Custom Converting Services
Customized HOOK & LOOP Fastener CONVERTING
Halco specializes in custom converting services, offering comprehensive solutions for OEM manufacturers and their tier suppliers to enhance product design and assembly processes. Our in-house team leverages extensive experience and cutting-edge technologies to deliver high-performance fastening and assembly solutions tailored to each customer’s unique requirements.
We supply and convert our own proprietary product lines and partner with leading material manufacturers to deliver superior product performance and value to our customers.
DISCOVERY
- Halco Expertise. Accessing Halco’s deep knowledge of hook and loop and specialty fastening solutions, adhesives, backings and converting/fabrication capabilities. This comprehensive expertise across the entire range of fastening materials, components and manufacturing processes demonstrates Halco’s ability to provide tailored solutions. Manufacturers can trust Halco’s recommendations for the right mix of materials, converting and fabrication capabilities for their needs.
DESIGN
- Application Engineering Support. Leveraging Halco’s application engineering expertise to collaborate on product concepts and design. This highlights Halco’s specialized knowledge in translating application requirements into optimized fastening solutions right from the concept stage. For manufacturers, having an experienced partner to provide input on the fastener design is invaluable.
- Engineering Drawings
- Hook and Loop Color Matching. Most hook and loop manufacturers either do not provide color matching services or have high MOQ’s to match colors. Halco has a unique and flexible dye-to-match program with low minimum orders that is unmatched in the industry to meet the color needs of most manufacturers’ product designs.
PROTOTYPES
- Rapid Development of fastening prototypes incorporating customer needs, market insights, sustainability objectives and Halco’s products and manufacturing capabilities. The ability to quickly produce prototypes that factor in all key requirements like customer needs, market trends, sustainability goals and Halco’s own product/manufacturing strengths is extremely valuable. It enables manufacturers to accelerate their product development cycles efficiently.
- Laser Cut Prototypes
- Custom Adhesives
- Performance Testing
PRODUCTION
- Knife Slitting and Edge Processing. These processes ensure the material is exactly the width that they need and that the edge of the material fits their process. Halco uses knife slitting to slit its fastening materials down to widths as low as 0.XX” and can provide the material with a selvedge edge or without. Many manufacturers also like Halco to make a roll with a skived finger lift edge.
- Strip Cutting. Many manufacturers enhance their speed and productivity by having Halco pre-cut its hook and loop materials in strips of a prescribed length. This can be done in mated and unmated hook and loop sets. Halco cuts hook and loop to length and packages the strips in boxes or bags. These strips can also be perforated and kept on a roll for easy tear-off. Finally, adhesive backed materials are often kiss-cut down to the liner and kept on the roll for easy removal when a fastening strip is needed. Hook and loop sheets are a form of hook and loop strips.
- Tape Winding and Relinering. Halco’s tape winding and relinering services are designed to support the high volume and automated production needs of our customers. Halco provides and can splice longer length rolls. It also cross winds hook and loop spools for customers who need very long lengths with minimum changeovers. Some customers prefer their adhesive-backed hook and loop on a custom liner (often a film liner), so Halco will unwind and put the new liner on its products for these customers.
- Hook and Loop Dots. Many customers, especially in the printing, packaging, and display & graphics markets, use large quantities of adhesive-backed hook and loop dots for assembly. Halco kiss-cuts these dots to the requested diameter down to the liner and can spool wind them for high volume applications. Halco also die-cuts 3M Dual Lock and Low Profile Dual Lock in dots and coins using the same process.
- Custom Adhesive Lamination. Selecting the right pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) is critical to ensuring optimal performance and reliable adhesion of hook and loop fasteners to different substrates. Halco’s expertise lies in matching the ideal PSA to each customer’s unique requirements – whether it’s high temperature tolerance, fire retardancy, low surface energy plastics compatibility or other specifications. With in-house adhesive lamination capabilities, Halco corona treats the backing surface of the hook and loop to promote adhesion and prevent delamination over time before laminating the chosen PSA. As a 3M Preferred Converter, Halco custom laminates proven, industry specified adhesive tapes from 3M and other branded suppliers to deliver fastening solutions that meet demanding performance requirements.
- Laser Cutting.
- Steel Rule Die-Cutting. For production of intricate, complex hook and loop shapes with fine details, Halco’s steel rule die-cutting capabilities provide unmatched versatility. Utilizing heavy-duty flatbed presses and cost-effective steel rule dies, this process allows for converting even the thickest hook and loop laminates into precisely cut parts. Ideal for prototyping and low-to-medium run lengths, steel rule die-cutting gives manufacturers flexibility to fabricate complex fastener shapes tailored to their specific product designs. With fast turnarounds and economical tooling, steel rule die-cutting is the ideal converting solution for companies requiring short-run, highly customized hook and loop parts and components.
- Rotary Die-Cutting. For high-speed, continuous production of precisely cut hook and loop components, Halco utilizes advanced rotary die-cutting technology. This process is ideally suited for cleanly cutting uniform shapes and parts from roll-to-roll on an industrial scale. Halco’s rotary die-cutting machines allow for tight tolerance processing with excellent registration, ensuring dimensionally accurate parts time after time. The cylindrical dies enable efficient handling of long, uninterrupted runs of hooked or looped materials. Rotary die-cutting is the preferred method for volume applications like kiss-cutting hook and loop to release liners, fabric webs into continuous strips and more. Halco’s rotary die-cutting expertise delivers flexibility to convert hook and loop materials into ready-to-use components at the pace required for high volume manufacturing.
