Home > International Directory of Company Histories > Velcro Industries N.V. - Introduction

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Introduction

15 Pietermaai
Willemstad, Curaçao
Netherlands Antilles
Telephone: (599) 9 433 5000
Fax: (599) 800 235 6640
Web site: http://www.velcro.com

Public Company
Incorporated: 1957 as Velok Ltd.
Employees: 2,858
Sales: $261.2 million (2003)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: VELCF
NAIC: 313221 Narrow Fabric Mills; 339993 Fastener, Button, Needle and Pin Manufacturing; 551112 Offices of Other Holding Companies

Velcro Industries N.V. was created to market one of the 20th century's handiest inventions: hook and loop tape. The ubiquitous fastener is used in innumerable applications: fastening blood pressure cuffs, sneakers, wallets, industrial lift belts, prisoner leg restraints, and ready-to-assemble furniture. VELCRO brand hook and loop fasteners can be found around the world on all manner of products. The company also manufactures more conventional belts and fasteners. Ultra-Mate, One-Wrap, and Texacro are three of the company's other brands. The family of Chairman Robert Cripps has been the chief shareholder since the 1970s, and there has been speculation of plans to take the company private.

1. Introduction
2. A 1940s Discovery
3. Cripps Acquiring Control in the Early 1970s
4. Competition in the 1980s
5. Expansion in the 1990s
6. Company Perspectives:
7. Consolidating for the New Millennium
8. Key Dates:
9. Principal Subsidiaries
10. Principal Competitors
11. Further Reading
12. Copyright Page
13. About Page