The original hook-and-loop fastener - engineered from a burr in the Swiss Alps, scaled from a New Hampshire textile town to spacecraft, hospitals and factory floors.
In 1941, the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral came home from a hunting trip in the Alps and found his trousers - and his dog - covered in burrs. Most people pick them off and move on. De Mestral put one under a microscope and saw the trick: thousands of tiny hooks catching soft loops of fabric and fur. It took him roughly a decade of tinkering with nylon to turn that observation into a manufacturable fastener.
He filed his first patent in 1951, and it was granted in Switzerland in 1954. The name he coined - VELCRO - splices the French words velours (velvet) and crochet (hook). By 1957 the young company had reached the textile hub of Manchester, New Hampshire, which remains its U.S. base today.
What began as a curiosity is now a category. Velcro Companies designs and manufactures thousands of fastening variants, from basic fabric closures and adhesive-backed dots to injection-molded plastic hooks, medical-grade straps and mil-spec retention systems. The privately held firm employs roughly 2,500 people and runs operations across about seven countries.
The company's flagship remains hook-and-loop, but its business is really problem-solving: how to hold, close, bundle or manage something so it stays put, then opens again on demand - thousands of times, without wearing out. That reusability, invented long before the word was a marketing pitch, is quietly one of the most durable ideas in twentieth-century product design.
"We want people to know there's a real company behind the brand folks know and love."
The original nylon fastening system plus molded plastic hooks, cable ties, adhesive tapes and custom-engineered components.
Medical-device makers, automakers, aerospace and defense programs, industrial manufacturers - and shoppers in retail and e-commerce aisles.
Reliable closure and retention that is reusable, adjustable and often tool-free - where a zipper, snap or glue would fail.
Decades of materials know-how, certifications and the trust of the name that defined the category.
Velcro's range is a discipline in itself. The same core principle has to be certified for surgery, rated to military specification, engineered to survive an engine bay, and still be cheap enough for a craft-store bin. A single tiny hook, endlessly specialized, is how a 1940s invention stays relevant across markets that share almost nothing else.
Illustrative reach across end markets · relative emphasis, not audited share
Tapes, straps, dots and coins - the original hook-and-loop for consumer and industrial use.
Continuous injection-molded and mold-in hooks for automotive seating and laminates.
Skin-safe, latex-free fastening for tourniquets, braces and wearable monitors.
Fasteners for harsh environments - some rated near 800°C - across aerospace and heavy industry.
Thinner, more flexible closures for electronics and sleek consumer design.
Reusable back-to-back straps for bundling and organizing cords and cables.
Pressure-sensitive hook-and-loop for mounting, crafting and packaging closures.
Consumer fasteners made with recycled content, leaning into reusability.
Velcro Companies is primarily a business-to-business manufacturer. It designs and produces fastening components - woven, molded and adhesive - and sells them to original-equipment manufacturers and converters who build them into finished products, from car seats to surgical braces. Custom engineering is a core part of the offer: many customers need a fastener tuned to a specific load, temperature, cycle count or regulatory standard.
Alongside that industrial base sits a consumer and retail line - the branded packs, straps, dots and cable ties found in hardware, craft and e-commerce channels. That B2C presence is also what keeps the name famous, which is a double-edged sword: fame is why "velcro" slipped into everyday speech, and why the company must defend its trademark.
In the broader fastening market, Velcro sits among a handful of serious players - 3M, YKK, Aplix and Kuraray Fastening among them - plus a long tail of generic hook-and-loop suppliers. Velcro's differentiation is heritage plus depth: it created the category, holds decades of materials expertise, and carries the certifications that matter in regulated fields like medical and defense.
Ownership is entering a new chapter. Long associated with the Cripps family, the company saw Arsenal Capital Partners agree in 2026 to acquire a majority stake, with the Cripps Foundation retaining a minority position - a signal that a heritage brand is being positioned for its next phase of growth.
Reusable was the point in 1941 - long before it became a sustainability pitch.
"We're asking you not to say a name we took 60-plus years to build."- From the viral "Don't Say Velcro" trademark campaign, 2017
De Mestral examines Alpine burrs under a microscope and conceives hook-and-loop fastening.
First patent filed in 1951; the Swiss patent is granted on March 16, 1954.
The company reaches Manchester, New Hampshire and begins commercial production.
Adopted by aerospace and space programs and increasingly used in medical devices.
A viral music video defends the trademark against genericide.
Gabriella Parisse is named CEO of Velcro Companies.
Arsenal Capital Partners agrees to acquire a majority stake from the Cripps Foundation.
VELCRO fuses the French "velours" (velvet) and "crochet" (hook).
Astronauts have used VELCRO Brand fasteners to secure items and tools in space.
The generic term is "hook and loop" - a distinction the company defends in song.
George de Mestral was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
It is a brand and company name. The generic product is "hook and loop." Velcro Companies actively defends the VELCRO trademark from becoming a generic term.
Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral, inspired in 1941 by burdock burrs sticking to his clothes and his dog after a walk in the Alps.
Its U.S. base is Manchester, New Hampshire, with manufacturing operations across roughly seven countries.
Medical, aerospace and defense, automotive, industrial, footwear and apparel, packaging, and consumer/retail markets.
Historically held by the Cripps family/foundation; in 2026 Arsenal Capital Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake, with the Cripps Foundation retaining a minority position.