Mechanix Wear Acquires Kinco
Trusted Enthusiast Brands Join to Accelerate Growth
VALENCIA, Calif., June 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mechanix Wear®, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance work gloves, announced today it has acquired Kinco® (or the "Company"), a 50-year-old, family-owned maker of high-quality gloves. Mechanix Wear is a portfolio company of leading middle-market private investment firm Gryphon Investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1975, Kinco manufactures and distributes premium gloves used across farm, outdoor, and industrial applications, with an enthusiast following in the ski and snowboard industry. Today, the Company's products are primarily sold through retail partners and direct-to-consumer channels. Travis Kindler, son of the Company's founders and current owner, will remain at Kinco as President, reporting to Mechanix Wear CEO Jesse Spungin, and will retain a minority stake. The acquisition includes Welch®, a work and safety suspender business owned by Kinco.
Mr. Spungin said, "We are delighted to join forces with Travis and the Kinco team. As leading protective apparel brands with distinguished family histories, our companies share a track record of quality and durability, long-lasting customer relationships, and a growth mindset. Kinco is a natural complement to the Mechanix Wear platform and will broaden our product portfolio and channel footprint, expanding upon our mission to deliver trusted hand protection."
This transaction represents the second add-on acquisition for the Mechanix Wear platform, which previously acquired Chicago Protective Apparel.
Mr. Kindler commented, "We are thrilled to join the iconic Mechanix Wear brand and could not envision a better home for the Kinco business. Our employees and customers will benefit from the scale and broader resources of a larger company, and with Gryphon's capital and operational resources behind us, we will invest in growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction to ensure a long-lasting legacy for the business we have been honored to build."
EC M&A acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor to Gryphon. Adaptive Capital Partners acted as financial advisor and Petersen + Landis acted as legal advisor to Kinco.
About Mechanix Wear®
Founded in 1991, Mechanix Wear is a leader in automotive, construction, industrial, and tactical hand protection and protective apparel. Since the debut of The Original® work glove at the 1991 Daytona 500, Mechanix Wear has continued to create products that deliver superior performance, quality, and reliability to a growing following of passionate consumers. Headquartered in Valencia, California, the company sells its products in more than 20,000 retail store locations across more than 70 countries and through industrial distributors. With a mission to look beyond conventional ideas and continually innovate the most advanced products for working hands, Mechanix Wear has built a reputation as The Tool That Fits Like a Glove®.
About Gryphon Investors
Gryphon Investors is a leading middle-market private investment firm focused on profitably growing and competitively advantaged companies in the Business Services, Consumer, Healthcare, Industrial Growth, Software, and Technology Solutions & Services sectors. With more than $10 billion of assets under management, Gryphon prioritizes investments in which it can form strong partnerships with founders, owners, and executives to accelerate the building of leading companies and generate enduring value through its integrated deal and operations business model. Gryphon's highly differentiated model integrates its well-proven Operations Resources Group, which is led by full-time, Gryphon senior operating executives with general management, human capital acquisition and development, treasury, finance, and accounting expertise. Gryphon's three core investment strategies include its Flagship, Heritage, and Junior Capital strategies, each with dedicated funds of capital. The Flagship and Heritage strategies target equity investments of $50 million to $500 million per portfolio company. The Junior Capital strategy targets investments of $10 million to $25 million in junior securities of credit facilities, arranged by leading middle-market lenders, in both Gryphon-controlled companies, as well as in other private equity-backed companies operating in Gryphon's targeted investment sectors.
Contact:
Lambert by LLYC
Caroline Luz
203-570-6462
cluz@lambert.com
or
Jennifer Hurson
845-507-0571
jhurson@lambert.com
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SOURCE Gryphon Investors