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Two of Arcata’s most successful companies have joined forces, and when you consider the similarities between the two, the union makes a lot of sense.

The Wing Group, which bills itself as “the world leader in inflatable boats, life rafts, flotation, dry suits, technical apparel, and other tactical and survival solutions,” today announced that it has acquired Kokatat, producer of high-end whitewater rafting gear and apparel. 

Both companies were founded by avid outdoorsmen who came to Humboldt County in the 1960s, quickly fell in love with navigating our region’s wild rivers and then parlayed that passion into a pair of Arcata-based entrepreneurial endeavors. Today the two companies collectively employ nearly 300 people.

Seriously: read Bill Wing’s story here and Kokatat founder Steve O’Meara’s story here and you’ll appreciate the many parallels. (It’s not surprising that the two know each other personally.) 

Wing’s current CEO, Andrew Branagh, purchased the flagship company Wing Inflatables in 2013. At the time it employed roughly 40 people. Over the past dozen years it has not only expanded that workforce to 180 employees — with growth fueled by lucrative contracts with the Department of Defense — it has acquired a handful of other companies in the process, including Mustang Survival, FabTek, Henshaw and Patten.

In a phone interview this morning, Branagh noted a couple other parallels between the two Arcata companies. 

“Both Wing and Kokatat save people’s lives for a living,” he said. “And both of us work in the military and the recreational-commercial realm.”

As for the reasoning behind the acquisition, Branagh explained that many aspects of business got more complicated after Covid, with more supply chain issues and heightened security requirements. “So scale is important,” he said. 

The two companies often found each other working collaboratively and crossing over in different venues, and since the Wing Group is the larger of the two, operating on a bigger scale with more “depth and capability,” it made sense to acquire Kokatat. Branagh said he’s been in discussions with Kokatat CEO Mark Loughmiller and his wife for about four months. Loughmiller, who purchased Kokatat from O’Meara five years ago, will remain in a leadership position at the company.

In a press release issued this morning, Branagh says, “This acquisition further strengthens the Group’s whitewater and paddling presence. Kokatat has been firmly embedded in that vertical since its founding. We value the talent, technical knowledge, and the company’s unique bond with the river. Kokatat brings capabilities that few organizations possess—and Arcata remains a critical part of that expertise and legacy.”

In addition to the Arcata warehouses, Wing Group companies operate facilities in Washington, Florida and West Virginia as well as in Vancouver, Canada, and Wincanton, England.

The Outpost first reached out to Branagh yesterday after catching wind of the deal. He responded via email, confirming that there was “something to the rumors,” but he also wanted to discuss another matter — namely, the vandalism of Wing’s Arcata production facility on Saturday by people protesting ICE’s killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis and U.S. military operations in Venezuela. 

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Branagh found the spray-painted vandalism frustrating, to say the least. 

“The perception is that we’re a military company, but the fact of the matter is … we make non-lethal stuff that the military buys [and] we also are very proud of our river rafting and heritage,” he said. “We save lives for a living and build stuff.”

Management had learned ahead of time that a protest might target the company, so Branagh sent employees a list of talking points to inform any conversations they may have with protesters. The bullet points included information about the company’s recreational roots and the fact that it now supplies rescue organizations, including state and local disaster relief agencies, fire departments and the U.S. Coast Guard. As for supplying inflatable boats to the military, the document says, “We are proud of this work and believe that these products serve a valuable purpose.”

However, none of the 40-odd protesters who showed up engaged in any conversations, according to Branagh. He found the demonstration misguided.

“I totally support the First Amendment and the right to free speech, but my question to the individuals who vandalized is: What are you trying to accomplish?” he said. “This takes money out of the community … and it means nothing. It does nothing. There’s no dialog created by telling someone to fuck off.”

What about the argument that the company is complicit in U.S. military operations by supplying resources? Branagh again said he’s proud of such work, and he cited a couple of examples. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a floating causeway to the Gaza shore to deliver humanitarian aid, Wing rushed an order of lifejackets to the region.

“And guess what? A soldier fell off, and he had a lot of weight on him because of having to wear gear and armor plates while he was trying to moor the boats.” He survived because of the lifejacket, Branagh said.

“So, I don’t know; am I complicit? That would have been a fun dialog with the protesters,” he said. “Am I complicit? Because we saved a life.”

In another instance, he said, a military plane ran off the edge of a foreign airfield, plunging into the ocean. “And the crew survived because they had on flotation [devices] and they got into a Wing life raft that was on the airplane. … I’m not going to apologize. I don’t make guns. We make boats. … I’m proud of it. I’m proud of our company for saving people.”

He added that the company knows who instigated the protest and has reported the individual to the Arcata Police Department.

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Returning to the topic of business operations, Branagh said there was a lot of fear in the community when he took ownership in 2013 that he would relocate the production facility out of the area. 

“I think we passed the sniff test,” he said.

The company’s main challenge here in Humboldt County has been a shortage of qualified employees. Same deal with Kokatat, which has a workforce of about 100 and “probably 15 open positions here right now,” while Wing Inflatables is looking to add another 18 people to its workforce of 180, Branagh said.

A couple of years ago, Wing started a training program it calls Wing University in hopes of bridging the gap between demand and its ability to produce. 

The press release announcing Wing’s acquisition of Kokatat makes a couple of references to the company’s values. Asked to identify those values, Branagh said, “We believe people are good. We believe people are great. And our job is to empower the decision-making, which creates ownership in your decisions throughout the organization.”

Asked if there will be any changes made to salaries and benefits for Kokatat employees, Branagh said that while there will inevitably be changes, he can’t say at this stage whether wages will go up or down.

“There’s nothing here sitting in front of me that says it’s going to change either way,” he said. “Right now, we’re still evaluating. … Kokatat has team members that have been here for 20 and 30 years. It’s exciting, and we respect that.”

Wing’s corporate headquarters are in the Bay Area city of Lafayette, which is where the following press release was issued from:

LAFAYETTE, Calif. - The Wing Group, a portfolio of leading marine and outdoor brands including Wing Inflatables, Mustang Survival, FabTek, Henshaw, and Patten, today announced the acquisition of Kokatat, a respected manufacturer of premium paddle sports apparel and equipment, headquartered in Arcata, California.

The acquisition is rooted in a long-standing relationship and shared values between the organizations. Kokatat’s deep history in recreational and professional paddle sports industry, along with the trust it has earned with end users through a legacy of quality, value, innovation, and excellence, makes it a natural fit within the Wing Group portfolio.

Andrew Branagh, CEO of the Wing Group, has been expanding the Wing Group’s scale and reach with acquisitions aligned to its values and mission. “This acquisition further strengthens the Group’s whitewater and paddling presence.  Kokatat has been firmly embedded in that vertical since its founding. We value the talent, technical knowledge, and the company’s unique bond with the river. Kokatat brings capabilities that few organizations possess—and Arcata remains a critical part of that expertise and legacy.”

Kokatat will continue to operate as an independent brand under the Wing Group with global support from Mustang Survival.  Kokatat is continuing operations and is well-positioned to accelerate with Mustang Survival’s broader infrastructure. Critical resources across the Wing Group will be shared across manufacturing, operations, IT and planning, and quality, while maintaining continuity for customers and partners. Mark Loughmiller, CEO of Kokatat will remain in a leadership position, working in partnership with Mark Branagh, current Director of US Commercial Sales at Mustang Survival, representing the Wing Group.  

This strategic expansion marks a significant milestone for The Wing Group’s global growth. Together with Kokatat, they are committed to continuing to serve paddlers and professionals with trusted gear.

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