After returning home from the army in 1956, Ken Acker began working with his father building homes in the Milwaukee area.  Soon after, he saw a pattern developing: the cabinets they were installing did not arrive on schedule, creating a delay in the construction process.  Ken embraced this as a challenge and decided to set up shop in his basement making the cabinets himself.  Eventually his work evolved; he soon began manufacturing wood windows and doors to fill the needs of local contractors.  The work was piling up, and Ken’s small basement shop was hindering his business.  He realized that if he was going to work more efficiently and take on more projects he would need a larger facility—it was time to expand.

In 1959 Ken Acker and his wife Ruth Ann established the Acker Millwork Company.

The business flourished.  The specialty niche of custom wood windows and doors was rapidly growing and the company began taking on new customers, catering not only to big business but more specifically to the individual tastes and needs of homeowners.  With their sons Pete and Jeff, they have combined time-proven construction methods and innovation with a strong tradition of hard work to build a reputation of precision and customer service just like one expects from a trusted family business.