The Tonic team was out in force in Vegas. Meeting with over 35 solar and storage OEMS, here are the key takeaways from our week.
RE+ is always a whirlwind, but when you spend a week sitting down with 50+ OEM decision-makers, a few themes cut through the noise. Here are the takeaways we think matter most:
From inverter suppliers to BESS integrators, sales leadership is under pressure. Several execs admitted they will trim underperformers this quarter before re-investing in growth. Other smaller or newer entrants are quietly scaling sales teams as demand for ESS and EV charging accelerates. The main takeaway, though, is that the US OEM sales market is consolidating around efficiency and price sensitivity.
Several high-profile BESS OEMs walked us through their product organizations, where PMs are already outnumbering engineers. It was clear OEMs are still racing to commercialize products faster than they can staff the engineering benches behind them. That gap is showing and it’s where hiring the right product managers and design engineers will make or break timelines.
Our meetings with both established US manufacturers and news companies are setting up plants. The rhetoric of a rush to 1,000+ headcount is giving way to steady-state hiring.... For now, at least. Leaders told us they’re more focused on retention, quality, and selectively adding specialist engineers.
Even when US teams want to move quickly, budget approval from HQ (often in China or Europe) remains the sticking point. Several businesses are eager to re-engage recruiters, but they are waiting for budget clearance. Other globally focused HR professionals highlighted the challenge of European notice periods slowing down global transfers. For fast-moving OEMs, global HR alignment is now the key barrier to landing top US and international talent.
Despite policy headwinds and challenging market conditions, the sentiment on the floor was surprisingly upbeat. Every other conversation with leading executives went down the route of betting on expansion in Europe and LATAM. Even leaders at more cautious OEMs admitted they’re preparing for the next up-cycle.
OEMs aren’t slowing down. They are just getting smarter about where and how they grow. In short, the industry is shifting gears from fast growth to focused growth. The takeaway is clear: solar and storage OEMs are entering a new phase disciplined, global, and quietly optimistic. Or, put another way, the message from Vegas was unmistakable: it’s not retreat, it’s recalibration.
