Top Workplaces 2026: Gripple, a wire-joining company, builds strong connections among employees

Wearing hiking boots, black sunglasses, and earbuds to shield the noise, Gripple machine operator Pete Belitz presses a blue button to start his device, which crimps Snap Hooks onto the ends of cables.

“It was a godsend, this place,” said the 47-year-old.

Workers at Gripple have a curious saying: They don’t stand by their product, they stand under it.

“You’ve walked under tens of thousands of Gripples and you’ve never even known it,” said Ben Bradley, site leader at the company’s Aurora location.

The “Gripple” is a wire-joining device invented by British entrepreneur Hugh Facey that grew into a company of the same name in 1989. Originally designed to help farmers join wire on their fences, Gripple now makes devices for a multitude of industries with a focus on installing pipes and ductwork.

Tens of thousands of Gripple devices can be found in places like Chicago’s Trump Tower or the Atlanta Falcons’ Stadium. In 2023 the company sold their billionth Gripple globally.

Unlike many of its competitors, Gripple is entirely employee-owned, with an emphasis on benefits. The company, headquartered in Sheffield, England, now operates in multiple countries across the globe, with a 65,000-foot manufacturing facility in Aurora.

Gripple Inc. made its debut on the Chicago Tribune’s list of Top Workplaces this year, ranking 45th among small companies. The rankings are computed by the consultancy Energage in Exton, Pennsylvania.

“I have cluster headaches all the time,” Belitz said. “I’d spent like $40,000 out of pocket in three years because of neurologists and scans.”

Formerly a line cook at a restaurant, Belitz applied to Gripple for the company’s full medical, dental, vision and life insurance benefits. He has been with Gripple for seven years now.

“They’re in it for the employee, and you realize that pretty quick,” he said, wrapping a group of cables together into a tight loop.

With medical attention more accessible and a “stress-free” work atmosphere, Belitz said his headaches went away after a year and a half.

The device moves fast, and so does Belitz. One at a time, he pulls coils off the conveyor belt, unwinding them individually and rewinding them into a bundle of 10. He tosses them into a basket on the side.

The machine Belitz works on for seven hours a day is titled “Goose,” a name democratically selected by the location’s 140 employees, along with the names of every automated machine on the production floor. Many machine names, like “Tito” and “Fireball,” were inspired by alcohol brands.

“Our people like to have fun, is what I’ve realized, and all we have to do is just give them a reason to do that,” said Elise Balsamo, communications manager.

A door connects the production floor with the employee lounge, which, in addition to a large kitchen and arcade games, is where the on-site bar can be found.

“It’s not like we’re all drinking all day, but what it does give us is the ability to have a place to gather,” Balsamo said.

In mid-September, a mechanical bull and photo booth could be found smack dab in the middle of the lounge as part of a celebration for the company’s “Cowboy” spirit day.

“The U.K. site always refers to us as the wild west,” said Balsamo with a laugh, “so we’re going to be the wild west.”

Gripple CEO Jonathan Palmersten, who came up with the idea for Cowboy Day, said these kinds of bonding activities are part of the company’s “work hard, play hard culture.”

His desk, located in the middle of the workspace, doesn’t have a single wall or cubicle surrounding it.

“We don’t have a whole lot we need to hide from the employees,” Palmerston said.

“The CEO is very approachable,” said Maggie Federman, a supply chain coordinator. “I mean, anybody could walk up to his desk at any time and ask him anything.”

Federman achieved Gripple fame for riding the mechanical bull a total of 15 times on Cowboy Day. She boasted the longest ride of 30 seconds.

“That was on the hardest setting,” she said with a grin.

Federman used to be a server at Buffalo Wild Wings. She first learned about Gripple when 28 of the company’s salespersons came into the restaurant for a wing-eating contest, where she was their server.

“They were all talking about work, but they seemed really happy,” Federman said. “By the end of the night, they really kind of convinced me that I should apply.”

Her gut feeling proved to be right, and she was immediately welcomed by her co-workers.

“I think people were calling me by my name within a week of me working there,” Federman said.

Five years later, 32-year-old Federman plans on staying at Gripple for life.

“I feel respected, I guess, as an employee-owner,” said Federman, leaning against her desk, which is now decorated with multiple awards and nominations for employee spirit. “It feels like we’re all liable to do the best we can because it’s our name on the line as well.”

“You just see it the moment that you walk in here,” said Brian Barrera, the location’s shipping manager and a Gripple employee of 14 years. “Everybody’s part of a team.”

Barrera, 35, along with every employee at Gripple, invested a minimum of $1,500 in the company to become an employee-owner. Once buying the initial stake, employees can choose to invest as much or as little as they want.

“In the beginning, I bought the bare minimum,” Barrera said. “Once I realized this is going to be my career and what I wanted to do, of course I started investing more.”

“It’s kind of a nice situation,” Federman said, “if you quit, they buy you out of it.”

Charity also is a major part of Gripple.

“One percent of our profit every year goes to charity globally,” Balsamo said.

The company sponsors two dogs, “Grip” and “Gripple,” who work through the Defenders for Children organization to identify recording technology and hard drives located on child predators.

Gripple provides each employee with 16 paid volunteer hours a year, in addition to completely closing down operations for 10 to 13 days over the holidays, and recently instituted birthday time off.

“Everything they can do for us, they do,” Belitz said.

“The business at the end of the day is made up of people,” Desler said. “We want to look after those people as best as we can.”

jmiller@chicagotribune.com