Website www.acco.com/swingline | Type of business Subsidiary of ACCO Brands | |
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Headquarters Lincolnshire, Illinois, United States Founded 1925, New York City, New York, United States Profiles | ||
Swingline is a division of ACCO Brands Corporation that specializes in manufacturing staplers and hole punches. The company was formerly located in Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States, but the plant was moved to Nogales, Mexico in 1999.
History
Swingline was founded in 1925 in New York City by Jack Linsky. At that time, it was known as the Parrot Speed Fastener Company and opened its first manufacturing facility in Long Island City in 1931. Eight years later the company changed its name to Speed Products and created the first top-opening stapler, allowing easy refilling of a full strip of staples. This design eventually became the industry standard. In 1956 the company was renamed Swingline, and in 1968 introduced the Swingline 747, their most popular model yet.It was then sold to American Brands in 1970, becoming a division of ACCO, under Fortune Brands, in 1987.
In 1999 Acco closed Swingline's Long Island City plant, which it had occupied for fifty years, and moved production to Nogales, Mexico. About 450 workers lost their jobs. At the time it was the largest single job loss in the city caused by the North American Free Trade Agreement. When the closing was announced in 1997, Acco was criticized by New York's mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said the city could do without a company that did not want to pay workers an adequate wage.
A custom-painted red Swingline 747 stapler was prominently featured in the 1999 comedy movie Office Space. Swingline later introduced an official red model, in response to an increased demand from fans of the film.