"There is no substitute for quality"

"Acorn Engineering Company was founded in 1954 to manufacture engineered specification quality plumbing products to be sold at competitive prices, made possible by superior designs and efficient manufacturing procedures."

- Earl Morris, Chairman and Founder

NAVIGATION LINKS

• About Acorn Engineering
• Our History
• Acorn Engineering Timeline
• Our Divisions / Partnerships

About Acorn Engineering Company

Acorn Engineering Company manufactures stainless steel plumbing products and systems for the institutional, commercial, and residential markets. Today, Acorn and its many divisions provide integrated plumbing solutions to specify a variety of building projects from start to finish. Markets served include schools, stadiums, hospitals, correctional facilities, hotels, and many commercial environments. In the beginning, Acorn primarily manufactured a broad line of floor sinks and prefabricated stainless steel shower equipment. As Acorn's product line drastically expanded, the foundation of Acorn remained steadfast: to design and produce the finest quality plumbing products at competitive prices.

In 1953, Earl Morris founded the Earl L. Morris Company (ELMCO) in downtown Los Angeles. After his years of experience selling plumbing products, Morris found that the type of products he enjoyed selling the most were those specified by the engineer.In 1954, he established a new manufacturing division called Acorn Engineering. Acorn Engineering quickly grew to become a world leader in the manufacturing of stainless steel plumbing fixtures, valued in correctional facilities and high-traffic areas for their vandal-resistance and durability. The latest technologies in laser cutting and deep-draw press have only served to reinforce quality and longevity.

Since then, Acorn Engineering has grown to include 12 divisions. From toilets to vacuum plumbing systems, our products come out of our many facilities in North America ready to meet the needs of any project. Because we research, design and manufacture our own products, customers have the benefit of going to one supplier to get the job done, with choices that meet ADA requirements and the highest standards for safety.

To this day, fixtures are still made from reclaimed stainless steel, our material of choice from the beginning. Acorn now sculpts this 80 percent recycled material into products that address complex environmental issues such as water conservation and energy efficiency. As a result, waste is kept to a minimum and products are durable and provide years of maintenance-free use, resulting in long-term environmental and economical benefits for a whole building.

Our History

As World War II was ending in 1945, Earl Morris established the Earl L. Morris Company. The Earl L. Morris Company, a manufacturer's representative, was founded on the principle of selling only the finest engineered plumbing products. The company prospered and in the early 1950's the name was changed to the acronym ELMCO Sales, Inc. In 1954 a new manufacturing division was established, called Acorn Engineering.

Both Acorn Engineering and ELMCO Sales occupied the same building in Los Angeles, California into the late 1950's. In the beginning, Acorn primarily manufactured a broad line of floor sinks and prefabricated stainless steel shower equipment. As Acorn's product line expanded, the foundation of Acorn remained steadfast: to design and produce the finest quality plumbing products at competitive prices. Acorn Engineering quickly grew to become a world leader in the manufacturing of stainless steel plumbing fixtures.

In the late 1950's/early 1960's, ELMCO Sales and Acorn Engineering separated. Acorn moved to a new facility in City of Industry, California. ELMCO Sales later moved to a newly built 45,000 square feet facility next to ACORN in the City of Industry. Today Elmco Sales Inc. is comprised of several partnerships that represent and distribute Acorn and other manufacturers products in the western region of the United States. Today ELMCO offices include:

• Elmco Duddy - Based in City of Industry, CA (suburb of Los Angeles) with an additional sales office in the San Diego area.
• Elmco & Associates - Based in Sacramento, CA with an additional stocking warehouse in the San Francisco area.
• Elmco Ford - Based in Las Vegas, NV
• Elmco Stewart - Based in Phoenix, Arizona

Acorn's growth prospered. Acorn developed new product lines and began acquiring companies and partnerships in similar and unrelated fields. In the early 1970's, Acorn designed, engineered and produced a new market-leading complete product line of deep drawn and fabricated stainless steel plumbing fixtures. Consequently, Acorn became a world-wide leader in the stainless steel prison fixture market. Additionally, other acquisitions were made.

Today, with over 75 patents and several major product lines including literally thousands of products, Acorn operates internationally with over 800 employees and utilizes over 500,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. In addition, Acorn has grown to include the following divisions/ partnerships:

Acorn Engineering Timeline

1953: Earl Morris starts the "Earl L. Morris Co." (thus the origin of the name ELMCO) in downtown Los Angeles. They represented and manufactured a line of stainless steel prefab shower equipment primarily for school and institutional markets.

1954: Earl L. Morris establishes Acorn Engineering Company on the principle of design and production of the finest quality plumbing products at a competitive price.

1960: Acorn moved to its current location in the City of Industry, California

1969: Acorn's line Penal-Ware is designed and introduced. Manufactured of heavy-gauge stainless steel, the Penal-Ware line of high security, vandal-resistant fixtures are engineered to withstand high-usage demands, thus establishing Acorn as the leader in plumbing for institutional and correctional facilities

1976: Care-Ware product line is introduced. Care-Ware stations come in a vast selection of designs that are ergonomic and ADA-compliant, for optimal convenience and comfort to both patient and professional care-giver.

