In its original form, Duct Tape was first manufactured in 1942 during the Second World War, designed to be a flexible, strong and very sticky tape.
Initially used to help keep moisture out of ammunition cases, military uses for Duct Tape quickly spread to include everything from repairing tents to fixing vehicles and aircraft. Although there is some dispute, it is thought to have been first referred to as duck tape during this war, thanks to its water resistant properties. Read More
In the years following the end of WWII, duck tape pushed its way further into society, thanks to the rapidly growing housing industry. The tape was consumed for a multitude of uses, but it was ducting where it really stood out. Heating and cooling ducts were becoming more and more common in both commercial and residential applications, and duct tape was widely seen to be the best product to seal connections, so much so that its original army green colour was now changed to a silver, to better match the colour of the air ducts. These days however, it is known that tapes such as this can be flammable in challenging conditions, leading to specialty aluminium and metalized tapes being the recommended product for hot environments such as chimneys.
In addition to ducting, this PVC based tape is a popular product in the construction industry, for joining large plastic sheets such as builders film and various other heavy gauge plastic. Thanks to its strong adhesive and tough PVC backing, it is frequently seen in use in a variety of situations. The situations include anything from bundling applications (such as temporarily holding bundles of small pipes or conduit together) and minor temporary repair work, such as patching up tarpaulins.
Although not to the same degree as the construction industry, duct tape has crept into warehouse environments as a packaging tape. For some heavy duty taping jobs on cartons or pallets, it can make a suitable replacement for other types of heavy duty packing tape. This can include use on cardboard boxes as a packaging tape, to help add strength to the external walls, and assist in reinforcing them. It can also be used as a packing tape around pallets (typically in conjunction with stretch film), to assist in keeping the load together.
No matter how you look at it, duct tape has a vast array of uses making it quite possibly the most versatile product in the packaging industry today. It is guaranteed to come in handy in almost any environment, so make sure you are never caught without it!
