Paul Sternlieb: Thanks, Tony. As I said at the top of the call, we’re very pleased with the solid growth generated in fiscal ’23, a reflection of our ambitious growth strategy, already yielding results and centered around four key pillars. Our first pillar involves expansion in targeted vertical markets, wind, rail, infrastructure and industrial MRO. Not only do these large fragmented markets provide exciting opportunities for growth and market share expansion, they’re also benefiting from solid secular dynamics including the infrastructure spending bill in the U.S. and the global transition to clean energy. Just to share a few examples. In the U.S., within the past few months, the administration has approved the largest ever offshore wind project.
In addition, the Department of Transportation has opened applications for nearly $10 billion in funding for the nation’s bridges. Moreover, the Federal Railroad Administration announced a new round of rail infrastructure funding of $1.4 billion for 70 projects. These initiatives all represent a significant expansion in funding levels for wind, rail and infrastructure spend and a favorable growth environment for Enerpac. Additionally, we believe the reshoring of industrial capacity, which appears to be a durable macro trend provides a positive tailwind for Enerpac. Our second pillar is digital transformation. This includes both our digital connectivity for our products through the implementation of Enerpac Connect, our proprietary IoT solution as well as our robust digital marketing and e-commerce program.
We believe our digital strategy will enhance Enerpac’s ability to acquire and sustain long-term customer relationships. In fiscal 2023, we nearly tripled the level of sales through the e-commerce channel and significantly beat our internal plan. And we’re excited about the progress we continue to make in this area in fiscal ’24 and beyond. Our third growth pillar is our customer-driven innovation program. Over the past two years, we’ve substantially reconfigured our new product development program with an increased level of customer insight and discipline in our processes. Most importantly, the product roadmap is now well aligned with our four key vertical markets, and all aimed at solving our customers’ most critical issues while generating strong ROI for Enerpac.
Finally, we are implementing an exciting set of initiatives to expand Enerpac’s presence in Asia Pacific. We believe we are currently underpenetrated in this important geography and as such, have substantial opportunities for growth, especially outside of China, which is a relatively small part of our business in the region today. One of our strategies in Asia Pacific includes the rollout of our second brand, providing a mid-tier offering to reach a relatively untapped segment and expand our addressable market. These products offer customers high quality and good value while delivering Enerpac caliber margins. We are in the process of rolling this out through existing as well as new distributor channel in Asia Pacific. Beyond these opportunities for organic growth, we are pursuing an M&A strategy focused on solving customer needs within our targeted vertical markets, while staying true to our mission of helping customers to execute complex, often hazardous jobs, safely and efficiently.
We have a disciplined approach with strict criteria for financial returns and strategic fit. We recently recruited a highly experienced Head of Corporate Development to lead our M&A program and coordinate the identification, cultivation, analysis, acquisition and integration of companies to create value for our shareholders. With a dedicated leader for this important element of Enerpac’s growth now on Board, our M&A pipeline has grown more comprehensive and robust, and we are excited about the opportunities that we are evaluating. In September, we acquired a licensed brand and related intellectual property for Track Tools. While it’s not material in terms of near-term financial impact, it reflects our strategy to provide integrated solutions for railroads.
