New England Ropes, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the TEUFELBERGER Group, said that the company’s original co- founder, Herb Repass, passed away recently in Vero Beach Florida.
Repass co-founded New England Ropes, Inc. in New Bedford, Mass., with his friend and associate David Aigler in 1967. Repass served as President and chief designer of specialty ropes that were manufactured by the company for yachting, safety and rescue, arborist, mountaineering, lariats for cowboys, and Navy and Coast Guard operations. Herb, Dave and his son Randy also collaborated to sell rope for boating on the west coast, spawning West Marine.
Many of the rope designs developed by Repass are still in use today, combining superior design with the use of today’s fiber advancements. Repass retired in 1990 and passed the stewardship of the company to his son, Jay Repass. In 2007, the Repass family sold the company to TEUFELBERGER Group in Austria.