In 2014, the company made a $5.7 million investment in the facility, expanding its capacity and adding new equipment and technology. While many other textile companies once based in North Carolina have closed their factories or moved operations overseas, Ideal Fastener continues to operate a 150,000-square-foot production facility in Oxford, located about an hour north of Raleigh. We have a group of highly skilled, motivated associates.” Made in North CarolinaĮlie Gut founded Ideal Fastener in New York in 1936. “We have employees that have been with us 30 or 40 years and, when they retire, they are often joined at the celebration by sons and daughters and other family members who continue to work here. Gut adds that Ideal Fastener’s workforce, which numbers about 150 at the North Carolina plant, plays a large role in its success.

“Details make the difference, and we are obsessed with details.” “Our management team prides ourselves on our firsthand knowledge of all aspects of the business, and our close working relationships with customers,” Jeff Gut says. Their father, Ralph Gut, is board chair and their sister, Michelle Lobel, who previously managed global operations, continues to serve as a board member while also running her own medical device company, Bryn Pharma. The two are part of the third generation of family leadership of the company. “As a leading zipper supplier with a well-established global footprint, we are big enough to handle the world’s largest brands, but we also are small enough to provide personalized customer service,” says Jeff Gut, co-president, along with his brother, Steven. Working from new headquarters in Oxford, North Carolina, Elie Gut and his son, Ralph, steadily built a strong base of business across a wide range of diverse industries, including the activewear, furniture, luggage, automotive and military sectors.

With offices and factories around the globe, the company is able to engineer and manufacture from multiple regions, without compromising quality or service.Īs apparel production in the post-World War II period migrated away from New York due to rising labor costs and other changes in the competitive landscape, Ideal Fastener opted to move its plant to the lower cost South in 1966. is one of the industry’s go-to global sources.įounded in New York in 1936 by Elie Gut, Ideal Fastener has grown from its modest beginnings as one of a few dozen small zipper suppliers serving the local apparel industry into what is now the second largest zipper manufacturer in the world.

When it comes to zippers for mattresses, pillows and other sleep products, Ideal Fastener Corp. Ralph Gut, left, is the son of founder Elie Gut, and Ralph’s son, Jeff Gut (right), is co-president of the company.

Ideal zipper pulls