After reading Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World in 2021, I purchased a Made in USA iMovR standing desk. The difference was immediate: I felt better and had more energy while working.
The desk came with an anti-fatigue mat, which worked well. But then I got Rocky, my dog, and the constant stress of walking, playing, and standing all day began to take its toll. In the last year or so, my legs, knees, and hips began to hurt. A lot.
I found myself constantly moving the anti-fatigue mat to find a place on it that felt good. I finally removed it and went back to sitting — which introduced shoulder and neck pain.
Along the same time, I discovered Richard Ward, Marketing Director for AcroMat, via a video he did on how his company uses LinkedIn to grow their business. We connected, and I began reading his posts and watching videos (all very well done!) about how AcroMat designs and manufactures custom-sized mats for industrial facilities. I asked if he would be open to an interview for this blog.
While interviewing him, I realized that while my anti-fatigue mat wasn’t “industrial,” it did serve the same purpose: to make standing for long hours much more comfortable and pain-free. So, I shared my story about my mat and how painful it had become to stand at my desk.
“Your mat has worn out,” he said. “We actually send free mat samples to prospects. Would you like one?”
“Oh yes, please!” The company has a special way of packing and shipping their mats, so I was eager to experience the unboxing, plus I wanted to gain an appreciation for the material and see and feel for myself why the company is rapidly growing.
Founded in 2006 by Russell Herbert, AcroMat has differentiated itself in two ways: it’s the only mat manufacturer to make custom-sized and configured mats for industrial applications, and it provides a tool that let’s people design their mats online. Both have been game changers.
From garage start-up to market differentiator in less than 20 years
Just out of high school in the early 2000s, Russell Herbert began selling janitorial supplies in Nebraska. While visiting customers in the industrial space, he often heard they needed anti-fatigue mats custom-made to fit the complex layouts found in manufacturing facilities.
The only solutions available were standard sized, rectangular mats — which workers, plant managers, etc. would then piece together. The problem: these pieced-together mats came with trip hazards, gaps, and on/off stepping — which led to accidents and ergonomic issues.
“I was very green when I began selling supplies,” says Herbert, “and wanting to learn, I talked to many safety, production, and manufacturing leaders to understand what was most important to them. The issue of mats came up repeatedly.
“No one was making custom-mats — a clear gap in the industry — so I set out to do exactly that. When a company asked for a custom size / configuration, I said ‘Yes’ and then figured out how to build it.”
By “custom-sized and designed mats,” this means the mat is one piece of rubber foam that’s been designed, molded, and cut to fit a space and the machines and other items in it. (Think of a vinyl floor in a kitchen or bath that’s been cut to fit around the cabinets, appliances, door trim, etc.)
As word grew, so did Herbert’s business. In 2005 he moved from his garage in Nebraska to the Minneapolis Metro area. Shortly after, he founded AcroMat and then rented a small corner of a facility where he did all the selling and mat production; he personally made deliveries from his van.
Because AcroMat was the only company in the space making custom mats, the company’s reputation began to grow.
The difference: Molded nitrile rubber foam
According to Ward, most anti-fatigue mats on the market are extruded using PVC foam or a blend of PVC foam and nitrile.
Extruding rubber is the easiest (and cheapest) way to make foam mats, and why so many mat companies sell them. However, to extrude rubber, you have to add a percentage of PVC foam.
PVC foam isn’t impervious to liquids or chemicals, which can lead to common mat issues such as bloating, cracking, and curling borders. It also sinks or compresses over time, leading to ergonomic inconsistencies. (e.g. joint and muscle pain).
AcroMat anti-fatigue mats are molded – versus extruded – from closed cell, 100% nitrile rubber foam. This material is completely impervious to liquids and chemicals, which helps to prevent issues such as absorption, bloating and curling.
This material, combined with AcroMat’s design and construction process, allows the company to guarantee and warranty that its mats will not curl, flatten or compress, or delaminate.
The 20-person AcroMat team oversees all aspects of mat design, production, and shipping from the company’s Lakeville, Minnesota facility.
Says Ward, “We’re not a rubber molder, so we source our material, but everything else is completed right here: design, precision-cutting, bonding, assembly, and packaging. All mats are shipped directly from our facility.”
The company provides custom safety messages and logo printing; they also manufacture a proprietary non-slip backing for anti-fatigue mats called Grip-R.
AcroMat changes the game — again
Designing custom mats is time-consuming and complicated; for a long time, AcroMat didn’t have an easy way to design or quote jobs. The process was all manual, requiring site visits, a lengthy design process, and delayed quote times.
Custom mats clearly solved a real problem, but the process wasn’t sustainable or scalable.
Says Ward, “About 10 years ago, Russell had a lightbulb moment after visiting a client facility. He realized we needed to create a way for our clients to design, build, quote, and order a mat to any size, shape or dimension — on their own. The process of getting a mat made needed to be fast and easy.”
This insight led to the creation of AcroMat’s proprietary, in-house, custom mat building tool, AcroSketch. Released in 2017, Ward says it’s the only tool of its kind in the industry.
Herbert created the original concept and then worked with a team of developers to bring it to life. AcroSketch allows users to easily design the mat they need, see immediate pricing, download a quote — as well purchase the custom mat online.
The AcroSketch tool has changed the business. While half of all orders are for custom shapes and sizes, it’s a 60-40 mix between the AcroMat design team using AcroSketch and customers using it themselves.
Says Ward, “AcroSketch is an entirely new tool in our industry and not something people have seen before, so we’re still building awareness and teaching our clients how to use it, including creating a How-to AcroSketch library of videos.”
Continued growth — including the physical plant
In the last 15 years, AcroMat has grown from working only with clients in Minnesota, and serving them directly from a small room in the corner of someone else’s facility, to taking over a 25,000 sq. ft. facility just down the road.
The new building houses the business office and production facility, and has gone through several renovations to allow for expansion and higher capacity.
The company now creates custom mats for some of the world’s top brands across the U.S. According to Ward, revenue has grown over 50% each of the past three years, with even larger growth anticipated over the next three years.
Sums up Ward, “We’ve come a long way from Russell’s rented space and delivery van. Due to AcroSketch, our Lean-optimized production processes, and automated packaging system, we can guarantee a 10-day lead time whether a customer orders five mats or 500.
“Just last year for example, we manufactured, packaged and shipped a single order for a Fortune 500 retailer — over 11,000 square feet of custom-designed mats, and 1.3 miles of ADA-Compliant yellow borders — in one week. This type of order and fast production is now a common occurrence.”
To learn more about AcroMat, visit acromat.com.
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Links
iMovR Standing Desk — A Keep It Made USA product review
Richard Ward, Director of Marketing, AcroMat — LinkedIn profile; give him a follow!
Full Disclosure
I’m not paid nor asked to write about products or the companies that make them. All links in this piece are FREE — meaning, they’re not sponsored or paid for.
My mission is to keep manufacturing jobs stateside and this blog is my way of giving back. We like to think a “small” choice, such as purchasing something made in the US, won’t make a difference. It does.
