Superwinch

Superwinch traces itself to 1970 in the north-east corner of Connecticut, where it began by making a complete line of winches for the pleasure-boating market, including small electric winches, the Haulamatic boat loader and a powered capstan called the Windlass; the company's own winch guide puts the start in 1968, while its website and its 2015 buyers give 1970. Its headquarters were later at Putnam and Dayville, Connecticut, east of Hartford.

In 1985 Superwinch purchased FW Winches Limited of Tavistock, Devon, formerly Fairey Winches, gaining a second manufacturing base and with it an overdrive transfer gearbox for the Toyota Land Cruiser and a capstan winch for the Land Rover 110. The Fairey-designed capstan was continued for a short period, usually with unlettered bollards, before being dropped. Tavistock then became the home of the Husky, a rugged worm-and-spur-gear electric winch engineered in England to meet SAE J706 and supplied in 8, 10 and 12 series form; the Husky 10 pulled 10,000 lb through a 294:1 worm gear and was the winch used by Camel Trophy participants for many years. Superwinch Ltd at Tavistock also built the H10W, H12W and H14W hydraulic winches driven from a pump on the Defender's transfer-box power take-off, which became common on utility and military Land Rovers. The Tavistock business, at Abbey Rise since Fairey's day in 1974, moved to new premises at Pitts Cleave Industrial Estate in 2006; at its height it employed more than 150 people.

Ownership in America changed several times. Islington Capital Partners sold Superwinch to Kinderhook Industries on 25 March 2015, when the company was headquartered at Dayville, Connecticut with operations in Tavistock; Kinderhook installed a former Warn executive, David Burns, as chief executive. In April 2019 the American parent declared voluntary insolvency, the Husky line having been discontinued shortly before, and Tavistock, by then down to 15 staff under manager Richard Keeling, was shut. On 18 April 2019 Westin Automotive of San Dimas, California completed its acquisition of Superwinch and folded it into its aftermarket range, keeping the brand's engineering and distribution in California and Fort Worth, Texas. Superwinch Limited, the UK company incorporated on 22 April 1992, was dissolved on 4 June 2021.