About Actus Manufacturing
John A. Nicholson formed Nicholson Company (a.k.a. Actus Manufacturing) in 1953. Nicholson Company became the first air-cooled Deutz diesel engine distributor in the United States.
In the 60’s, Nicholson Company began supplying control products to the construction industry. Our first linear and rotary electro-mechanical actuators were manufactured.
In the '70s, Nicholson Company began designing and building various heavy duty mechanical hand levers, controls, and cables, giving birth to Nicholson Company’s product line.
The '80s found Nicholson Company looking for new applications for the Deutz engine. This search led to using the Deutz engine to power the DOT-SIGN®, the first flip disk, portable, changeable message sign. This sign prompted entry into the traffic control industry. A new company name, ADDCO, was born.
In the '90s, ADDCO developed innovations such as the Energy Manager software for control of diesel engines and The BRICK® modular message sign system. ADDCO also developed the first radio-linked portable traffic signal and introduced and the ERC (Electric Remote Control) system.
In 2007, the traffic portion of ADDCO was sold and the industrial products group broke off and became Actus Manufacturing.
The name has changed but the innovation continues…
Corporate Team
Gregg A. Hohenstein, President
Gregg joined Actus in 2008. He has over 25 years experience in various technical and business leadership positions in the aerospace, biomedical and OEM industries. Gregg holds a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Adam J. Nicholson, Director of Sales and Technology
Adam joined Actus in 2001 and has held various sales and engineering positions including Project Manager and Chief Engineer. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology from Michigan Technological University.
Robert C. Nicholson, Account Manager
Robert joined Actus in 2010 and came to us from the financial industry. He has prior experience in product manufacturing and business development. He holds a B.A. in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Bethel University in Saint Paul Minnesota.