Velcro
| Velcro Companies
|
|
|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Privately owned company |
| Seat | United Kingdom |
| management |
|
| Number of employees | 2,500 |
| Branch | Manufacturing industry |
| Website | velcro.com |
Velcro is a company that initially its textile Velcro fasteners ( Velcro strips became known).
history
The Velcro group of companies produces a range of mechanical fastening products under the brand name “Velcro”, including the textile Velcro fastener. The original Velcro fastener was invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer Georges de Mestral and patented in 1955. The invention was then refined by him until it was launched on the market in the late 1950s and further developed for technical production.
The fastener developed by de Mestral consists of two components: a textile strip with tiny hooks (hook tape) that engage in the small loops of another textile strip (loop tape) so that both strips are connected to each other until they are separated again by pulling. Initially cotton was used, which proved impractical, so nylon and polyester were eventually used.
De Mestral called his company, which manufactures and markets the locking system to this day, "Velcro". This is a combination of the French terms velor (" velvet ") and crochet (" hook ").
Patents and trademarks
In 1957, de Mestral applied for a patent for his Velcro fastener in Switzerland, which he was finally granted in 1959. De Mestral's original patent expired in 1978, and so the imitators entered the market. Velcro Companies further developed its Velcro technology for other industrial and commercial applications and secured the intellectual property rights to it. The company often uses the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for international patent applications and by the end of 2010 had filed 134 PCT applications.
Due to the imitators after the patent expired, the company focused on the branding strategy. In order to avoid that the name "Velcro" becomes a general term and thus the necessary distinctive character to maintain the brand is lost, the company always points out that "Velcro" is not a general name for a product, but the name of the company or company . of a brand. The company uses advertising, product literature and marketing campaigns to inform consumers that not all Velcro fasteners are genuine Velcro branded products.
Products
Velcro Companies provides closure solutions for a wide variety of industries including consumer goods, transportation, personal care, military, packaging, construction, clothing and agriculture.
The products of the Velcro group of companies include:
- Self-adhesive closures for general applications
- Cable ties and straps
- Heavy-duty closures
- Textile tapes and fasteners
- Traditional Velcro fasteners
- Woven, knitted and molded products
- Children's kits
engagement
The Neeson Cripps Academy, a Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF) high standard school in Phnom Penh , was funded by Velcro Companies. The architecture firm COOKFOX Architects, headquartered in New York City , designed an eco-efficient building for this, the completion of which is planned for 2017.
In 2015, the Velcro group of companies and Velcro brand ambassador and design expert Sabrina Soto launched an annual classroom remodeling competition held during teacher evaluation week in the United States. The first winner from Joplin, Missouri received two redesigned classrooms.
Popular culture
1968 - Velcro brand fasteners are used on spacesuits, sample collection bags and lunar vehicles that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin take to the moon.
1984 - American TV presenter David Letterman wears a Velcro branded Velcro suit and jumps against a wall covered with the product during an interview with the company's US industrial sales manager.
2016 - As an April Fool's joke , Lexus introduces seats with a technology called “Variable Load Coupling Rear Orientation - V-LCRO”, which secures the driver in the seat with Velcro brand products to enable more aggressive cornering.
Individual evidence
- ^ Original patent from 1955. Google Patents, accessed September 2, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c d e f "Hooked on Innovation". World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), accessed September 2, 2016 .
- ^ Definition of Velcro. Merriam Webster Dictionary, accessed September 6, 2016 .
- ^ Steven D. Strauss: The Big Idea: How Business Innovators Get Great Ideas to Market. Kaplan Business, 2001, ISBN 978-0-7931-4837-0 , pp. 15-18.
- ^ Joseph A. Schwarcz: Dr. Joe & What You Didn't Know: 99 Fascinating Questions About the Chemistry of Everyday Life. ECW Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1-55022-577-8 , p. 178.
- ^ "How a Swiss invention hooked the world". swissinfo.ch, accessed on October 12, 2016 .
- ↑ "Products". Velcro, accessed October 15, 2016 .
- ^ "Industries". Velcro, accessed October 15, 2016 .
- ↑ "COOKFOX Begins Construction on the Neeson Cripps Academy in Cambodia". Arch Daily, accessed October 22, 2016 .
- ^ "College Heights Christian teacher wins classroom makeover from Velcro Cos." Joplin Globe, accessed October 23, 2016 .
- ↑ "Fastenings: Velcro". Working on the Moon, accessed November 9, 2016 .
- ↑ "Live Science: Who Invented Velcro" Live Science, accessed on 15 November 2016 .
- ^ "TIME: Best April Fools Day Jokes". TIME, accessed November 15, 2016 .