Gripple, the employee-owned Sheffield firm born from a farmer's problem

Some of the best inventions start with a simple problem. In 1986, wire salesman Hugh Facey got talking to a Welsh farmer about the difficulty of joining and tensioning wire. The result was the Gripple, a small device that both grips and pulls wire, which launched in the UK in 1988.

The idea is beautifully simple. Wire is pushed into a channel, where a spring-loaded roller or wedge grips it, and pulling the wire tightens it. A mirrored channel on the other side joins a second wire. Turn the joiner vertically and use it with wire rope, and it becomes a suspension system strong enough for heavy loads in buildings around the world.

From those beginnings, Gripple has grown into a global manufacturer. The company makes more than 30 million joiners a year, and thousands of them hold together Australia's Great Dingo Fence, the longest fence in the world. Orienteers even use them to secure controls, especially in urban areas.

What makes Gripple stand out in Sheffield is the way it is run. The company is 100 per cent owned by its employees, an approach it describes as giving everyone a stake in the company's success. Its slogans, "Product Led. People Powered." and "We are no ordinary business.", sum up that spirit, and its values include passion, fun, integrity, teamwork, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The head office is at the Old West Gun Works on Savile Street East, and today Gripple serves agriculture, construction, erosion control, rail and solar customers, with regional websites serving markets from the United States to India and Australia. Its achievements have been recognised over the years, including an Engineeringtalk Best Factory prize in 2004.

Innovation continues. In September 2025 the company launched HangPro, designed for faster and safer suspensions. It also looks to the future workforce: in October 2025 Gripple helped create a new interactive zone at Skills Street, an initiative helping to shape Yorkshire's future workforce.

Gripple remains proof that world-class manufacturing, and a genuinely people-first culture, is alive and well in Sheffield.

More about the company, its products and its employee-ownership model can be found on the Gripple website.