One year after it launched, Appello’s mechanical insulation software is 100% customer driven to streamline work and increase productivity.
By Jessica Kirby
The road a start-up takes is almost never flat. There are twists, turns, and sometimes the odd pothole, but in the face of challenge, attitude is everything.
“Every day brings a new challenge, but we view obstacles as opportunities to grow and innovate,” says Corey Shelson, co-founder of Appello, along with Ian Haase, Matt Vanos, and Chris Vachon.
In 2020, the partners started exploring the idea of an app specifically for streamlining work in the mechanical insulation industry. The work responded to co-owner Matt Vanos’s need for a platform that supported his mechanical insulation business in Southern Ontario.
As Haase, Shelson, and Vachon began to understand more about the business, they identified a significant gap in the market for a comprehensive, easy-to-use software solution that could streamline operations, improve communication, and increase overall efficiency and productivity.
“That’s when we embarked on a three-year journey to build the software platform, which was specifically tailored for mechanical insulation,” Haase says.
The initial process started by building the fundamentals of the platform, including a basic CRM, timesheets, safety forms and certifications, equipment tracking, estimates tracking, and job costing.
“Through this initial process we also automated several cumbersome administrative tasks and drastically reduced the number of excel sheets and amount of paper being used,” Haase says.
Today, Appello is a 100% customer driven platform, which means each and every feature and module within the platform was built with feedback from the company’s valued clients and prospective customers.
Over the past year, the company has continued to evolve and improve the platform to further elevate value to customers. Recent developments include progress billing, job notes, office to field communication, and accounting platform integration. On the near horizon are work order and service order functionality. “These features will truly capture 100% of the activities our clients undertake in their operations,” Haase says.
There are several components to building a construction app from the ground up that may or may not sound surprising. For one thing, it’s hard. The ICI construction industry operates in a highly complex manner, from project management and workforce scheduling to equipment tracking and safety compliance. Creating a platform that can handle these processes, while delivering real-time data, requires deep industry knowledge and flexibility in the app’s design.
Another factor is that building an app in construction means building partnerships with customers. Their success is the app’s success, and this is not a transactional relationship but one bounded in mutual trust and respect.
Finally, building an app in construction also requires thinking about how it will function in rugged worksites, offline capabilities for remote workers, real-time language translation, and building reports to support a highly regulated safety environment.
One key challenge for Appello has been navigating the complexity of change management within the construction industry. Many clients are accustomed to traditional methods, and transitioning to a digital platform can be daunting, particularly for teams with varying levels of technical skills.
“To overcome this, we’ve prioritized providing extensive support and training, ensuring that our platform is easy to adopt, even for less tech-savvy users,” Haase says.
Another challenge has been balancing the development of new features while maintaining the stability of the platform. With a lean team and limited resources, Appello has had to be strategic in prioritizing features that deliver the most value to customers.
“By closely listening to client feedback and continuously refining our product, we’ve managed to stay agile and responsive to our users’ needs without compromising on quality or performance,” Haase adds.
After launching into the market in Fall 2023, the team quickly realized the opportunity existed within other ICI subtrades. Companies in HVAC, electrical, and other trades were all struggling with the same issues and using the same outdated solutions. As a result, Appello expanded into the sheet metal, mechanical fabrication, HVAC, electrical, and firestopping subtrades.
But that doesn’t mean the team will forget its roots or where it launched its beginning. “Mechanical insulation is the foundation for Appello and is at the heart of what we have built and how we continue to evolve the product,” Shelson says. “The industry has been largely ignored by software providers over the past few decades, and there was a clear need for an all-in-one solution to streamline operations.”
Most importantly, however, is how welcoming the industry has been to Appello’s small team. “We have quickly become a part of the mechanical insulation family, and more than a dozen insulation companies have already placed their trust in us,” Shelson adds.
The same is true beyond Canada’s borders, adds Haase. “Insulation companies across the continent have welcomed our team at conferences and meetings, and we are proud to play a small part in helping companies to adopt technology that can improve their productivity and profitability,” he says.
Moving forward, Appello plans to continue to grow with insulators across North America. It will soon introduce additional modules to support the service side of the businesses, work order management, and material management, allowing teams to place orders directly from the field.
“We are excited to continue listening to our customers and building a software that helps elevate them to the top of the industry,” Shelson says. ▪
