ACG Group
Reimar Westerlind, Chairman of ACG Group (left) and Thomas Arvidsson CEO (right) (Source: ACG GRoup)
It is exactly 100 years ago on August 17, 1921, that Carl Axel Gustafsson returned from the USA to Sweden with a significant agency agreement from the Boston-based sewing machine leader Reece.
Back in 1921, Reece, along with its competitor Singer, entirely dominated the buttonhole machine market and were the world’s only manufacturers of these machines for jackets, trousers and coats. Gustafsson’s license enabled his new company AC Gustafsson to become one of Europe’s first leasing organizations, hiring out Reece buttonhole machines and receiving payment per sewn buttonhole stitch. This business thrived for many decades and formed the basis for the entire ACG Group as it exists today.
Although textiles remain the bedrock of the business, ACG Group AB, Borås/Sweden, has branched out into many other fields of activity over the past 60 years, and its diversity has also led to some highly unexpected developments.
In September 2020, ACG Nyström AB also acquired fellow Swedish company Fyrtal, significantly expanding it range of solutions for labelling and identification systems for a wide range of products.
The group also owns the patent to the digital dental X-ray technology that is now standard in dental practices around the world. Similarly, it holds a patent on the LED-based Exit signs now employed throughout public buildings, as well having developed the standard software and hardware for the RFID tagging and automatic transportation of hospital garments.
Furthermore, the ACG Group now consists of 5 key companies in Sweden:
• ACG Accent, the developer of creative labelling and packaging concepts for the textile, sports and clothing industries.
• ACG Kinna Automatic, the manufacturer of textile machines for filled products such as pillows, quilts and mattresses, as well as filter systems.
• ACG Nyström AB, a complete supplier of CAD/CAM for embroidery and textile print, pattern design and cutting, sewing and welding and PLM solutions.
• ACG Pulse AB, providing automated management systems with associated RFID technology and software.
• Printing solutions supplier Eskils.
Both ACG Nyström and ACG Kinna Automatic are members of the Swedish textile machinery association TMAS, Stockholm.
