In 1954, 46 year old William Lowney had an idea that
possessed him. It began in his four-car Philadelphia garage as he
and his wife, Annette, patented a gizmo called a boot band. This little braided band, with its splash of olive
drab color, fit around the tops of military boots and kept pants tucked tightly
inside the footwear; they at once “gripped” the top of the boot but “flexed”
when an individual stepped: Hence, the Gripflex Corporation was born.
Lowney initially began his journey of selling his product
from town to town along the eastern seaboard, potential customer to potential
customer, until his gadget took hold.
And indeed it did. From there, it
was a small step to add the product of shoulder cords, each cord being
handmade, even today. Shoulder cords
inspired citation cords, shoulder knots, epaulettes, and the selling of braid,
itself—flat, soutache, edge cord, and
the rounded tubular. Lowney focused on
what he felt were basic stock colors (custom dyed colors became available upon
request) as he broadened his clientele to include schools and marching bands,
hotels and theatres, police, postal, and security uniforms. The creation of the Lowney braid business was
on its way.
Twenty-year old son George abandoned his job in a grocery
store and eventually took over the firm, maintaining his father’s original
goals and standards while growing the business at the same time. Moving out of the garage, Gripflex currently
boasts 15,000 square feet of braiding machines and inventory, as well as over
40 employees who at once do the hands-on work, and assist with customer service
in the front offices. It is one of two braid houses that remain in the United States ,
today.
All of George Lowney's children have played an active role
in the third generation of family ownership, but it is Michael Lowney who has
been in charge for the last 11 years, adding his own innovations to the
company. Not squeamish about trying new
things, Michael has inspired such ideas as stretch braid for garments where a
fixed flat braid impedes movement and is destructive to the fibers of the braid
itself; there are the lighted band accessories, developed by JF Magic—shoulder
cords that are actually battery operated and work off of LED fiber optics, so
that marching bands and other groups wearing braided uniforms may be seen at
night; supported by his brother, Steve, who developed the corporate website,
Michael also has attended multiple trade-shows, attempting to develop new
audiences for his products; and he focuses on providing excellent customer
service with state of the art communication tools.
One of the finest tributes to Gripflex is that many of its
staff have remained loyal—some for as long as 40 years—no mean feat in today’s
transient world of employment opportunities.
Several members of whole families work both office and production, with
no thought of looking elsewhere for a job.
The Gripflex family is so closely knit and so professional in its
operation that Michael feels each individual is able to take responsibility for
his own time and his own job; the level of trust he has in his colleagues is
beyond reproach. Gripflex is open five
days a week, on a 24 hour production schedule, running three shifts: A true definition
of successful initiative.
During the last several years, the Lowney’s have looked at
offshore manufacturing for their products.
They readily acknowledge that it would be less expensive to do so, which
is an important factor from a business standpoint. However, Michael is adamant that he will
continue to be an American manufacturer as long as he can, even if it costs a
little more. He is fiercely proud of his
commitment to our economy, and to his sense of patriotic loyalty. It is not all idealistic, however, as he
cites quality control, customs, and several of his clients, such as the U.S. military,
that insist on buying American.
Michael Lowney is not an old man: He is 42 years old, with two young children,
and a wife who is a stay-at-home mom. Nevertheless,
he reflects that even in his short tenure, let alone those of his father and
grandfather, that while the braid business itself has not changed
significantly—because it is fairly static in terms of its decorative abilities
and how it’s applied—the garments for which braid is used have changed
enormously. It used to be that the big
band houses would purchase loads of braid for fabulous and showy marching
uniforms made of woolens and polyesters.
Today’s garments are less about braid and chauvinistic old world regalia
but more about a kind of “Star Trekky” tighter fitting stretch appeal. Noting the passing of history even in his
business, he reminisces.
“The colors are the same, but the fabrics, the styles, the
garments are totally different,” he says.
“We’ve had several of our customers since the ‘60’s, but the volume is
down because so many things have changed.
In addition, he reckons with the reality that so much is indeed going on
offshore, and that many of the smaller American “mom and pop” shops are gone.”
“We’re in a small industry,” he admits, “and there’s only so
much of the pie to go around. Still,
we’re very lucky, considering what’s going on out there in this economy, that
we’re doing as well as we are, so we must be doing something right.”
With that, Michael Lowney smiles about the Gripflex
Corporation and admits he’s looking forward to the next 50 years of successful
production, and that hopefully, his own children will be the fourth generation
to become involved in this very fine and creative company.
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