APCO traces its origin back to 1966 when founder Ron Cobb purchased a defunct engraving company in Atlanta called APCO Engraving. The previous owners had abandoned the company, fundamentally leaving only the equipment and a small inventory.

During the early years, with only a handful of employees, APCO operated as a custom sign shop, doing whatever it took to survive, from silkscreen printing and engraving to exhibits and cabinet making. About the same time, in the early 1970s, the "architectural sign" industry was emerging on the West Coast. Taking notice of the trend, APCO moved forward to produce interior sign products that mimicked those being produced in California, consisting primarily of polished acrylic plaques with subsurface silkscreen printed graphics.

Toward the close of the 1970s, APCO embarked on the design and introduction of the SignMatch System, truly the first modular and systems approach to signing in the United States.

Throughout the 1980s and to this day, APCO has put great emphasis on product development and a systems approach to signage, developing a comprehensive range of modular signage solutions, designed to meet customers' needs and engineered to meet sign manufacturers' needs.

In 1993, after growing demand for APCO's modular systems from within the sign industry, APCO launched its Components Division, offering a wide range of APCO's sign products in component (unfinished) form at wholesale pricing to the sign trade.

Now a 2nd generation family business, APCO operates its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices, distributors and dealers throughout the world. The APCO Components Division, also based in Atlanta, continues to offer a broad range of innovative, modular sign systems to the sign trade, with a true understanding and appreciation for the challenges and needs of our clients operating a business in the sign industry.