An American Success Story
ACSM Awarded the 2022 CCP Trailblazer Vision Award
The Vision Awards, presented by Charlotte Center City Partners, recognizes the contributions of individuals, businesses, and organizations that are making the Center City more vibrant and extraordinary. There are three categories of award – Vision, City Builder, and Trailblazer – all intended to recognize people and places that exemplify remarkable vision and make a difference in the city’s ongoing transformation.
You can trace the history of ACSM directly to our business patriarch, Roberto Nocik, who was born in 1930 in Buenos Aires, Argentina from Russian immigrant parents. From an early age, Roberto discovered his talent and love for art. Instantly deciding his artistic path in life, he attended The National School of Fine Arts Manuel Belgrano where he received his Bachelor in Fine Arts. Realizing the artistic value and the potential business possibilities, he attended The National School of Fine Arts Prilidiano Pueyrredon where he received a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in the sign painting trade. After 3 years of painting murals and lettering mass transit vehicles for the Buenos Aires Department of Transportation, he headed to America to continue the rich, traditional trade of hand sign lettering.
We invite you to be part of the journey.
How it all began
In 1959 he began to work for LG Sign Company, a prominent sign business in New Jersey. In 1970, after 11 years he decided to form his own company, Roberto Signs, Inc. After 10 very successful years he sold the company and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a new challenge (and to get away from the long, cold winters).
In 1980 he reopened Roberto Signs again, but this time his two eldest sons joined him in business. In 1993, after 13 successful years he started to think about retiring so he began scaling down to make his company a simple and less stressful operation. For the next 3 years he enjoyed a much less hectic schedule and worked with just a few of his longtime clients to keep busy.
Throughout the busiest part of his sign business career, his youngest son Glen had always loved learning all the old world traditions of hand-lettering, gold leaf techniques and sign design & layout, but was still in school. In 1996, after attending college, Glen joined his father in the family business.
In 2004 Roberto was ready to fully retire and Glen was finally experienced enough to take on the challenge of continuing the family sign business in the City of Charlotte, NC. Originally, ACSM’s Carolina name was American Classic Sign Manufacturing which paid hommage to the country who had blessed Roberto Sr. with humble success. Today, the firm’s name is now shortened to ACSM INC which still proudly honors its family roots.
Today, ACSM is a successful design-build firm located in the heart of Charlotte’s LOSO District. While the company has a wide range of experience, ACSM has built a great reputation in the creation of wayfinding signs and systems. Cities across North Carolina and beyond trust the firm’s work and approach to projects, making ACSM the ideal choice for your next project.
