Acme United Corporation operates as a worldwide supplier of innovative first aid and medical products and cutting technology to the school, home, office, hardware, sporting goods and industrial markets.
The company’s principal products sold across all segments are first aid kits and medical products, scissors, shears, knives, and sharpening tools. The company sells its products primarily to mass market and e-commerce retailers, industrial distributors, wholesale, contract and retail stationery...
Acme United Corporation operates as a worldwide supplier of innovative first aid and medical products and cutting technology to the school, home, office, hardware, sporting goods and industrial markets.
The company’s principal products sold across all segments are first aid kits and medical products, scissors, shears, knives, and sharpening tools. The company sells its products primarily to mass market and e-commerce retailers, industrial distributors, wholesale, contract and retail stationery distributors, office supply superstores, sporting goods stores, and hardware chains.
The company's operations are in the United States, Canada, Europe (located in Germany), and Asia (located in Hong Kong and China). The operations in the United States, Canada, and Europe are primarily involved in product development, marketing, sales, administrative, manufacturing, and distribution activities. The operations in Asia consist of sourcing, product development, production planning, quality control, and sales activities.
The company sources most of its products from suppliers located outside the United States, primarily in Asia. The components for the first aid kits are sourced from both U.S. and international suppliers. The company assembles its first aid kits at its facilities in the following locations: Vancouver, WA; Rocky Mount, NC; Keene, NH; and Laval, Canada.
In addition, the company has manufacturing facilities in the U.S. as follows: La Vergne, TN - Spill Magic products; Santa Ana, CA - Spill Magic products; Marlborough, MA - DMT sharpening tools; and Brooksville, FL - Med-Nap alcohol and benzalkonium chloride non-alcohol (BZK) wipes.
On May 23, 2024, the company acquired the assets of Elite First Aid, Inc., a leading supplier of tactical, trauma, and emergency response products. The company successfully completed the integration of the assets and business in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Principal Products
The company markets and sells under two main product categories: first aid and medical; and cutting and sharpening. The first aid and medical category includes first aid and safety products (First Aid Only, PhysiciansCare, Pac-Kit, Spill Magic, First Aid Central, Med-Nap, Safety Made, and Elite brands). The cutting and sharpening categories include school, home, and office products (Westcott brand), and hardware, industrial, and sporting goods products (Clauss and DMT brands).
First Aid and Medical
First Aid Only
The First Aid Only brand offers first aid and medical products that meet regulatory requirements for a broad range of industries. The Smart Compliance first aid system is an effective solution for maintaining compliance with ANSI standards. The company’s SafetyHub App technology digitizes the replenishment process for a broad range of first aid components and provides data analytics to manage costs. The company’s next generation SmartCompliance Complete offers a modular system that addresses first aid, bloodborne pathogen, bleed control, eyewash, and OTC medication requirements for the most challenging workplace environments.
PhysiciansCare
The PhysiciansCare brand offers a variety of portable eyewash solutions and over-the-counter medications, including the active ingredients aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen.
Spill Magic
Spill Magic is a leader in bodily fluid and spill clean-up solutions with a lightweight, absorbent powder that quickly encapsulates a spill. The Spill Response System provides all the necessary tools to effectively clean up spills, saving time, money, and reducing slip-and-fall accidents in various venues, including grocery, retail, and big box stores; food service and hotel chains; municipal facilities; and industry-specific distributors in the U.S.
First Aid Central
First Aid Central has been a provider and manufacturer of a wide variety of first aid kits since 2007. The first aid kits facilitate compliance by Canadian businesses with federal and provincial first aid and medical regulations through their wide variety of first aid kits, refills, and safety supplies, including CPR kits, burn kits, and automotive and emergency first aid kits.
Med-Nap
Med-Nap, at the company’s Brooksville facility, manufactures medical grade products, including alcohol prep pads and benzalkonium chloride antiseptic wipes. Med-Nap provides the company vertical integration advantages, including shorter delivery times, lower total costs, and a U.S. source of supply during unprecedented healthcare challenges. The facilities offer a platform for future product expansion.
Safety Made
Safety Made is a leading manufacturer of first aid kits for the promotional products industry.
Elite First Aid
Elite is a leading supplier of tactical, trauma, and emergency response products.
Cutting and Sharpening
School, Home, and Office
Westcott
Westcott provides innovative cutting and measuring products for the school, home, and office, as well as industrial safety cutting. Principal products under the Westcott brand include scissors, rulers, pencil sharpeners, paper trimmers, safety cutters, lettering products, glue guns, and other craft products. Westcott is one of the leading scissor and ruler brands in North America.
Many of the Westcott branded cutting products contain patented titanium bonding and proprietary non-stick coatings, making the blades more than three times harder than stainless steel, as well as reducing friction and corrosion.
Westcott continues to expand its catalog of craft items with patented new technologies, handle designs, and construction that has driven Westcott to be a leader in fashionable and functional solutions for students and adults. In addition, Westcott continues to build on its cutting line with an expanded assortment of ceramic safety knives, which include new features, allowing its customers to remain safer on the job.
Hardware, Industrial, and Sporting Goods
Clauss
Clauss offers a line of quality cutting tools for professionals in the hardware and industrial, floral, sewing, and housewares channels. Many of the Clauss products are enhanced with the company’s patented titanium and proprietary non-stick coatings. In 2021, Clauss was the first to innovate and apply industrial carbide materials to steel cutting blades, significantly improving cutting performance and edge retention for hardware applications.
DMT
Diamond Machining Technology (DMT) is a leader in diamond tools for sharpening knives, scissors, chisels, skis, skates, and many other edges. The DMT products use a proprietary process of finely dispersed diamonds bonded to the surfaces of sharpeners and are famous for providing diamond sharpeners with the flattest sharpening surface, greatest concentrated amount of diamonds, and the highest quality diamonds per sharpener. In 2023, DMT launched a broad assortment of products that provide simple sharpening solutions to the consumer and create enthusiasm surrounding the sharpening category. The EdgeSharp product assortment features an entirely new line of sharpeners that are easy to use while providing a safe sharpening experience. DMT continues to innovate its sharpening assortment with sharpening solutions for the home consumer while continuing to provide the very best in professional sharpening solutions. In 2024, the company expanded into the home and culinary markets with a wide variety of tools, including versatile countertop pull-through sharpeners.
Intellectual Property
The more significant trademarks include Westcott, Clauss, PhysiciansCare, First Aid Only, DMT, Pac-Kit, Spill Magic, and First Aid Central.
Patents and trademarks are amortized over their estimated useful lives. The weighted average amortization period remaining for intangible assets as of December 31, 2024, was 8 years.
Product Distribution; Major Customers
Independent manufacturer representatives and direct sales are primarily used to sell the company’s line of consumer products to mass market, e-commerce retailers, industrial distributors, wholesale, contract and retail stationery distributors, office supply superstores, school supply distributors, and hardware chains. The company also sells its products directly to consumers through its own websites. The company had two customers in 2024 that individually exceeded 10% of consolidated net sales. Net sales to these two customers were approximately 14% and 13% of consolidated net sales in 2024.
Seasonality
Traditionally, the company’s sales of its cutting, sharpening, and measuring products are stronger in the second and third quarters and weaker in the first and fourth quarters of the fiscal year (year ended December 31, 2024), due to the seasonal nature of the Westcott back-to-school market.
History
The company was founded in 1867. The company was incorporated in 1882. The company was formerly known as Acme Shear Company and changed its name to Acme United Corporation in 1971.
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