Carpin

What Carpin does

Carpin Manufacturing, Inc. is a privately held US contract manufacturer of floor protection and mobility components for the furniture industry, founded in 1984 by Ralph Carpinella and headquartered in a single facility in Waterbury, Connecticut. The company designs and produces a catalog of nearly 3,000 SKUs spanning patented glide systems (Solo Glide, Smart Glide, Simple Glide, Floor Saver Glide), twin wheel and industrial casters, adjustable glides, tube connectors, threaded inserts, caster sockets, and specialty levelers. Manufacturing is vertically integrated in-house, combining metal stamping, plastic injection molding (30-220 ton presses, with PA, PE, PP, PC, ABS, TPR, PVC materials), precision assembly, CAD/CAM design (Pro/Engineer), and 3D printing/rapid prototyping, supplemented by an Asian global sourcing operation with on-ground quality control and JIT delivery.

The company operates a dual-channel B2B and B2C model: direct sales to office furniture OEMs, school furniture manufacturers, medical equipment companies, hospitality suppliers, POP display makers, and tubular product fabricators constitute the core revenue stream, while a consumer-facing e-commerce storefront (floorsaverglide.com) distributes replacement felt glides and snap-on caps to end users. Carpin claims to supply virtually all major North American school furniture manufacturers and describes office furniture as its largest and fastest growing segment. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time product sales of standard catalog items and custom-manufactured solutions, with professional services revenue from global sourcing/import management. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; sales are quote-based via phone and email. The company is founder/family-owned with no external institutional capital, an average employee tenure of approximately 20 years, and headcount in the 101-250 range.

Name

Carpin

Legal name

Carpin Manufacturing, Inc.

Website

https://carpin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Carpin Manufacturing is a US-based, founder-owned contract manufacturer of patented furniture glides, casters, and tubing hardware, serving office furniture, school, hospitality, medical, and POP display OEMs through direct sales and a consumer e-commerce channel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Furniture Hardware Manufacturing

NAICS

Other Furniture Related Product Manufacturing (3379)

SIC

Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware (3420)

akta.pro primary industry

Thermoformed Consumer Products & Housewares (IMANAHAD)

Keywords

• Furniture glides and casters
• Floor protection hardware
• Metal stamping and injection molding
• Furniture tubing hardware
• Custom engineered hardware

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterbury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Standard Product Sales: Sale of standard off-the-shelf products from catalog of nearly 3,000 SKUs including glides, casters, chair bases, and hardware solutions. Products include single items and bulk orders.
2. Custom Product Manufacturing: Custom design and manufacturing services for specialized products using metal stamping, injection molding, and assembly operations. Includes rapid prototyping and 3D printing capabilities for custom solutions.
3. Global Sourcing Services: Import services for metal stamped and injection molded products from Asia with quality control, pre-production surveys, and performance benchmarks. Includes JIT delivery and customer managed inventory solutions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Carpin manufactures and sells furniture hardware including levelers, glides, casters, and tubing hardware, serving office furniture, school, hospitality, medical, POP display, and tubular product manufacturers with a catalog of nearly 3,000 SKUs. The company also provides custom engineered solutions through in-house metal stamping, plastic injection molding, assembly, CAD/CAM design, 3D printing rapid prototyping, and global sourcing from Asia.

