The history of fastening
Although BAND-IT was founded in 1937 in Littleton, CO, the need for durable, reliable industrial fasteners pre-dates recorded human history.
500,000 BC String
Prehistoric man twists together various plant fibers all around the world to create the first twines or strings.
4,000 BC Glue
Early tribes repair broken pottery with tree sap and natural resin.
3,400 BC Nails
Ancient Egyptians make and utilize bronze nails in the construction of shelter, vehicles and tools.
2,000 BC Welding
The Ancient Egyptians also pioneer forge welding: joining two pieces of metal by heating and then hammering them together.
1921 Band clamps
Commander Lumley Robinson of the British Royal Navy patents the first band clamp (or hose clamp.)
1937 BAND-IT
BAND-IT sets up a little shop with a dirt floor to produce stainless steel band and buckles and the C00169 standard banding tool to fill the growing fastening needs of the Gates Rubber Company.
1947 Deep sea drilling
Kerr-McGee Oil Industries completes its historic Ship Shoal Block 32 well, out of sight of land, requiring high-quality fasteners for the transport of oil from the harsh saltwater environment.
1961 Space exploration
Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel in space, in a McDonnell Douglas space capsule outfitted with thousands of hoses and band clamps.
1964 Verrazano–Narrows Bridge
The longest suspension bridge in the world, connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn is constructed using giant BAND-IT clamps.
1970 Airbags
GM’s Oldsmobile Toronado is the first domestic vehicle to include a passenger airbag, which demanded absolute fail-safe fastening.
1979 BAND-IT goes global
BAND-IT President Pete Merkel develops relationships throughout Europe to penetrate new markets and grow the BAND-IT brand globally.
2017 Life on mars
Fortified by BAND-IT fastening solutions, the Mars Rover Curiosity has been exploring the red planet since 2012.
THE FUTURE
Today, BAND-IT is thriving as an IDEX company, partnering with a wide variety of emerging industries to develop durable new fasting solutions for driverless cars, communication technology, defense tools and even more ambitious space exploration.
