Retro-tech: 2015 was an astounding year for one cassette tape factory

Break out your cleaner tapes because audiocassettes are coming back. (credit: stuart.childs)

Cassette tapes, like vinyl albums, are making a comeback. While CDs and digital media still reign supreme, according to a 2015 mid-year Nielsen report, the largest operational cassette factory in the US reports an impressive increase in demand.

National Audio Company (NAC) President Steve Stepp told Ars that his Springfield, Missouri, company had been seeing a (very) healthy 20 percent year-over-year growth in demand for audiocassette tapes for several years. But 2015 was even better. As of the beginning of October, NAC reported a 31 percent increase in order volume over the previous year.

NAC is in a curious position, because in addition to being the largest audiocassette factory in the US, it's also one of the last remaining.