“FROM ITS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS FORGING CHAINS IN A FORMER BUTCHER SHOP, PEERLESS HAS GROWN TO BE RECOGNIZED AS AN INTERNATIONAL LEADER IN THE CHAIN INDUSTRY.”


sell industrial chain. It turned out to be a solid strategic move for the company, and not long after America entered the war, Peerless was awarded a major Army contract for its new Kwik-On tire chains—which were used on Army combat vehicles. Soon after that, the Navy requested deck-lashing chain for landing aircraft at sea, and Peerless found itself booming with business, operating around the clock. Over the next thirty years or so, Peerless expanded its manufacturing footprint. In 1952, they began developing wire rope products, followed closely by hardware chain—and then, in the 1960s, tire chains for snow blowers and garden tractors. By 1978, Peerless had also entered the highly competitive sling chain (overhead lifting) market.


they were in the back of the butcher shop putting tire chains together, and imagine they had no idea that what they were starting would one day be the largest chain manufacturer in America, and one of the top three or four in the world.” Something the brothers would have probably also


struggled to fathom would be that Peerless chain is now shipped to 32-plus countries around the world. But through it all, Wynn pointed out, one thing that hasn’t changed is the value system. “One of the things that I stressed when I was there


was that we want people to think that we’re still a small mid-western company with a strong core of values, and we will always treat people with honesty, dignity and respect. We’re still doing business like a customer- focused small-town company in Winona.”


Growth Through Strategic


Mergers and Acquisitions Net sales for the organization increased from $3.2 million in the fiscal year ending in 1960 to $8.6 million in 1970—to $37.4 million in 1980. (It should be noted that the trend has continued. Peerless reports that today’s sales exceed $60 million.) When companies ride waves of success that last for decades, investors tend to take notice. In 1986, Peerless, which had been publicly held, became a private company once again, with all stock being purchased by a group of California investors. In 1997, Peerless was again sold, this time to an investment group based in Chicago. What followed became a time of role reversal for


Tose years also brought expansion projects, including the completion of a 200,000-square-foot factory/office complex, a 25,000-square-foot automatic retrieval system warehouse, and a number of other buildings designed to accommodate the company’s tremendous growth. “I’m sure the founding brothers would be extremely pleased and honored at where Peerless is today,” said Tom Wynn, former Peerless president/CEO and senior advisor for KITO Corporation (who acquired Peerless in 2014), “but I think back a hundred years ago when


34 MARCH–APRIL 2017 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE


Peerless, whereby they were the ones doing all of the acquiring. In March 2004, Peerless acquired Weissenfels USA, the largest supplier of chains to the U.S. Department of Defense, supplying chains for use in critical application items such as aircraft tie-downs, tow chains, aerial delivery cargo slings, and tire chains. Next, in July 2006, Peerless bought the American Chain Company (ACCO), an organization with a long and credible history that had built a strong foundation in the overhead lifting and marine chain and fitting markets. December 2010 saw the acquisition of Letellier


Material Handling Equipment (LMHE), a manufacturer of high-quality overhead lifting devices— followed by the purchase, in September of 2011, of Security Chain Company, a manufacturer of cutting- edge traction and cargo control products.


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