Leading Fabricator of Wire Rope Products
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We are a company that focuses on personal attention in order to create real and effective solutions for our customers. We believe in collaboration internally, with our vendors and customers to form a positive and valuable relationship and product experience.
Lexco Cable is a leading fabricator of value-added wire rope products. Our core focus is in:
Wire rope assemblies are used in a wide range of industries, including:
Lexco acquired its name from its first home, Chicago’s Lexington movie theatre, which was bought by brothers of Harold Karbin in the 1950s. In the late sixties, Lexco relocated to a retail store on Bryn Mawr Avenue in Chicago’s North Side and started to shift toward the sale of bicycles. When business was slow during Chicago’s notoriously cold winter months, Harold realized it was time to expand to products that were less dependent upon weather conditions. He initially began by developing bicycles for people with disabilities, and from there cable assemblies followed.
In the 1970s, after refining methods for extruding wire rope and swaging wire rope and fittings, Lexco produced LEXFLEX custom cable bike locks. LEXFLEX proved very popular and Lexco Cable, as it exists today, was born.
As more applications for cable and wire rope — the same type of material used in the LEXFLEX — were developed during the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, Lexco continued to adapt and grow. As Lexco grew, so did our facility requirements.
We left the Bryn Mawr Avenue location for a larger factory on Belmont Avenue, also in the North Side, in the 1970s — this facility was expanded in the ‘80s. Lexco moved into our current Norridge, Il, location in 2003 where, after expansions in 2013, we have more than 48,000 square feet of production space
Lexco Cable and Lexco Bike share 75,000 square feet and employ over 50 people. We are members of the Technology & Manufacturing Association (TMA) and the American Wire Rope Fabricators (AWRF).
For your reference, our classifications are as follows:
We are a company that focuses on personal attention in order to create real and effective solutions for our customers. We believe in collaboration internally, with our vendors and customers to form a positive and valuable relationship and product experience.Lexco Cable is a leading fabricator of value-added wire rope products. Our core focus is in:
- Wire rope diameters from 1/32” through 1”
- Plastic wire rope jackets
- Assembly order quantities from 1 piece through 1,000,000 pieces
- Highly custom wire rope assemblies
- Fulfillment of wire rope via reels, coils, and cuts
- Distribution of wire rope fittings and hardware
Products
Anything you could need in a custom wire rope or bungee cord assembly, Lexco can fabricate it. Aircraft cable, wire rope, push-pull controls, fiber rope, and bungee assemblies that we can fabricate include: Assembly Types
| Wire Rope Assemblies | Push-Pull Controls | Bungee Cord Assemblies | Other Assemblies |
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Products Available in Bulk & Prefabricated
| Wire Rope | Cable Hardware and Tools | Wire Rope Fittings |
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Bright Wire Rope
Galvanized Wire Rope
Stainless Steel Wire Rope Performance Wire Rope Rotation Resistant Wire Rope Fiber Core Wire Rope Mil-Spec Wire Rope Wire Rope Coated Products Independent Wire Rope Core Products Structural Strand Guy Strand Bridge Rope Wire Rope Compacted/Swaged Products Cable Laid Wire Rope Products Aircraft Cable |
Turnbuckles
Eye bolts Hooks Shackles Wire Rope Clips Quick Links Bolt Snaps & Snap Hooks Structural Hardware (Clevises, Rod) Swivels Pulleys Round & “D” Rings Tiller Clamps Lanyard Mounting Tab Crimping Tool Cutting Tool |
Button Stops
Sleeves Wire Rope Clips Plain Balls Single & Double Shank Balls Thimbles Strap-Eye Strap Fork Ends Eye Ends Thimbles Threaded Studs Spelter Sockets Swageless Fittings Cable Jointers (Kwikloc) Marine Rigging Turnbuckles Shank Hooks Die-Cast Fittings |
Industries Served
Wire rope assemblies are used in a wide range of industries, including:- Transportation
- Mining
- Railroad
- Construction
- Architectural
- Fitness
- Automotive
- Marine
- OEM
- Military
- Display
- Signage
- Security
- Lighting
- Recreation
Customer Types Served
- OEM
- MRO
- Distributors
- Valve-added resellers
- Aftermarket sales
- Contract manufacturers
- General contractors
- Outsourcing services
- DIY
Specifications
| Military Specs | Federal Specs | Boeing Specs | ASTM Standards | Other Available Compliances | NSN Specs |
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Navy Specs
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Capabilities & Processes
- Extrusion — Cable or wire rope must be coated for aesthetic, durability, or safety reasons; we specialize in coating cables with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nylon, and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). To ensure quality, we use laser micrometers for OD measurement.
