Salt Creek Capital has exited its investment in King Tester Corporation (KTC) through the sale of the company to its current CEO, James Knight. Salt Creek originally acquired KTC in July 2015 in partnership with Mr. Knight.
KTC is a manufacturer and supplier of metallurgical testing equipment. Its product lineup includes portable Brinell hardness testers, microscopes, digital and analog tension measuring instruments, and WDXRF (wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence) measurement products.

The portable Brinell hardness testers, one of the company’s flagship products, are used to assess the indentation hardness of materials—a concept developed by Swedish engineer Johan Brinell in 1900. This method involves measuring the depth or diameter of an impression left by a standardized indenter under controlled conditions. It is widely used in quality control and material science applications.
KTC’s customers operate in the manufacturing, metallurgy, and material testing and analysis sectors. The company was founded in 1936 by Andrew King and is headquartered near Philadelphia in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

During Salt Creek’s ownership, KTC completed two add-on acquisitions: Tensitron in June 2017 and Cianflone Scientific in February 2019. Tensitron, based in Longmont, Colorado, designs and manufactures digital and analog tension measurement instruments. Cianflone Scientific, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, manufactures X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers used for material composition analysis. Cianflone was acquired from Main Line Equity Partners.
“I have had an incredible experience leading King for nearly a decade, and we look forward to serving our customers with industry-leading products and innovations in the years to come,” said Mr. Knight. “Salt Creek Capital has been a great partner for both the company and me. I appreciate Salt Creek’s support in providing strategic input, operational focus, and transaction expertise to achieve this exciting milestone.”
“We appreciate Jim’s leadership during our involvement and the growth initiatives that he accomplished, including the add-on acquisitions of Tensitron and Cianflone Scientific to create a platform serving a broader range of test and measurement markets,” said Daniel Price, a partner at Salt Creek. “We are confident that he will continue building King’s strong reputation, and we wish Jim and his team continued success in King’s next chapter.”
Salt Creek invests in North American-headquartered companies with revenues ranging from $5 million to $150 million. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, logistics, value-added distribution, B2B and B2C services, food and beverage, healthcare, retail, and hospitality. The firm is headquartered in Woodside, California, near Menlo Park.
Earlier this month, Salt Creek exited its investment in Roman Products through a sale to Matrix Adhesives Group, a portfolio company of Goldner Hawn. Roman Products manufactures wallcovering adhesives, primers and sealers, removers, and related tools used by professionals and do-it-yourselfers. According to the company, it is the largest producer of wallpaper adhesive, primer, and removers in North America.
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