Acco Management history

1903: Clipper Manufacturing Co. is founded by Fred J. Kline.

In 1904, the company developed the first three-ring binder, an invention that greatly contributed to its growth.

In 1910, Kline changed the name of his firm to the grander sounding American Clip Company.

1912: Kline invents a new paper fastener, dubbing it the ACCO Fastener.

1922: The company changes its name to ACCO Products Inc.

In 1924, Kline established an English subsidiary and three years later added another in Canada.

1925: Swingline Inc. is established by Jack Linsky.

The company also established a new product line, press-board binders, in 1928.

In 1933, ACCO Products changed its distribution channels.

ACCO Engineered Systems was founded in 1934 as Air Conditioning Company (ACCO), a proprietorship, by Ira Prentiss Fulmor at 1005 Santa Fe Street, Los Angeles.

On the strength of wartime demand, ACCO Products had become a large company; in fact, after the war it was forced to relocate to a larger facility in Ogdensburg, New York in 1947.

In 1949, the business moved from downtown Los Angeles to Glendale where it transformed from an air conditioning distributor to become an independent corporation.

Gary Industries, a private holding company based in Chicago, acquired ACCO Products in 1956.

In 1964, the company established a subsidiary in Holland and entered into a joint venture in Mexico.

Gary Industries did not become actively involved in ACCO Products' affairs until 1966, when the parent moved the operation from Ogdensburg to Chicago.

To standardize the company's identity, a new corporate design was introduced in 1968 that featured distinctive red and black bars.

These were followed by a joint venture in Jamaica in 1970 and a venture in Venezuela two years later.

1971: Company executives launch a leveraged buyout of ACCO World.

In February 1983, senior management took ACCO International--the American side of the business--public and gained a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

In May of that year, the company purchased the Systems Furniture Company and in 1984 acquired Twinlock PLC, a British office products manufacturer, through its European subsidiary.

In 1986, ACCO International also took over Kensington Microware, which produced computer workstation products.

The following year, Marbig-Rexcel, a company acquired in 1989, became part of ACCO Australia.

In 1990, ACCO World introduced a new "Worldmark" logo for its American companies, which now included ACCO, Swingline, Wilson Jones, Vogel Peterson, Kensington, and, through an earlier acquisition, Perma Products.

In 1996, its Australian business unit officially became ACCO Australia, and its operations fell under the ACCO World corporate umbrella.

In 1997, Day-Timer Concepts Inc. and Kensington Microware Ltd. were merged into ACCO USA. After the integration, ACCO USA changed its name to ACCO Brands Inc.

During 2000, Fortune Brands set plans in motion to divest its office supply business segment.

“Fortune Brands Reports First Quarter Results,” Business Wire, April 19, 2001.

ACCO’s name was changed in 2002 to ACCO Engineered Systems to better reflect the many aspects of its business.

Jeffrey Marrs became ACCO’s fifth President & CEO in 2016.