Grip-Flex Celebrates a Half Century of Elegance & Innovation

By Debra Hindlemann Webster

In 1954, 46-year-old William Lowney had an idea that possessed him. It began in his four-car garage in Philadelphia 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. They at once “gripped” the top of the boot but “flexed” when an individual stepped; hence, the Grip-Flex Corp. was born.

Lowney initially began selling his product from town to town along the Eastern Seaboard, customer to customer, until his gadget took hold. And gradually it did. From there, it was a small step to add shoulder cords to his product line, each cord being handmade even today. Shoulder cords inspired citation cords, shoulder knots, epaulettes and the selling of braid itself in flat, soutache, edge cord and rounded tubular varieties. Lowney focused on what he felt were basic stock colors as he broadened his clientele to include schools and marching bands, hotels and theaters, police, postal employees and security officers. Custom dyed colors would later be available upon request. The creation of the Lowney braid business was on its way.

20-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. Leaving the garage far behind, Grip-Flex currently boasts 15,000 square feet of braiding machines and inventory, as well as more than 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, that include battery-operated LED shoulder cords so 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 Grip-Flex is that many of its staff have remained loyal, some for as long as 40 years. That is no small feat in today’s transient world of employment opportunities. Several members of single families can be found working both office and production, with no thought of looking elsewhere for a job. The Grip-Flex family is so closely knit and 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. Grip-Flex is open five days a week on a 24-hour production schedule running three shifts. It is a truly shining example of successful initiative.

During the last several years, the Lowneys 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 the nation’s 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 only American-made products.

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. He reflects that, even in his short tenure, he has seen some significant changes in the braid business. It’s not that braid applications have changed; even since the days when his grandfather ran the company, the braid niche has been fairly static in terms of its decorative abilities and how it’s applied. But the garments on 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 old-world regalia but more about a kind of “Star Trek” tighter-fitting stretch appeal.

Michael says, “The colors are the same, but the fabrics, the styles, the garments are totally different. We’ve had several of our customers since the ’60s, but the volume is down because so many things have changed.”

In addition, he battles with the reality that so much is indeed going 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 smiles 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 exceptional and creative company.

Grip-Flex Corp.
2245 E. Ontario St.
Philadelphia, PA 19134
Phone: (215) 743-7492
Fax: 1-800-743-9406
www.gripflexcorporation.com