Celebrating 25th anniversary

The company was established in 1994 by managing director, John Shelton, working from his home in Cheddington, Bucks. Having spent many years with a competitor business in the UK and Denmark, he recognised that software-based measurement systems were the future.

Reflecting on the company’s early years, Shelton comments: “There was definitely a demand for new, more innovative ways of doing things such as audio recording for noise nuisance and portable real-time analysis. Most of our software was in DOS then but we were the first business to offer a Windows-based laptop system that met the sound level meter standards.

“A firm believer in the power of marketing, we were also one of the first businesses in the industry to launch a website and produced regular newsletters which were very well received at the time.”

In those days, recording signals to disk, and real-time frequency analysis required high specification hardware and digital signal processing, but modern PCs easily outpaced dedicated hardware of even a few years ago.

During the past 25 years, Shelton and his team have built on contacts in the industry and experience of advanced applications to develop a complementary range of products and software from top quality transducers through to final analysis and reporting software.

AcSoft has now grown into a multidisciplinary company offering solutions to large multinational businesses and small consultancies alike, along with applications advice, to ensure maximum return on investment.

In 2016, AcSoft opened an air-conditioned, purpose-built noise and vibration calibration laboratory at its facility in Bedford. It can calibrate a variety of acoustic and vibration equipment to nationally traceable standards, including microphones, preamplifiers, calibrators and piston phones, accelerometers, analysers and dosimeters, whilst offering competitive rates and fast turnaround times.

AcSoft also boasts a growing rental division designed to make it easier for customers to hire instrumentation, software and sensors to meet short and long term project monitoring needs. If fact, the company recently announced that revenue from its rental business doubled during 2018, with more growth forecast for the year ahead.

Shelton continues: “We are delighted to be celebrating 25 years in business. Along with our loyal customer base, we attribute a lot of our success to our dedicated employees. We’ve always strived to put people first, building a talented workforce and nurturing a culture of first class customer service, loyalty, best of breed products and strong values.

“Plus we have always chosen our partners carefully which has allowed us to offer a high quality, solution-based approach, ensuring long-term growth and close relationships with suppliers and customers alike.”

AcSoft offers a large portfolio of cutting-edge products from major brands, including Sinus Messtechnik, gfai tech, Microflown, Listen Inc., SEMEX EngCon, Sensidyne, Crystal Instruments, Look Line and Sources Line.

Long-standing customer Andy Officer, Senior Engineer at Arup says: “I have known John Shelton for over 35 years. As a fledging new kid on the very competitive noise and vibration block, he quickly managed to establish AcSoft as the ‘go to’ for an alternative suite of powerful instrumentation.

"The team are very professional, providing excellent customer care,  support and technical advice, alongside great products, which I have purchased from Acsoft from the very outset, starting all those 25 years ago with the ground breaking Svan 912. The company’s latest venture into the sound level meter calibration field is another testament to its commitment to providing customers and others with a competitive alternative for traceable calibrations, and backed by fast and efficient turnaround times.

“In fact, we have been so impressed with this new service that AcSoft now calibrates all our noise instrumentation. I look forward to the time when they perhaps provide UKAS calibrations too.”  

AcSoft Sound and Vibration now has two sister companies. Svantek UK was formed in 2011 to expand the market for high quality noise and vibration instrumentation for environmental and occupational health monitoring applications. GRAS Sound and Vibration UK, was established in 2014. A subsidiary of Denmark-based G.R.A.S Sound and Vibration A/S, it is a leading specialist in measurement microphones and related acoustic equipment.

“As a business we are in good shape for the future and we want to thank our customers, suppliers and employees. Without them, we would never have reached this significant milestone,” Shelton concludes.