Acme United Unveils Next Growth Drivers in First Aid Category

The National Safety Council (NSC) was founded in 1913 by business leaders who decided workplace fatalities didn’t have to be the cost of doing business. More than a century later, people are nine times safer at work, than they are off the job.

Making sure workers are safe on the job, as well as off, means creating a workplace culture where safety is a core value and a shared responsibility from the C-suite to the front lines. Investing in safety is not only the right thing to do, but it also protects the bottom line.

More than a century after the National Safety Council was founded, the NSC Congress & Expo has become the nation’s largest annual gathering of safety professionals with 15,000 attendees, hundreds of technical sessions and over 1,200 exhibitors offering the latest safety products and keynotes from big names in safety.

One of the companies attending this year’s show was Acme United Corp. (US: ACU – $20.00). The NSC Congress & Expo is Acme’s biggest marketing event of the year in the first aid category.

The show was a true success for the Company with lots of exciting meetings. It had a large booth, which was packed with the latest products from the First Aid Only (FAO), PhysiciansCare, and Spill Magic brands. Also, the safety cutter range of the Westcott brand was shown to the public. Consequently, the booth attracted lots of quality traffic, such as safety managers, distributors, and buyers from major customers.

Continued Expansion of Product Lines

Acme, for example, showed its latest SmartCompliance cabinets. Most businesses are federally mandated to have first aid solutions that are compliant with OSHA as well as ANSI standards. The SmartCompliance first aid supply cabinets ensure that businesses are covered.

The innovative design of the SmartCompliance cabinet eliminates disorganized and missing supplies often seen within traditional first aid cabinets. As first aid products are used, the SmartTab ezRefill reminders notify users when it’s time to reorder so that supplies never run out when it matters most.

At the NSC show, the new Bleeding Control and Bodily Fluid Control modules of the SmartCompliance Complete Cabinet were shown to the public for the first time.

In addition, the SafetyHub App was expanded with new features such as the ‘Offline Mode’ to help users who don’t have wifi or cellular service. Thank to this new feature a user can still create a requisition on-site and then upload everything where there’s wifi or cellular access.

The First Aid Only SafetyHub app simplifies supply requisitioning so that users can stay organized and in compliance. The innovative app allows to set automatic reminders for checking stock levels on the SmartCompliance family of products and refills. The app also provides easy-to-use tools like bar-code scanning for creating and sending supply requisitions to a first aid supplier.

Finally, in the SmartCompliance category, the Retrofit Cabinet was introduced. This innovative system, lets a company convert any brand first aid cabinet over 15″ wide with three or more SmartCompliance shelves, which consist of three fully-stocked grids and extra supplies to immediately make a cabinet ANSI B compliant.

These grid inserts with individual refill boxes are easy to install into existing cabinets and help to eliminate cluttering. The SmartTab re-order reminders make it easier to stay ANSI B compliant, while the free SafetyHub phone App makes supply requisitions easy and allows to reduce first aid costs by up to 50% over traditional van services.

In addition, First Aid Only launched new Bleeding Control kits, which empower a bystander with the right tools to help those who are in an emergency situation to stop life-threatening blood loss before professional help arrives. FAO offers several kits that include hemostatic pressings, Israeli bandages, and the easy-to-use and effective SWAT-T™ “Stretch, Wrap, and Tuck” Tourniquet.

Another highlight at Acme’s booth were the Westcott Safety Cutters. It is logical that these cutters were shown at the NSC show, because in most cases the safety manager who has the authority to purchase first aid items, also decides on the purchase of cutters.

The Saber Safety cutters feature a steel blade plunger, thumb rest, and a double-wall cutter. The safer-slicing retractable box cutters with ceramic knives have ergonomic improvements so the user can actuate on top or side of the slider. In addition, they are available with replaceable and non-replaceable blades. Next to being safer, the Slice ceramic blades last up to 11 times longer than metal blades.

Conclusion

Changes in the economy, demographics, work environments, technology and job structures are creating new safety challenges and bring with them new workplace risks. So it is imperative that companies large and small keep focusing on safety at work.

As a result, the first aid segment continues to grow at Acme United. In fact, it generates about half of the Company’s total revenues, due to excellent growth during the past few years.

Thanks to a successful NSC show, distribution of Acme’s first aid products is again expected to expand at industrial and office distributors, retailers, and online. Smallcaps Recommendation: BUY.

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