Velcro Companies
{{Short description|Swiss corporation behind popular hook-and-loop fastener}}
{{About|the company|the type of fastener originally patented by Velcro |Hook-and-loop fastener|for other uses|Velcro (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2021}}{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox company
| logo = File:Velcro Brand.svg
| logo_size = 260
| logo_caption = Velcro official logo and wordmark
| logo_alt =
| trade_name = Velcro Companies
| type = Private
| industry = Manufacturing: fastening systems
| founded =
| founder = George de Mestral
| hq_location = United Kingdom
| num_locations = Manufacturing: 7 countries
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list|Gabriella Parisse (CEO)|William Hamilton (CFO)}}
| products = Hook-and-loop fasteners, and other products
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| subsid = Alfatex Group{{Cite web|url=https://www.Velcro.co.uk/about-us/alfatex-group-history/|title=Alfatex Group history|website=www.Velcro.co.uk|publisher=Velcro IP Holdings LLC|access-date=29 April 2021}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.velcro.co.uk}}
}}
Velcro IP Holdings LLC,{{Cite web|last=Stephens|first=Thomas|date=4 January 2007|url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/How_a_Swiss_invention_hooked_the_world.html?cid=5653568|title=How a Swiss invention hooked the world|website=www.SwissInfo.ch|publisher=Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR|access-date=9 May 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208093857/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/How_a_Swiss_invention_hooked_the_world.html?cid=5653568|archive-date=8 February 2012}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/velcro|title=Velcro - Meaning of Velcro in English|website=www.Lexico.com|publisher=Oxford English Dictionary online|access-date=29 April 2021|archive-date=13 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113104107/https://www.lexico.com/definition/velcro|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|last=Suddath|first=Claire|date=15 June 2010|url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1996883,00.html|title=A brief history of: Velcro|website=Time|publisher=TIME USA, LLC.|access-date=29 April 2021|archive-date=20 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220051213/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1996883,00.html|url-status=live}} trading as Velcro Companies and commonly referred to as Velcro (pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|v|ɛ|l|k|r|oʊ}}), is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fasteners, which de Mestral invented.
History<!--linked from 'George de Mestral'-->
File:Velcro.jpg, invented by de Mestral]]
Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral who studied at EPFL invented his first touch fastener when, in 1941, he went for a walk in the Jura mountains, and wondered why burdock seeds clung to his woolen socks and coat, and also his dog Milka.{{Cite web|url=https://www.velcro.co.uk/about-us/history/|title=Who Invented VELCRO® {{!}} History of VELCRO® brand and George de Mestral|website=www.Velcro.co.uk|publisher=Velcro IP Holdings LLC|access-date=29 April 2021|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429224054/https://www.velcro.co.uk/about-us/history/|url-status=live}} He discovered it could be turned into something useful. He patented it in 1955, and subsequently refined and developed its practical manufacture until its commercial introduction in the late 1950s.
The fastener consisted of two components: a lineal fabric strip with tiny hooks that could 'mate' with another fabric strip with smaller loops, attaching temporarily, until pulled apart.{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Definition of Velcro |publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Velcro |access-date=29 April 2021 |website= |archive-date=8 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208222819/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Velcro |url-status=live }} Initially made of cotton, which proved impractical,{{Cite book|last=Strauss|first=Steven D.|title=The Big Idea: How Business Innovators Get Great Ideas to Market|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_yOHB54CxsC|date=December 2001|publisher=Kaplan Business|isbn=978-0-7931-4837-0|pages=15–18|access-date=9 May 2008}} the fastener was eventually constructed with nylon and polyester.{{Cite book|last=Schwarcz|first=Joseph A.|title=Dr. Joe & What You Didn't Know: 99 Fascinating Questions About the Chemistry of Everyday Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vAXcX2xm6esC|date=October 2003|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=978-1-55022-577-8|page=178|access-date=9 May 2008|quote=But not every Velcro application has worked ... a strap-on device for impotent men also flopped.}}
De Mestral gave the name Velcro, a portmanteau of the French words velours ('velvet') and crochet ('hook'), to his invention, as well as to the Swiss company he founded; Velcro SA.
The company continues to manufacture and market the fastening system. Originally envisioned as a fastener for clothing, today, Velcro is used across a wide array of industries and applications; including healthcare, the military, land vehicles, aircraft, and even spacecraft.
"Velcro" is used by some as a genericized trademark,{{cite book|last=Freeman|first=Allyn|author2=Bob Golden|title=Why Didn't I Think of That: Bizarre Origins of Ingenious Inventions We Couldn't Live Without|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVafPNDvWlYC&q=velcro+George+de+Mestral&pg=PA99|access-date=2008-05-09|date=September 1997|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0-471-16511-8|pages=99–104|archive-date=10 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910202027/https://books.google.com/books?id=EVafPNDvWlYC&q=velcro+George+de+Mestral&pg=PA99|url-status=live}} and is additionally sometimes used as a verb. In 2017, Velcro released a "Don't Say Velcro" campaign in an attempt to keep their brand name distinctive from other hook-and-loop fasteners to help keep their trademark protection.{{Cite web |last=Ramer |first=Holly |title=Velcro's video implores consumers to say 'hook and loop' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/26/velcros-video-implores-consumers-say-hook-and-loop/705667001/ |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126201201/https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/26/velcros-video-implores-consumers-say-hook-and-loop/705667001/ |url-status=live }}
References
{{Portal|Companies|Engineering|United Kingdom|Switzerland}}
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{Wiktionary}}
- {{official website|https://www.Velcro.co.uk}}
- [https://www.Google.com/patents/US2717437?dq=ininventor:%22Mestral+George+De%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUwsmn6vTMAhVlF8AKHSTFBfkQ6AEIRzAG Original 1955 patent] — from Google Patents
{{Clothing materials and parts}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1952 establishments in Switzerland