, we provide fiber optic terminations, optical time domain reflectometer (“OTDR”) and power meter testing, fusion splicing, fiber placement, extensive fiber optic and copper infrastructure installation, cable jetting, boring and trenching, industry specific maintenance and material procurement.

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We also provide business continuity and disaster relief services to telecommunications and power utility companies, as well as business-as-usual, or BAU, services such as generator storage and repair and cell maintenance services.

Geographic Presence

Our consolidated business has a national footprint with approximately 80 service locations across the U.S., strategically located in close proximity to major customers and growing markets. Our geographic footprint has grown to its present state both organically and through strategic acquisitions. QualTek serves markets locally through a dedicated in-house employee base of approximately 1,900 employees and a workforce of over 5,000 individuals (inclusive of in-house employees). Ultimately, we are a technology-driven provider of communications infrastructure services and solutions to the North American telecommunications and utilities industries, and we believe we are well-positioned for continued growth.

Industry Overview

Telecommunications

Significant advances in technology and rapid innovation in service offerings to data consumers have substantially increased demand for faster and more reliable wireless and wireline/fiber communications network services. Cisco’s 2020 Annual Internet Report predicts that by 2023, North Americans will have 5 billion networked devices/connections, up from 3 billion in 2018, with a nearly tripling of broadband and wireless speeds (measured in Mbps) over the same time period.

With the proliferation of mobile devices, advancements in the “internet of things,” or IoT, and segments of the workforce permanently shifting to remote work post-COVID-19, network traffic is at an all-time high and is expected to continue to grow, generating demand for both wired and wireless connectivity. Increased data usage is driven by two key dynamics: i) an increase in the number of internet-enabled devices per capita and ii) an increase in connection speed. The 2020 Cisco Report provides that devices and connections are growing faster (10% CAGR) than both the population (1% CAGR) and internet users (6% CAGR). As a result, devices and connections per household and per capita in North America are expected to grow 63%, up from 8.2 in 2018 to 13.4 by 2023.

COVID-19 has further catalyzed network traffic growth by creating permanent shifts away from the office and into the home. Per a 2020 Gartner report, 75% of companies are planning to permanently shift to remote work post COVID-19, which will continue to drive consumer demand for high-speed home office connectivity.

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Low levels of fiber penetration and the nascent state of North American 5G deployment currently present significant opportunities for sustained growth for businesses such as QualTek:

Wireless: Major carriers have continued to expand wireless network capacity and density with accelerated development and planned implementation of 5G wireless technologies. The increased speed and capacity that will result from deployment of 5G technology will require additional and improved tower capacity with higher data frequencies, as well as deployment of numerous higher bandwidth small cells to “densify” network performance. Wireless technology will need to be supported by fiber backbone and as a result, many carriers have committed to investing in the fiber infrastructure buildout.

Wired: Telecommunication companies have also deployed capital and initiatives to improve fiber connectivity. Only about 10-15% of total broadband connections in the U.S. are provisioned by fiber, as compared to over 50% in other developed countries such as South Korea, Sweden and Finland. Importantly, with only about 47 million U.S. homes (about 37% as per the Fiber Broadband Association) passed with fiber in 2019, over 100 million U.S. homes represent opportunities for fiber passing over the next several years, indicating a massive investment cycle that is still in early stages.

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Renewable and Recovery Logistics

In 2017 and 2018, solar PV and onshore wind consolidated their dominance in the renewable energy market, representing on average 77% of total finance commitments in renewable energy. The highly modular nature of these technologies, their short project development lead times, increasing competitiveness driven by technology and manufacturing improvements, and government regulations play an important role in explaining these technologies’ large share of global renewable energy investment.

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Investment in offshore wind has picked up, attracting, on average, $21 billion a year globally between 2013 and 2018, and representing 8% of the total renewable capacity addition in 2018. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), offshore wind holds considerable growth potential and will have a key role to play in achieving a level of deployment to support a decarbonized growth trajectory.

The Biden administration is expected to amplify this increase in spending for renewable power projects. For example, since his first day in office, President Biden has rejoined the 2015 Paris Agreement, committed to investing $400 billion in the next ten years in clean energy and innovation, and set a goal to achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. We believe that this will translate into significant government spending in renewables to meet this goal, and also government regulations and policies that promote spending in the renewables space across various sectors of the economy. We believe that the Biden administration’s commitment to renewable energy will create ripple effects across the nation and ultimately lead to more opportunities for us to expand our business with customers.

Competitive Strengths

Culture of Operational Excellence that Resonates with Established Blue-Chip Customer Base

QualTek analyzes and evaluates key performance metrics, from customer satisfaction to technical issues in the field, hiring processes and working capital management. We have fostered a culture of continuous improvement and our operational excellence is reflected in our ability to take market share. Our decentralized operations create multiple points of contact with our customers, including Fortune 500 companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Blattner Energy, Kiewit, and Dish thereby generating numerous individual relationships and contract opportunities per customer.

Highly Scalable Shared Services Platform Driven by Tech-Enabled Capabilities

QualTek provides full turnkey services to its customers. Our significant investment over the years to optimize our platform and technology has created a highly scalable business ready to support continued growth. For example, a centralized shared services system provides us with a competitive advantage for operational execution of customer services, process consistency and cross division sharing of “best practices,” resulting in enhanced efficiency and scalability. To maintain this operational excellence, we conduct disciplined measuring of key performance indicators, or KPIs, with quality control for every division to ensure industry-leading execution capabilities.