- Sewing and Stitching. For parts that require sewing or stitching, Halco provides some limited support. We can do stitching of small components, such as strap parts, but for those projects that require significant sewing and stitching capabilities, we can help refer you to one of the many contract sewers that we work with on a regular basis.
- Ultrasonic Welding. Seamless joining of hook and loop components is critical for many applications requiring continuous fastener straps or shapes. Halco’s ultrasonic welding capabilities allow for precise fusion of hook and loop pieces without the need for adhesives or sewing. This process is ideally suited for fabricating hook and loop straps used in automotive, industrial, and military applications where high strength, smooth and clean welds are essential.
However, ultrasonic welding’s value extends beyond just strap fabrication. Halco also utilizes this technique to assemble other hook and loop parts like rings, patches, and speciality shapes by welding multiple sections together. The high-frequency ultrasonic energy forms a molecular-level bond between compatible materials, creating a weld stronger than the base materials themselves
Whether welding hook-to-hook, loop-to-loop, or joining mixed hook and loop pieces, Halco’s skilled ultrasonic welding operators ensure accurate part geometry and reliable weld integrity. With the ability to weld simple or complex shapes in a wide range of hook and loop types, this capability empowers manufacturers to construct durable, unified fastener components tailored to their product designs.
- Multi-Layer Laminate Fabrication. For applications requiring advanced composite fastening solutions, Halco specializes in fabricating robust multi-layer laminates incorporating hook and loop materials. By combining hooked and looped substrates with complementary layers like woven webbing, foams, films and more, Halco engineers can construct custom laminate stacks tailored to meet specific strength, thickness and performance criteria.
- These laminates leverage Halco’s expertise across adhesive coating, ultrasonic welding and other bonding technologies to unite the layers into an integrated, high-performance assembly. Whether using adhesives, welding or a hybrid technique, each laminate interface is processed under precisely controlled conditions to ensure reliable interlayer bonding.
- The true value comes from Halco’s ability to then convert these specialized multi-layer laminates into fabricated parts and subassemblies via flatbed die-cutting, steel rule cutting, rotary die operations and more. This delivers turnkey composite fastener solutions cut into the exact required geometry for seamless integration into the final product design.
- From concept to prototype to production, Halco’s lamination and converting capabilities provide a distinct advantage for manufacturers looking to create durable, functional hook and loop components with enhanced properties. This multifaceted expertise streamlines development of innovative fastening products that outperform basic hook and loop materials.
- Strap and Strap Part Fabrication. For a comprehensive understanding of our strap and strap part fabrication services, please visit our Custom Straps page
- Hardware Integration.
POST PRODUCTION
- Custom Printing
- Packaging and Kitting
- Quality Assurance
- Shipping
- Supply Agreements
- Ongoing Support
enhancING product design WITH CUSTOM CONVERTING
HALCO CAPABILITIES
Converting Services
- Priming and corona treating
- Adhesive laminating
- Slitting, cutting & perforating
- Edge and dead zone processing
- Die-cutting / Kiss-Cutting
- Rotary die-cutting
- Flat bed steel rule
- Mated Sets / Cut to length
- Ultrasonic welding
- Sewing and stitching
- Hardware integration
- Level winding and spooling
- Specialty liner services
Advanced Manufacturing
- Medical devices
- Aerospace
- Military
Specialty Printing
- Pad printing
- Screen printing
OEM Component Design/Test
- Engineering/CAD
- Rapid prototyping
- Multilayer material laminations
- In-house testing and inspection
- SOPs, certs and quality assurance
Packaging Services
- Bag and pouch sealing
- Retail blister packs and clam shells
- Custom packaging
- Private labeling and barcoding
- Kitting
Inventory Services
- Blanket Orders
- Consignment
- Inventory Agreements
Component Drawing
- In-house rapid part drawings
Tell Us About Your project!
Do you have a project that needs some converting support? Can we customize a hook and loop or Dual Lock fastening component for you?
Product Certifications
Halco partners with world-renowned external laboratories to ensure that material and design specifications are met.
Specification Examples:
- MIL SPEC A-A-55126B
- FMVSS302
- GM W15015 (Flammability, Natural Weathering)
- GM 3618M
- FORD WSS-M15P32-D
- FORD WSB-M15 P35-A3
- DAIMLER CHRYSLER PF-8543
- FCA US Material Standard – MS-JE-9-9
- EO Sterilization
- CAL TB 117
- FAR 25.853 – 12 Second Vertical
- UL 94 Vertical Burn
- REACH / ROHS
- CALIFORNIA PROP 65
- OEKO-TEX
- NFPA 2112
- ISO 10993-5 Cytotoxicity (Biocompatability)
HALCO is certified to ISO 9001 (2015) and ISO 13485 (2016)
Learn more about our commitment to quality. LEARN MORE >
