Kappa Map Group
Kappa Map Group, LLC is a privately held US print map publisher based in DeLand, Florida, operating five heritage cartographic brands (Hagstrom, American Map, Mapsco, ADC, Universal Map) and selling road atlases, educational maps, and adjacent products to consumers, schools, and businesses through branded e-commerce storefronts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersDeland, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Kappa Map Group does
Kappa Map Group, LLC is a privately held US print map publisher headquartered in DeLand, Florida, operating as an umbrella for five heritage cartographic brands: Hagstrom (1916), American Map (1923), Mapsco (1948), ADC – The Map People (1956), and Universal Map (1976). The company offers US road atlases in full, mid, and pocket formats; paper and laminated street, state, national, and world maps; educational wall and desk maps; and custom and pre-formatted wall maps. It sells primarily through a portfolio of branded e-commerce storefronts, with wall map and spring roller production outsourced to Map Shop since May 2022.
The business model is straightforward transactional commerce: one-time product purchases by individual consumers (travelers, road-trippers), educational institutions (classroom geography), and commercial buyers (delivery services, regional planning). The company carries no proprietary technology stack, no app, no API, and no disclosed pricing transparency beyond quote-based custom orders. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, no funding rounds have occurred, and there is no evidence of VC, PE, or institutional ownership beyond the Kappa family affiliation. The product footprint has narrowed materially: folding maps, atlases, and books have been discontinued, and wall map manufacturing has been outsourced, leaving an increasingly brand-licensing-oriented operating model with a diversified portfolio extending into puzzles, books, games, wrestling publications, astrology, and adult coloring.
The competitive position rests on brand heritage and accumulated cartographic content rather than technology or scale economics. The addressable market—printed maps in the United States—is structurally contracting under sustained pressure from digital navigation, and the company's response has been defensive contraction of product lines and outsourcing of production rather than expansion into new digital or data-driven offerings.
Kappa Map Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kappa Map Group
- Legal name
- Kappa Map Group, LLC
- Website
- https://kappamapgroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Kappa Map Group, LLC is a privately held US print map publisher based in DeLand, Florida, operating five heritage cartographic brands (Hagstrom, American Map, Mapsco, ADC, Universal Map) and selling road atlases, educational maps, and adjacent products to consumers, schools, and businesses through branded e-commerce storefronts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kappa Map Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Map Publishing
- NAICS
- Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Office, Stationery & Craft Supplies DTC (CRAFACAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Office, School & Business Supplies Marketplaces (CRAFABAM)
Keywords
Where Kappa Map Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Deland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kappa Map Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Printed Map Products: Sale of physical printed map products including road atlases, street maps, state maps, national maps, world maps, and educational wall and desk maps. Revenue is generated through one-time product purchases.
- Custom Wall Maps: Custom and pre-formatted wall maps produced for specific customer requirements, sold as individual products.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
Kappa Map Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kappa Map Group publishes and distributes printed map products in North America, operating a multi-brand portfolio that includes US Road Atlases (full-size, mid-size, pocket), paper and laminated street, state, national, and world maps, educational wall and desk maps, and custom/pre-formatted wall maps. The company consolidates heritage brands Hagstrom, American Map, Mapsco, ADC, and Universal Map under a single corporate umbrella established in 2011.
Product overview
Kappa Map Group is a portfolio of map publishing brands offering printed map products in North America. The company operates as a multi-brand platform encompassing Universal Map, American Map, Mapsco, Hagstrom, and ADC—The Map People, with roots dating back to 1916. Core products include US Road Atlases (full size, mid-size, pocket), paper and laminated street/state/national/world maps, educational wall and desk maps, and custom/pre-formatted wall maps. Wall map and spring roller map production transitioned to MapShop in 2022. Folding maps, atlases, and books have been discontinued. The Kappa family also extends to related products including puzzles, books, games, wrestling publications, astrology, and adult coloring through separate brand domains.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Hagstrom: Map brand founded in 1916 by Andrew Hagstrom in lower Manhattan. Produced maps of all 5 NYC boroughs within 10 years.