Product overview

Carpin Manufacturing is a furniture hardware manufacturer producing a comprehensive portfolio of floor protection products and mobility solutions. The product line centers on patented glide systems (Solo Glide®, Smart Glide®, Simple Glide®, Floor Saver Glide®) that offer interchangeable or replaceable bases for different flooring surfaces. The core product categories include twin wheel casters (hooded and unhooded), industrial casters (light duty, general duty, institutional, medical/polymer, and skate wheel varieties), adjustable glides (marquis, emperor/empress, hank, low profile, felt base, metal base), and specialty products (LEVx self leveler, bell glides, tube connectors, threaded inserts, caster sockets). Manufacturing services encompass injection molding, metal stamping, assembly, CAD/CAM design, tooling, rapid prototyping with 3D printing, and global sourcing capabilities. The company serves markets including schools/universities, office furniture, hospitality, medical, POP displays, and tubular products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Solo Glide® System Patented glide system that allows instant base replacement by snapping in new glide bases, eliminating the need for complete glide replacement. Features interchangeable nylon, rubber, felt, steel, or Floor Saver bases for office and commercial furniture OEMs.
• Smart Glide® System One-size-fits-all glide replacement solution (US Patent 8,240,004) that covers marquis style school glides without removing the old worn glide, featuring a replaceable felt or non-skid rubber base for school furniture manufacturers.
• Simple Glide® System Patented non-skid rubber base glide (US Patent 8,621,710) for classroom and cafeteria furniture with a replaceable base feature for school furniture OEMs.
• Floor Saver Glide® Glide with patented base shape that pushes dirt and sand out of the path, reducing floor damage on VCT tile surfaces for school, office, and institutional furniture OEMs.
• Twin Wheel Casters Hooded and unhooded twin wheel casters for office furniture, available in 34mm-80mm diameters with various wheel materials and brake options for office furniture OEMs.
• Industrial Casters Single wheel casters for industrial applications with light duty (up to 75 lbs), general duty (up to 125-200 lbs), and institutional (135-200 lbs) ratings for industrial OEMs.
• Medical/Polymer Industrial Casters Industrial grade casters with polymer construction and TPR outer tread for medical and laboratory environments, available in 75mm-150mm diameters for medical equipment OEMs.
• Skate Wheel Industrial Casters Industrial casters featuring authentic inline skate wheels in 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm diameters with translucent polypropylene tread for industrial and furniture OEMs.
• Riveted Heavy Duty Twin Wheel Casters Heavy duty unhooded twin wheel casters with riveted construction for high-stress applications such as carts, tables, and filing cabinets for industrial and office OEMs.
• LEVx Self Leveler Self-leveling glide that automatically adjusts to compensate for uneven flooring surfaces for office, hospitality, and school furniture applications.
• Marquis Adjustable Swivel Glides Series 035 swivel glide with 1-1/4 inch chrome plated case and 1/4-20 threaded stem, available in nylon, steel, or non-skid bases for school and office furniture OEMs.
• Emperor & Empress Adjustable Glides Cost-effective leveling glides for classroom, cafeteria, and restaurant furniture with decorative shell options for school and hospitality OEMs.
• Heavy Duty Hank Adjustable Glides Heavy duty adjustable glides for demanding applications requiring robust floor leveling solutions for office, school, and hospitality furniture OEMs.
• Bell Glides Caster replacements for applications where rolling is not desired, with mounting heights similar to standard casters for furniture OEMs.
• Quick Snap Cap Patented one-piece clamshell glide refresh solution with built-in hinge for quick installation over worn marquis style school glides for schools and facility managers.
• Tube Connectors Heavy duty and light duty tube connectors for joining tubing at T-style joints, including patented Expansion Connectors (US Patent #5,765,960) for tubular product OEMs.
• Threaded Inserts Plastic and metal threaded inserts that convert tube ends into receptacles for threaded stems, ranging from 1/4-20 to 3/8-16 sizes for tubular product and furniture OEMs.
• Caster Sockets Metal, die cast, and plastic sockets that convert tubes into caster receptacles, available with optional patented steel retaining clips (US Patents 9428008 & 9523381) for caster and furniture OEMs.
• Felt Nail-On Glides Economical floor protection glides for wood furniture with synthetic felt base to reduce noise and scratching, available direct and through the floorsaverglide.com consumer channel.
• Plastic Insert Glides Economical one-piece plastic insert glides for tubular furniture including flat head, full radius, and ball glide styles for hospitality and tubular OEMs.
• Metal Tube Closures Hardened high carbon spring steel tube closures with turned-in spring legs for enclosing tube ends on tubular product assemblies.
• Custom Injection Molding In-house precision plastic injection molding services using PA, PE, PP, PC, ABS, TPR, PVC materials with 30-220 ton specifications, including insert molding, for customers requiring custom molded plastic components.

Quantifiable outcome

• Floor Saver Glide reduces scratching and marring on VCT tile compared to conventional glides
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tente: Tente is a global caster and wheel manufacturer with a much broader product portfolio spanning medical, industrial, and furniture applications. As a larger, multinational incumbent, it competes with Carpin in the institutional caster and mobility solutions space with greater scale and geographic reach.
• Colson Group: Colson Group is one of the largest global manufacturers of casters, wheels, and mobility solutions serving industrial, medical, and institutional markets. It competes with Carpin across multiple caster categories with a much broader global footprint and OEM customer base.

Direct peers

• Caster Concepts: Caster Concepts is a US-based industrial caster and wheel manufacturer serving material handling, industrial, and institutional markets. Its heavy-duty and institutional caster offerings directly overlap Carpin's industrial caster and twin wheel product lines.
• The Wagner Companies: The Wagner Companies manufactures casters, glides, tubing components, and architectural metal products for the furniture, OEM, and contract markets. Wagner's caster and glide product lines overlap directly with Carpin's twin wheel casters, glides, and tubing hardware.
• Albion Casters: Albion Casters designs and manufactures industrial casters and wheels for a wide range of duty ratings and applications. Its institutional and industrial caster products overlap with Carpin's industrial caster offerings for office, medical, and institutional furniture.
• Faultless: Faultless manufactures casters, furniture hardware, and related components for institutional, office, and consumer markets. Its product range and customer segments closely parallel Carpin's glide and caster portfolio serving furniture OEMs.
• Shepherd Hardware Products: Shepherd Hardware Products manufactures furniture glides, casters, and related furniture hardware products for residential and commercial applications. It is a direct competitor to Carpin in the same product categories with similar B2B sales channels to furniture OEMs and retailers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/carpinmfg
• Facebookbusiness.facebook.com/CarpinMfg
• Instagraminstagram.com/carpinmanufacturing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carpin