ACD turns 10 - Celebrating a decade of being your one-stop shop
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — After a storied 21-year career at Motorola Mobility, Minh Nguyen was looking to the horizon for new opportunities. As a career supply chain executive and senior mechanical engineer, Minh had firsthand experience with the frustrations of working with several partners to get a single product off the ground. He had long wished for a partner who could handle all aspects of the production process, from conception to manufacturing.
After moving from Chicago to Dallas-Fort Worth, Minh set up a meeting with Michael Tieu to discuss business opportunities. Mike, founder and CEO of National Circuit Assembly, understood Minh’s vision: a firm where engineers, logistics experts, and project managers came together seamlessly to form a true one-stop shop. After convincing Minh to make a new start down the path of entrepreneurship, the two initiated conversations exploring the possibility of acquiring Austin Circuit Design, a small printed circuit board shop based outside Austin, Texas.
After two months of discussions, Mike and Minh sealed the deal over lunch with the previous owner and walked away as the new heads of ACD. Mike, a serial entrepreneur with a proven track record of business growth, became CEO, while Minh brought his intimate knowledge of supply chain management and engineering to the role of COO. The pair moved ACD to Garland, Texas—next door to NCA—and began the work needed to grow ACD into a global design firm built to handle every aspect of product development under one roof.
November marks a decade since that fateful lunch in 2015, and we’ve never been more confident in our future. Minh, now CEO, has grown ACD into the firm he once dreamed of, assembling a world-class team and building a network of trusted manufacturing and sourcing partners around the globe. Early additions, like Gerald Coley (CTO), have been a steadying hand as ACD expanded its offerings over the years, while more recent additions, such as Mark Cottam (COO), have positioned the company for continued growth into the next decade. It’s been ten years of hard work and milestones with little time to celebrate our achievements, but we can’t let such a momentous occasion pass with no fanfare.
We’re excited to kick off our #ACD10 celebration campaign leading up to our November anniversary. Over the next four months, we’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes looks at ACD’s ever-expanding capabilities as well as showcasing past work that we haven’t had the chance to show off yet. Join us as we celebrate a decade of being your one-stop shop!
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ACD is an advanced design and manufacturing firm focused on providing innovative solutions to the modern world’s pressing problems. ACD prides itself in being a one-stop solution for those who want to make the world a better place to live. Design, sourcing, prototyping, and manufacturing services make ACD a truly global company. For more information, reach out to sales@austincircuit.com.
