Vendor Spotlight. “AccuAir Suspension”

Todays’ vendor spotlight is on the premier air management company in the business “AccuAir Suspension” We sat down with Ryan Rutledge to discuss the history and the future of AccuAir Suspension.

ST: Tell us your name and company?

RR: Ryan Rutledge, Director of Controls at AccuAir Suspension.

ST: When did you decide to get into the business?

RR  I’ve always been car obsessed. Before I could drive, I was reading every magazine I could get my hands on to see what was out there, from Street Trucks to Super Street to 4 Wheeler. That really gave me the direction I knew I wanted to go with my career. Through college I took engineering co-op opportunities to get some work experience and to see different sides of the automotive industry. After graduation I worked in the OE space for a few years, eventually growing into a role leading an air suspension team for a Tier 1 supplier. Later I saw an opportunity and made the jump to the aftermarket where I found a lot more excitement and innovation happening. 

ST: Tell us more about your company? History/ history behind the name.

RR: AccuAir has a wild history, from original founders to bankruptcy to starting the new chapter of AccuAir under Arnott LLC. The current iteration has been in progress since October 2020 when Arnott purchased the assets of AccuAir Control Systems out of bankruptcy. Once the assets were purchased, we started the process of finding key staff members and building out a new production facility here in Florida. 

ST: What were some of the struggles you had in the beginning?

RR: The logistics and resources that go into starting a new manufacturing operation for a product line this technical are unreal. Arnott has a great team who helped us across the board to get production up and running along with stabilizing our supply chain. Globally there are a ton of struggles with shipping and component availability; luckily we have overcome our major hurdles there.

The bigger struggle is the culture and community aspect. With the history of AccuAir we made a very intentional push to go back to our roots and reintroduce ourselves as an enthusiast first company and culture. For us that meant a lot of shows, traveling, media coverage, and a mental shift in how we do business.

ST: What were some of the wins you had that you knew it was going to work?

RR: At Lone Star Throwdown (LST) 2021 we delivered the first “new” product to dealers and brought out our full booth presence for the first time as a new organization. The reaction at that event and passing the milestone of delivering product was the real moment it set in that we were a real business. We had more wins with launching the e+ Mobile App, our Pressure+ option, and our first off road package for the Wrangler JL, but the Thursday night before LST 2021 will always be a special moment. 

ST: What do you do to stand out from your competitors?

RR:  Outside of product differentiation I really believe we are leading the grass roots marketing and community push. The goal is to build an organization cemented on being enthusiasts and our own customers first, and then approaching the market. That attitude is helping us drive to customer focused business decisions and product choices, and we believe the financial success of the business will follow. 

ST: Do you attend shows and if so, about how many a year?

RR: We typically attend one show per month in our traditional markets, five to eight motorcycle events throughout the year and are growing to five to ten Jeep and Off Road events. Attending shows has become a key factor in our product development process as it is our best opportunity to get firsthand customer feedback on our current products and what people are looking for in future products.

ST: Do you have or have/ had a custom vehicle? If so, give us an overview of what you own/ have owned.

RR: I’ve had custom Jeeps, built diesels, mini trucks, and drift missiles but enjoy having a late model muscle car for a daily. My current daily driver is a 2016 Dodge Charger Hellcat that I bagged in February before starting the show season for 2022. This is the car that I will be testing some new ideas in and using for show demonstrations this year. Previously, I had a 2012 Camaro SS that racked up 36,000 miles over the last two years driving to shows around the country. The Camaro is primarily used for engineering testing and development now but still comes out for a few shows. 

ST: Where can we buy your product? 

RR:AccuAir.com, or AccuAir.com/dealers which has a dealer locator tool to find someone local to you. We sell directly as well as through our dealers who make up a vital piece of our industry by providing additional support, application knowledge, and install services.

ST: What is the future for your business?

RR: We want to keep expanding air suspension into new markets and new applications while building out our core competencies. We succeed as an air management company, but now being a part of Arnott, along with JRi Shocks, we are looking at where our organization’s expertise can open up some new options for products in the future. I’d like us to keep growing at a rate that lets us keep our culture and allows us to give back to the scene in each different market we enter. 

ST: What advice you would give to anyone wanting to start a business.

RR: Be all in but keep your perspective. To be a leader in the automotive aftermarket brings a lot of headaches that come with a typical business, along with the unique challenges of supporting customers directly, keeping up on trends, helping solve unique problems on custom vehicles, educating people on this technology, etc. But, at the end of the day it is still the coolest career in the world and it is easy to lose sight of that when things get challenging. Reminders come at different times, after a successful show or seeing customers excited when their projects come together, it’s important to appreciate those reminders because they make it all worth it and keep you committed. 

ST: What do you think about the current and future state of the industry?

RR: The aftermarket industry has never been better. Even if you move out of our segment of it, the technology being incorporated into modern customs is wild. I always try to keep a feel for how our customers are using the product, more and more often we are talking to customers driving to shows, taking road trips in their build, and just generally driving more. That is a huge testament to the industry because it shows that the technology we are producing is making it easier to own and live with something custom, which makes it more fun. 

The future is interesting. Factory cars and trucks are more complex than ever, but shops and aftermarket vendors are still finding ways to alter them. I think the future will have more emphasis on integrating and tuning the factory systems to personalize the experience to the owner on a broader spectrum. Tuning engines has always been available but now we are starting to look at altering factory air suspension, dampers, braking, transmissions, etc. not to delete them but to amplify their performance. It’s exciting to see that the spirit of hot rodding has a place in the future even if it looks a little different.

ST: Thank you for the interview and do you have any last parting words for our readers? 

RR: Appreciate the opportunity and look forward to seeing everyone out at some shows this year!