- American Map
- Mapsco
- ADC – The Map People
- Universal Map
Products and services
- US Road Atlases
Companies that use Kappa Map Group
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Kappa Map Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Kappa Map Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Map ShopcoreMap Shop became Kappa Map Group's new production partner for wall maps and pull-down spring roller maps as of May 1, 2022. Map Shop assumed all wall map production responsibilities from Kappa, taking over this product category entirely.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Kappa Map Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Garmin: Acquired DeLorme and operates in digital navigation and GPS devices. Competes with Kappa in the broader navigation market, having displaced many printed-map use cases with digital solutions.
- TomTom: Digital mapping and navigation platform that has largely replaced printed maps for consumer and commercial navigation. Adjacent competitor constraining Kappa's addressable market.
- AAA (American Automobile Association): Publishes TripBooks and paper maps historically distributed to members; competes with Kappa in consumer road atlases and travel maps while operating a much broader travel/services portfolio.
- HERE Technologies: B2B location data and mapping platform serving automotive, logistics, and enterprise customers. Represents the digital evolution of the map industry that Kappa has not entered.
Direct peers
- Maps.com: Online retailer and publisher of wall maps, travel maps, and educational maps. Overlaps with Kappa on DTC map e-commerce and educational map distribution.
- National Geographic Maps: Publishes printed maps, atlases, and wall maps with strong brand equity in the educational and reference market. Directly competes with Kappa in educational wall maps, folded maps, and atlases.
- Rand McNally: The other major US-based publisher of printed road atlases, street maps, and wall maps. Directly comparable to Kappa across product categories (atlases, wall maps, educational maps) and target customers (consumers, schools, businesses).
- Benchmark Maps: Independent US publisher of recreational, wall, and reference maps with strong regional coverage. Comparable to Kappa's Hagstrom and Mapsco heritage brands in wall/regional maps and educational customers.
- Globe Turner: US-based map publisher offering wall maps, folded maps, and custom maps for retail and educational customers. Direct overlap with Kappa's core wall map and educational product lines.
Others
- Universal Map (current brand under Kappa): Kappa's own sub-brand with the largest US map collection and map vending machine heritage. Listed as a reference peer for competitive positioning; functionally part of the subject company.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Kappa Map Group social profiles
Digital presenceKappa Map Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kappa Map Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Kappa Map Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Kappa Map Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kappa Map Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kappa Map Group
What does Kappa Map Group do?
Kappa Map Group publishes and distributes printed map products in North America, operating a multi-brand portfolio that includes US Road Atlases (full-size, mid-size, pocket), paper and laminated street, state, national, and world maps, educational wall and desk maps, and custom/pre-formatted wall maps. The company consolidates heritage brands Hagstrom, American Map, Mapsco, ADC, and Universal Map under a single corporate umbrella established in 2011.
Is Kappa Map Group a public or private company?
Kappa Map Group is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Kappa Map Group founded?
Kappa Map Group was founded in 2011. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Kappa Map Group based?
Kappa Map Group is headquartered in Deland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kappa Map Group make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Printed Map Products are the primary driver. The others are custom Wall Maps.
Who are Kappa Map Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Garmin, TomTom, AAA (American Automobile Association) and HERE Technologies. Direct peers are Maps.com, National Geographic Maps, Rand McNally, Benchmark Maps and Globe Turner. Universal Map (current brand under Kappa) is listed as an others.
Does Kappa Map Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kappa Map Group.
What industry is Kappa Map Group in?
Kappa Map Group's product category is Map Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFACAL, Office, Stationery & Craft Supplies DTC, with a secondary code of CRAFABAM, Office, School & Business Supplies Marketplaces. Its NAICS code is 5131 and its SIC code is 5110.