ABOUT

Get to know Kinco

WHO WE ARE

We’ve spent the last 50 years making dependable gloves at a great value. As a dedicated and passionate group, we strive not only to create products of quality and durability, but also to provide the best possible customer experience in the industry. And, yes, we know—gloves may not be the most glamorous product on the market—but they are honest, straightforward, and hardworking. Just like us.

Ambition in our Roots

In 1975, at the age of 26, Bruce Kindler realized a demand for quality welding gloves while working as a Sales Representative for Montgomery Companies, who was not able to sell gloves directly to the welding industry. To fill this demand, he borrowed $4,000 from his mother and $5,000 from a family friend to create Kinco International. “Kinco” was shorthand for “Kindler Company” with a nod to the family-relationship term, “kin” for “family company.”
Even though his resources were limited in the beginning, his ideas, ambition, and perseverance were boundless and led him on a path to success. Within four years of establishing the company, shortly before his wife Sherie joined the business part-time and his son Travis was born, Bruce was able to pay back both loans.

A Second Generation

Bruce and his wife’s son, Travis, has been involved in the business his entire life. By watching his parents grow the family business and gaining hands-on experience throughout his childhood, Travis learned the ins and outs of the glove industry from a very early age.
When Travis was 21 and a senior in college, he worked as an intern in the family business, where he gained greater insight into Kinco®’s potential and was able to strategize a plan to work towards those goals. Post MBA, he began working full-time for the company and purchased it from his parents in 2004.

Evolution of the Brand

From humble beginnings, much of Kinco’s success is due to the incredible relationships and fair-minded treatment cultivated by the Kindler family with its vendors for nearly 50 years. Some vendors, who Bruce met in 1975, have become great family friends.
Over the years, Kinco’s sales, product line, customer base, staff, warehouse, and office space have all continued to grow at a rapid rate due to the values, ambition, personal relationships, and entrepreneurial spirit Bruce instilled at its foundation and that Travis has continued to expand upon.
The Kindler family, and the extended family of Kinco employees and vendors, look forward to the continued success of the company for many years to come!

Our Growth

1975

A 26-year old Bruce Kindler realizes a demand for quality welding gloves while working as a Sales Representative for Montgomery Companies.

Bruce borrows some money from family and friends and starts Kinco International on April 1st.

1976

Kinco® begins selling several styles of gloves to welding supply stores by performing deliveries up and down the West Coast in his wife Sherie's VW Microbus.

Product is stored in the family's garage before acquiring a 100 sq. ft. storage space at 1750 SE Ochoco in Milwaukie, Oregon.

1979

Kinco® acquires 15,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and office space at 927 SE Marion Street in Portland, Oregon.

Sherie officially joins the Kinco® team.

1982

Bruce and Sherie's son Travis starts gaining important hands-on experience at the age of 3.

1987

Style No. 1927 is launched. Originally called the "Lined Firewood Glove," this style remains in Kinco®'s product line to this day!

Otto™ striped design and fabric is trademarked.

1990

Travis makes his frist trip to Hong Kong to visit factories with his parents. Learning the culture and traditions of our partners overseas becomes a significant part of Travis' life and the way we do business.

1995

Due to rapid growth, Kinco® purchases a 25,000 sq. ft. warehouse and office space at 9788 SE 17th Avenue in Milwaukie, Oregon.

1996

Travis, seen here imprinting welding gloves, helps out in the warehouse as a summer job during high school.

1998

Kinco® launches a line of hi-vis gloves featuring 3M™ Scotchlite™ reflective knuckle straps, the first of their kind on the market.

2000

While working a part-time Inside Sales role during college, Travis initiates a transition from an industrial-only focus to include retail sales. This proves pivotal in the company's growth.

2004

Travis officially purchases the company from his parents, assuming the role of President. He frequently sleeps in the hallways to manage overseas communication and the volume of work now on his shoulders.

2006

Bruce officially retires after 31 years.

Kinco® continues to grow and relocates to a 56,000 sq. ft. warehouse space at 4286 NE 185th Drive in Portland, Oregon.

2007

Travis begins making visits to international vendors as the sole representative of Kinco®, and ends up living in Hong Kong for a year.

Building on an underground following that started among ski lift operators, Kinco® becomes a recognized name in the ski & snowboard industry.

2012

Sherie retires after 33 years.

2014

Due to another period of rapid expansion, the business relocates to its current 97,000 sq. ft. location at 18792 NE Portal Way in Portland, Oregon.

2015

Kinco® hits its 40th anniversary goal of $25MM in sales, and celebrates with an all-company trip to Idaho.

2019

Kinco® acquires Welch®, a second generation family owned company specializing in quality, handcrafted suspenders.

2025

Kinco® celebrates its 50th Anniversary!

Mechanix Wear acquires the business providing an expanded product line to service broader sales channels.