Yale Cordage — High Quality Custom Cordage and Specialty Rope

August 24, 2016|News & Headlines

Yale Cordage has been proving just how much rope is capable of since it was founded in 1950. A custom and specialty rope manufacturer, Yale Cordage employs leading cordage engineering and technology and high-tech synthetic fibers to create application-specific ropes. The company’s products include utility truck hoist lines, stringing lines and blocklines; ropes for pulling in power lines and communication cables; high dielectric ropes for live line work; bull ropes and climbing lines for arborists; safety lanyards and lifting slings; and ropes for marine applications.

“We listen closely to what our customers tell us,” President Bill Putnam says. “Their needs often guide our product development. We continuously ask questions about what our customers are doing and what their safety issues are, so we can think of solutions using the synthetic fibers we work with every day.”

From its facilities in Maine and North Carolina, Yale Cordage continues to develop machinery to process fibers. It regularly invests in new fiber technologies so it can be the first to incorporate them into rope and cable products. One example of this can be found in Yale’s proprietary Unitrex XS™ Max Wear cable. Unitrex XS™ Max Wear utilizes high-tech fibers to make electric line stringing easier and more economical. Featuring a parallel core of Spectra® UHMWPE (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene), by Honeywell, Unitrex XS™ Max Wear combines high dielectric resistance with high internal shear modulus, water-tight construction and high abrasion resistance in outer materials.

Safety Advantages, Added Benefits

Yale Cordage synthetic products — many of which are eight times lighter and more than two times stronger than steel cable of the same diameter — also off er distinct transportation, handling and safety advantages that set them apart from wire, steel and chains in systems used for pulling and lifting.

Take Yale Cordage’s newest offering, the Fortis2 Sling. This heavy-lift multipart sling was initially inspired by the need for a stiff sling to push underneath a load on the ground. Because Fortis2 Slings are so much lighter than their wire counterparts, they’re naturally easier to rig; one or two workers can now complete the task in just minutes. As an added benefit, the sling protects workers from hazards like broken strands, sharp edges, birdcaging and jaggers that may be found in a wire component, and when left outdoors, it won’t absorb water, freeze or rust.

In the mining industry, Yale Cordage has also been able to address a variety of problems faced in underground operations. Traditionally, the mining industry relied on wire, which is prone to rust and can develop fishhooks and kinks. Yale Cordage developed its Ultrex line of synthetic mining ropes that are designed to be stronger, safer and lighter.

On plans to explore new opportunities in the electric and utilities industry, Putnam says, “We always look to be the first to demonstrate how synthetics can solve problems.”