PIP Acquires Primax, Gains Caiman Brand

LATHAM, NY — Protective Industrial Products, Inc. (PIP), a supplier of hand protection and PPE to the industrial, construction and retail markets, announced Tuesday the acquisition of Primax Manufacturing & Trading, Inc. and its Caiman brand, headquartered in La Mirada, CA. PIP is a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity.

For more than 25 years, the Caiman brand has become synonymous with innovation in high-performance gloves and protective clothing for welders, utility and ranch workers by offering premium products with unique patented design features.

"For PIP, the addition of Caiman products increases our penetration with customers in demanding markets such as welding and utilities. The acquisition will help to strengthen the value we offer to our distributors. Despite global headwinds, we continue to work hard to make the right acquisitions to better serve our customers by providing a leading portfolio of PPE," said Joe Milot, President and CEO of PIP.

“We are very excited to join the PIP global family,” stated Gene Hong, President and Founder of Primax. "We had reached an important inflection point and had our eyes open to identifying the ‘next best move’. When we started speaking with the team at Audax and realized they shared PIP’s vision for growth based on expanding opportunities for customers, I knew we had found the right partners.”

This latest acquisition adds the strength of the premium Caiman brand to PIP's current line of trusted Ironcat welding PPE, and significantly expands PIP's offering of high-performance gloves to welding professionals and utility workers. Primax is another example of PIP's successful acquisition strategy, which remains anchored in providing more value and opportunity for its distributor partners.

PIP is a leader in providing innovative PPE to wholesalers and distributors in the industrial channels. PIP, along with its recognized leading brands: G-Tek, Bouton, Ironcat, Assurance, Kut-Gard, CleanTeam, QRP, Ambi-Dex, Dynamic and Boss are relied upon for personal protection by workers every day. Our West Chester division offers safety products to retail customers under the Safety Works, Boss, Brahma, Mud, West County Gardener and Hearos brands, as well as some of the world’s most recognized licensed brands..

With more than 4,000 products sold and over 2,000 customers served, Primax remains committed to servicing and supporting distributors as well as partner OEM accounts with the best quality and value.