"Everything old is new again."
Alliance's twist on this adage is that the rubber bands we manufacture have never become old. They are still used for all the original purposes for which they were designed and, thanks to the ingenuity of mankind, changing industrial needs and changing time influences just keep presenting more and more uses for this wonderful, seemingly simplistic product.
William H. Spencer, founder of Alliance Rubber Company in 1923, originally offered rubber bands to bundle newspapers to keep them from blowing through neighborhood streets on prevailing breezes. Then he moved on to office supplies to band and organize files and projects. From there he addressed the produce markets to bundle, package, and display bunches of produce for sale. Rubber bands flourished in each of these markets because they offered a solution at a reasonable price needed by each industry. In each case, the rubber band made suppliers' and end users' lives just a little bit better and easier.
Alliance continued to grow both in volume and in creative manufacturing approaches that became bench marks for the rubber band industry. Spencer developed the "open ring concept" in 1957 that presented a circular band with open center as opposed to the then-standard flat bands, and this concept allowed workers to insert fingers and spread the band open for faster, easier application that improved production times. In 1969, he developed the "continuous cure" manufacturing process that moved bands rapidly through the production process from extrusion to finished product with greater consistency in product dimensions, softer stretch bands and unrivaled production speeds. In 1986, another great idea was presented. How about we imprint on bands? So we did and now this simplistic device not only bundled and organized -- it branded your product or promoted your idea, or both! It became a marketing tool.
Our greatest successes have been in identifying and offering solutions to everyday problems. Whether the problem is something as basic as holding trash liners in place or organizing our workloads or as important as organizing shroud lines in parachutes packed for our military or providing our armed forces with STRAC Packs and Gear Strapz made from a very strong, weather impervious synthetic EPDM rubber with multiple gear use applications including "silence" which could be a lifesaving attribute ... every problem or need has a solution just waiting to be applied.
Alliance does not stand on its past successes alone. We are continually testing our boundaries and addressing new challenges to meet tomorrow's needs. We are successfully venturing into producing custom extruded silicone profiles and silicone molded products to meet a growing need for the many and varied properties this product offers industries and consumers worldwide. We are involved in research and development with the University of Sussex in England to develop and present meaningful ways in which graphene can be incorporated with silicone and natural rubber to produce strong, conductive capabilities that will impact future scientific, medical and military application opportunities. We are stepping outside our normal manufacturing role to develop a seafood banding machine, with the help and guidance of lobstermen and oyster farmers in the U.S. and Canada, which we believe will offset the physical stress related to banding in those industries and anticipate will represent an excellent return on investment to those using it.
Alliance Rubber Company is a family-owned, women-owned small business. We are proud of the men and women who are our co-workers and who, through their hard work and creative input, have made Alliance what we are today. We are proud to be an American manufacturer with customers in 60 countries around the world, and we are proud to be an active part of the Hot Springs, Arkansas, community.