1979: Aluminum plumbing fixture company purchased, later to be renamed SuperSecur Manufacturing Company.

1979-1983: Construction and expansion to Acorn corporate offices and Elmco Sales Inc. in City of Industry, California

1983: Production begins on Acorn's Wash-Ware wash fountains, which offer space-saving designs without compromising basic durability and function. Units require only one plumbing connection to provide hand-washing stations in multiple basin configurations.

1984: Acudor/Acorn LTD Canada joint venture is established with Don Morris and Paul Nelson as co-founders

Left to Right: Fletcher Wright, Earl Morris, Lee Curtis, Larry Huck, Fen Flauck, George Scanlan, Steve Reiter, Johnny Myers.

Our Divisions / Partnerships

Name: AcornVac, Inc.

About: AcornVac Vacuum Plumbing Systems are an environmentally friendly alternative to gravity drainage that allows greater flexibility in plumbing system design and installation. AcornVac Vacuum Plumbing Systems use the interface of vacuum and atmospheric pressures to lift waste vertically without require- ment for floor penetration, underground drainage, or continuous slope, providing freedom to locate plumbing fixtures without regard to conventional gravity drainage requirements. AcornVac vacuum flush toilets provide a water saving and efficient flush using less than 1/2 gallon of water per flush cycle.

Name: Acorn-Gencon Plastics

About: Acorn-Gencon Plastics provides complete injection molded product solutions from concept to completion. Engineered design services combined with complete manufacturing capabilities ensure the best project production flow from concept to completion.

Name: Acorn / Powell, U.K.

About: Manufacturer and Representative. Joint venture established in 1995; Acorn U.K. Sales and Service.

Name: Acudor / Acorn, Ltd., Canada

About: This is a joint venture with Acudor. This division acts as the primary representative company for Acorn Engineering. Joint venture established in 1984.

Name: Neo-Metro

About: Re-invent the definition of contemporary bath décor with the classic and industrial look of stainless steel. Constructed of heavy-gage stainless steel, the Neo-Metro® fixture collection is designed with contemporary style that appeals to the modern bath design enthusiast.

Name: Elmdor / Stoneman Manufacturing

About: Elmdor/Stoneman was founded on the principle of design and production of the finest quality sheet metal fabrication. Five decades of experience and innovative engineering have enabled us to become a well established, high volume, low cost producer of access doors. Stocked in regional warehouses throughout the United States.

Name: Murdock-Super Secur

About: Murdock - Super Secur is a partnership based on experience and dependability. Murdock has a long standing reputation that spans more than one-hundred and fifty-three years. As early as 1853, while most people were drawing water from common wells, the Murdock company was manufacturing and installing water delivery systems throughout the country.

Name: Whitehall Manufacturing

About: An industry leader in hospital patient care unit design, Care-Ware® stations are ergonomically designed to provide optimal convenience and comfort to both patient and professional care-giver. Care-Ware's space-saving designs eliminate the need for separate patient restroom facilities and are ideally suited for bedside locations within acute and alternative care facilities.

Whitehall Manufacturing provides the healthcare industry with a wide array of quality product solutions that offer optimal comfort for the patient and durable functionality for the professional care-giver.

Name: Chronomite Laboratories

About: Since 1966, Chronomite Laboratories Inc. has been the innovative leader in providing solutions for commercial and industrial tankless plumbing applications. In 1992, Chronomite Laboratories Inc. patented the first microprocessor controlled tankless water heater providing unlimited hot water simultaneously to multiple lavatories with one heater. Utilizing state of the art technology, the microprocessor meets the users demands for superior performance with accurate determined preset output temperatures, while being efficient and at the same time cost affordable. Chronomite's Micro-processor technology paved the way for solutions that are vital to today's engineer.

Name: Potter Roemer

About: Since 1937, Potter Roemer has been the leading supplier of interior hose and standpipe equipment to the fire protection industry. From our 5 regional shipping facilities, we have the largest uncommitted inventory, in stock, and available for your project. Potter Roemer - quality and service... proven over time!

Name: Fire Pro

About: Fire Pro, founded in 1977, continues to meet the demanding needs of fire protection with our new Electrically Remote Control Monitor Model #FP3- 750-RCE. It offers the flexibility to be operated with a hardwired joystick controller or a wireless controller with a range up to a half mile.

Name: Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co.

About: Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co.® is a leading manufacturer of quality engineered plumbing and drainage products in the non-residential construction industry. All Smith products are designed for adaptability, conformance to codes, ease of installation, and maximum performance efficiency.

Acorn Engineering Corporate Facility
City of Industry, CA USA

Acorn Engineering, Elmdor-Stoneman
& Potter Roemer Manufacturing Facility
City of Industry, CA USA

Acorn Engineering
Manufacturing Facility
Chino, CA USA