Race Winning Brands, Inc., a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC, has announced the acquisition of Falicon Crankshaft Components, Inc, a prominent manufacturer of high performance powersports engine components including crankshafts, connecting rods, camshaft sprockets, and racing clutches.
Falicon represents the fourth add-on acquisition for Race Winning Brands, a manufacturer of high performance and racing related components sold to the automotive and powersports markets. RWB is headquartered in Mentor, Ohio and markets its products globally through a portfolio of brands, including JE Pistons, Wiseco Performance Products, K1 Technologies, Diamond Pistons, Trend Performance, Dart Machinery, Rekluse Motor Sports, and ProX Racing Parts.
Founded in 1977, Falicon offers both off-the-shelf and custom-made race engine components utilizing extensive CNC machines, crankshaft grinders and gear shaping equipment. Falicon crankshaft assemblies have successfully powered engines to NHRA Pro Stock and AMA Supercross victories, along with leading countless racers and enthusiasts to wins across all powersport segments. Falicon’s former owner, Glenn Salpaka, will continue to play a leading role within the organization as technical and operations consultant.
“I’m excited about the future of Falicon,” explained Mr. Salpaka. “The RWB team possesses extensive industry experience and resources which will be extremely beneficial for not only Falicon, but our customers. Together, we plan to expand our customer service, capabilities, and technology.”
In addition to retaining the current management team, industry veterans Devin Rickey and Jack Sparks will join Falicon in leadership roles. Rickey, a proven race component engineer and operations leader with most notable experience at McLaren Performance Technologies and Arrow Racing Engines, joins Falicon as general manager and chief engineer. Sparks, ex-president of Carrillo and 40-year veteran of connecting rod design and manufacturing, joins Falicon as technical director.
“For decades, Falicon has been known to the powersports racing community as a trusted brand and high-quality manufacturer of crankshafts and connecting rods,” said Brian Reese, CEO of Race Winning Brands. “Falicon products fit perfectly into our engine parts focused strategy. We have already begun investing in the expansion of Falicon’s capabilities and look forward to expanding their offerings quickly. In support of this strategy, we’re updating the business name to Falicon Racing.”
Tom Tuttle, managing director of Kinderhook Industries, stated, “We are excited about Race Winning Brands adding another premium powersports brand to its stable of branded products. The strong strategic fit will enable RWB to leverage growth and expansion across the market.” The company will continue operating from their headquarters and manufacturing facility in Clearwater, FL.