- Swaging/Crimping — At the heart of wire rope assembly fabrication is the swaging process. Our tooling inventory and hydraulic presses can accommodate most end fittings including spherical, cylindrical, and hex profiles.
- Cutting — We have both manual and automatic cutting work cells to accommodate low and high volume projects. Additionally, we have mechanical sheer cutting and electrical fuse-cutting machinery.
- Cordage Cutting — We cut fiber rope and bungee cords with hot blades to prevent fraying. For webbing, we have automatic hot knife cutting capability.
- Cable Coiling — We can coil both coated and uncoated cable on spools and pre-cut into coiled assemblies.
- Die Casting — We zinc die-cast custom cable end fittings in-house, including barrels, balls, and eyes.
- CNC — Our machine tool department specializes in Swiss-type CNC automatic lathes. The benefits of manufacturing fittings in-house include: tighter control of tolerances, reduced lead times of prototypes and production, increased ease of customization, and cost savings passed onto customers.
- Engineering — Our engineering department utilizes AutoCAD and SolidWorks software in order to document all of our assembly drawings to ensure that assemblies are made within tolerances and consistently. We perform quality assurance with a number of measurement tools, including: calipers, micrometers, pin gauges, optical comparators, Rockwell hardness testers, and tensile testers.
- Proof-Loading & Pull-Testing — We offer pull testing capabilities for proof-loading and destructive pull-testing requirements. We can load up to 50,000 pounds in-house. Testing is common for military-grade material such as MIL-DTL-5688
- Distribution & Fulfillment — We are able to ship orders directly to job sites or users. We can also perform just in time (JIT) service, including Kanban releases. We are also EDI capable for the convenience of our customers’ release scheduling.
- Re-Reeling — Our re-reeling process consists of taking master wire rope reels and rewinding. We provide several materials of reels such as plastic reels, metal reels, fiber board reels, and wood reels.
- Labeling and Laser Etching — We offer detailed labeling, including information such as part designation, strength, manufacturing date, and more.
History
Established as a small hardware store and Schwinn bicycle franchise in Chicago’s West Side, Lexco was founded in 1952 by Harold and Ray Karbin after Harold returned home from the Korean War. After a time period in which Lexco experienced increased exposure and consistent success, we eventually relocated to larger premises in Chicago’s North Side in the 1960s.Lexco acquired its name from its first home, Chicago’s Lexington movie theatre, which was bought by brothers of Harold Karbin in the 1950s. In the late sixties, Lexco relocated to a retail store on Bryn Mawr Avenue in Chicago’s North Side and started to shift toward the sale of bicycles. When business was slow during Chicago’s notoriously cold winter months, Harold realized it was time to expand to products that were less dependent upon weather conditions. He initially began by developing bicycles for people with disabilities, and from there cable assemblies followed.
In the 1970s, after refining methods for extruding wire rope and swaging wire rope and fittings, Lexco produced LEXFLEX custom cable bike locks. LEXFLEX proved very popular and Lexco Cable, as it exists today, was born.
As more applications for cable and wire rope — the same type of material used in the LEXFLEX — were developed during the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, Lexco continued to adapt and grow. As Lexco grew, so did our facility requirements.
We left the Bryn Mawr Avenue location for a larger factory on Belmont Avenue, also in the North Side, in the 1970s — this facility was expanded in the ‘80s. Lexco moved into our current Norridge, Il, location in 2003 where, after expansions in 2013, we have more than 48,000 square feet of production space
Details
Lexco is located at 7320 West Agatite Avenue, Norridge, IL 60706.Lexco Cable and Lexco Bike share 75,000 square feet and employ over 50 people. We are members of the Technology & Manufacturing Association (TMA) and the American Wire Rope Fabricators (AWRF).
For your reference, our classifications are as follows:
- Cage Code — 1VXG5
- NAICS — 332618
- SIC — 5051
- DUNS — 087535209
To learn more about how Lexco Cable can support your product vision and bring it to life, contact us today.
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Wire rope products are utilized in vastly diverse industries and environments. Our job at Lexco Cable is to guide our customers' decisions in selecting the optimal combination of wire rope products for their unique applications.
