A.R.E.A.C.E.M.

French vinyl pressing plant, sleeve manufacturer and distributor. A.R.E.A.C.E.M. stands for "Les Applications & REalisations ACoustiques ElectroMecaniques" The plant was originally founded as "Usine de Matériel Electroacoustique A.C.E.M. S.A." in 1950. Renamed to AREACEM S.A. in May 1971 (after merging the distributor AREA S.A. with the pressing plant). Owned by E.W. Pelgrims de Bigard. The plant went into receivership early 1980 but became a cooperative after a buyout by the workers and in September 1980 the plant was renamed to Societé Nouvelle AREACEM (better known as SNA). A.R.E.A. means "Applications et réalisations électriques et acoustiques". A.C.E.M. means "Ateliers de Constructions Électromécaniques" AREACEM used special codes (printed on cover) to identify the manufacturing date, e.g. A 9, C 11 etc., where A = 1972, B = 1973, C = 1974 etc. and the number indicating the month, e.g. 9 for September. So, A 9 means September 1972. But be careful when trying to identify a publication date this way: this code may be obsolete when found on a reissue or reprint, it often remains, inherited from the original layout. ⚠Transitional special codes can be found during year 1971, where L-71 probably stands for December 1971 ( exemple here: Il Était Une Fois Dans L'Ouest (Bande Originale Du Film Paramount)) ACEM however used figures only, e.g. 11-70 stands for November 1970. On runouts may appear a lowercase [Areacem logo] stamp (see images) or a △ symbol, depending the period (please, do not confuse with [AGI delta / logo], which appeared between 1979 and 1989 on french pressings !). Both stand for ‘Pressed By A.R.E.A.C.E.M’, except when their typical pressing rings cannot be recognized, or, when the usual additional ‘EX’ / ‘EXP’ marks (exported metalworks) can be found. In this case, please use a ‘Plated At’ / ‘Mastered At’ role, in LCCN.