Significant Revenue and Backlog Visibility

Our backlog consists of the estimated amount of revenue we expect to realize from future work on uncompleted contracts, including new contracts under which work has not begun, as well as revenue from change orders and renewal options. A significant portion of our 24-month backlog is attributable to MSAs and other service agreements, none of which require our customers to purchase a minimum amount of services and are cancelable on short or no advance notice. Backlog amounts are determined based on estimates that incorporate historical trends, anticipated seasonal impacts, experience from similar projects and estimates of customer demand based on communications with our customers.

Our long-standing relationships with blue-chip, investment grade customers enable us to understand our customers’ needs and expand our backlog. Our backlog provides long-term visibility into a recurring and growing revenue base. QualTek has significant revenue visibility given our estimated $2.1 billion two-year backlog of which $2.0 billion relates to our Telecom segment and $0.1 billion relates to our Renewables & Recovery Logistics segment.

Backlog is not a measure defined by United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, GAAP results. Participants in our industry often disclose a calculation of their backlog; however, our methodology for determining backlog may not be comparable to the methodologies used by others. There can be no assurance as to our customers’ requirements or if actual results will be consistent with the estimates included in our forecasts. As a result, our backlog as of any particular date is an uncertain indicator of future revenue and earnings.

Proven Acquisition Strategy with Successful Integration Process

Our management team has demonstrated the success of its unique M&A strategy through the successful identification and integration of nine add-ons in the last three-and-a-half years, including four during 2021. QualTek’s successful M&A history demonstrates our extensive experience in identifying synergistic targets and successfully integrating them into our platform. QualTek

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enables a quick and seamless integration process by onboarding the target business onto QualTek’s supporting IT infrastructure, leveraging our QVision platform to standardize performance within the target business to meet the standard of quality that QualTek delivers.

Our M&A activity has also successfully diversified our revenue base across a number of high quality customers in both the telecommunication and renewable energy sectors, with continued emphasis on providing complementary service offerings to drive cross-sell and capture market share and we expect to continue acquiring target companies at accretive multiples.

World-Class Talent and Management Team

QualTek is led by highly experienced management team that is positioned to drive market share capture and capitalize on sector momentum. Our senior management team has an average of 25+ years of individual industry experience and has worked together for a considerable period of time. Our team is well suited to establish and maintain long-standing relationships with blue-chip customers as a result of our technical expertise, rigorous quality and safety standards, and execution track record.

Strategic Regional Presence across the U.S.

QualTek has a national footprint with approximately 80 strategically located service locations across the U.S. in close proximity to our major customers, allowing us to respond to customer demand swiftly and efficiently. Our presence in multiple regions gives us valuable insight into local market drivers and customer demand, thereby enabling us to provide bespoke services in each market. Due to this presence, QualTek has also built deep relationships with local customers that help drive business development, project execution, and cross-sell opportunities. QualTek serves markets locally through a dedicated in-house employee base of approximately 1,900 employees and its activities provide work for over 5,000 people through the use of subcontracting firms to access a deeper and more flexible labor pool to efficiently deliver on engagements across the region.

Growth Strategy

Expand Service Offerings & Solutions while Leveraging Contract Opportunities

QualTek’s complementary service offering creates an opportunity for us to grow our business with customers in two core ways: by winning more contracts and cross-selling services. We anticipate growth in our Telecom business as spectrum continues to become available. Additionally, we plan to cross-sell our full-suite of wireless services to our existing customer base.

In our Renewables & Recovery Logistics segment, we see significant opportunity to leverage existing customers and footprint for incremental projects. We also expect the Biden administration to promote more spending in renewables, not only through government contracts, but also in other sectors and businesses that will in turn reinvest in renewable energy solutions.

Scaled Growth Leader in the Early Stage of a Multi-Year Telecom and Renewables Infrastructure Spend Cycle

We believe that QualTek is poised to capitalize on attractive industry dynamics and tailwinds. Increasing data consumption across multiple platforms, continued growth of mobile data demand, increasing popularity of video streaming services, and continued expansion of fiber networks are all drivers of carrier demand for network infrastructure. This exponential increase in data traffic will require an upgraded network infrastructure and deeper fiber penetration to serve as the foundation for 5G wireless technology moving forward. Every major carrier, including Verizon and AT&T, has publicly committed to investing in the fiber and 5G build-out.

Continued Value Creation Through Strategic M&A

Since 2012, QualTek has successfully leveraged the experience and track record of our seasoned management team to identify and integrate tuck-in opportunities, which have aided in our growth both organically and inorganically. In the past three-and-a-half years, we have successfully acquired and integrated nine targets. Our origination process is largely centered on management’s deep relationships across the industry, which enable us to actively identify strategic targets in attractive markets or with complementary, value-added service capabilities. Thus, we have a continually evolving platform of high quality potential targets.

QualTek also has a successful history of integrating tuck-ins and providing a conducive environment for target management to achieve earnouts. We are able to leverage our proprietary technology-driven and highly scalable shared services platform to seamlessly integrate and grow the acquisition targets. Over time, we often see a reduction in our acquisition multiple (between pre-acquisition

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EBITDA multiple and post-acquisition EBITDA multiple) as QualTek realizes significant growth synergies and expands its business with customers.

Our Services and Solutions

SEC Form 10-K filed by QualTek Services Inc.