Xccent Play was founded in the 1970s as Nickelson Plastics by David Nickelson. In 1978, David met Steve King from Landscape Structures, and they began using vinyl in outdoor applications. At that time most playground manufacturers were only using paint on their equipment. The use of vinyl in playground equipment completely changed the industry. Nickelson Plastics expanded their growing operations into Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, servicing Tier 1, 2, and 3 commercial playground manufacturers as well as numerous home-based playgrounds. John Mathiesen bought the company from Nickelson in 2003 and changed the name to Xccent.