Mechanix Wear, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance work gloves based in San Francisco, has acquired Chicago Protective Apparel (CPA), a 108 year-old, family-owned manufacturer of personal protective equipment (PPE).

 Mechanix Wear is a portfolio company of private equity firm Gryphon Investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1913 and headquartered in Skokie, Ilinois, CPA manufactures over 20,000 products for arc flash, foundry and welding applications. The company’s previous owners, Scott and Myrna Sherman, are retiring after 30 years of running the company. Vice president John Merikoski will remain with the company as director of production, along with other members of the management team.

“Our two-year partnership with Gryphon has accelerated our growth and positioned us to expand beyond our core line of work gloves,” said Mechanix Wear CEO Michael Hale. “Moving forward, we will integrate and expand on CPA’s product portfolio by looking beyond conventional ideas to innovate the most advanced PPE possible.”

Since the debut of the Original work glove in 1991, Mechanix Wear has built a reputation as the leader in automotive, construction, industrial and tactical hand protection. The company sells its products in more than 20,000 retail store locations across more than 70 countries and through industrial distributors.

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