History Of Cable Ties

Before the invention of cable ties, people resorted to all kinds of methods to secure and tie things together. From rope to tape to twine and anything else that would remotely get the job done, inventiveness and creativity were all they had to rely on.

The need for a solution was great and in 1958 Thomas & Betts, an electric company which was established already back in 1898 by Robert Thomas and Hobart Betts, came up with the 'Ty-Rap'.

Those were initially manufactured for plane harnesses and consisted of a metal ratchet and a metal pawl. This process was rather time consuming and didn't yield a very stable, reliable product and thanks to the constantly evolving industrial progress and the availability of nylon, cable ties were soon produced entirely out of nylon.

Production was still a two way process until 1968, when a clamp manufacturer patented a unique, one piece, nylon 'cable wire device'.

This was the first company in the entire U.S. that produced them quick and cheap which eventually led to the wide choice and color range we can purchase them in at present.

Creativity hasn't stopped there as you can see in the picture. There are cable ties with leaves at the end and they come in several different colors. I don't think we have seen the end of the possibilities yet; this is probably just the beginning.

However, don't tie me down on that!