Acorn and Elemental8 Merger

We’re very excited about our announced merger with elemental8, a multidisciplinary firm based in Silicon Valley, and wanted to share a bit more about the merger with you (see the official press release here).


 
 

Acorn and elemental8 have been partners since 2006 and have collaborated on a number of successful products in the consumer, medical device, and telecommunications vertical markets. There has always been good synergy between the engineering and design teams, with a similar focus on creativity, process, and a focus on providing extensive value for customers.

Both companies also realized that many clients desired to have a vendor that could offer a complete solution (design, engineering, and transfer to manufacturing) under one roof. Given the experience the companies had of working together, we decided to merge the businesses. This will allow the combined company to achieve greater efficiencies, along with a complete solution for our clients.

One of the unique advantages the merger offers our clients is a complete solution from definition to production in North America and China all under one roof. The design team will be able to take advantage of the engineering team’s extensive relationships and experience with suppliers in China to potentially accelerate the design process by reducing the need to make changes in the design due to manufacturability issues. The China team also can begin the sourcing process earlier in the design cycle when things such as advanced technology, uncommon finishes, materials, processes, etc. may be required in order to achieve a particular user experience.

The combined company will continue to offer services “a la carte” for clients that wish to use only either design or engineering. Indeed, this is no different than how each company operated previously – Acorn has worked with numerous other ID firms, or ID groups within larger corporations. Similarly, elemental8 has with worked with other engineering firms or engineering groups within a company. This will continue going forward.

We’re very excited about some of the changes we’re planning on going forward:

  • Changes to this blog to bring an added focus to design and as well as engineering.

  • New content (e.g., white papers, enhanced newsletter, and more), providing insights into design, and the integration of design and engineering

  • Exploration of new services that will provide enhanced value to our customers.

Stay tuned to this blog for more on the merger as it develops.