A Guide to Cable Security Seals

In this article we explore the ‘flexibility of the flexiGrip’ – giving you an in-depth look into our range of metal cable seals used across the world, the benefits of using cable seals for your security, and the wide range of customisation options available to you.

What are Cable Seals?

Cable security seals, also known simply as ‘cable seals’ or wire rope seals, are flexible and strong types of security seals popular across all types of industries, including freight and transport, food and pharmaceutical, industrial and manufacturing and other sectors.

Cable seals generally consist of a metal or plastic body, with the cable / wire rope permanently cinched or clamped at one side of the body, and with a one-way tamper-evident locking chamber at the other end of the body. The wire rope is inserted into this locking chamber and progressively tightened to suit the application. The seal can only be opened by cutting the cable; our cable seals feature non-preformed cable which frays when cut, preventing re-insertion and providing a clear indication of seal tampering.

Why use Cable Seals?

One of the chief benefits of metal cable seals is the combination of the strength and flexibility of the wire cable construction – a cable seal can be tailored in terms of its diameter and length so that it may provide an effective tamper-evident sealing solutions for many applications – from small-scale drums and crates, and all the way through to heavy-duty sealing of shipping containers.

Thinner cable diameters (< 2.5mm diameter cables) are pliable and flexible, and are ideally suited to small-scale applications, whereas heavier gauge 3, 4 and 5mm diameters are much stronger, and can securely seal large-scale sealing applications, such as around container locking bars, or large valve lockout applications.

Cable seals, from lightweight 1.5mm diameter to heavyduty 5mm cable diameter

Cable Seals versus Plastic Seals

Cable seals have much higher pulling strengths than plastic pull-through seals which are sometimes used in their place – some of the strongest plastic pull-through seals might have pulling load resistances of up to 50KgF, but even the most light-weight cable seals are twice as strong as this, and our strongest cable seals (the 325M and 500M) are over 20 to 50x times stronger than plastic seals! This makes them ideally suited to use cases where it is important that seals do not accidentally break in transit, for example crates which are being transported in vehicles.

Security and High-Security Classification Cable Seals

Another benefit of cable seals over plastic seals are the ISO and other national security standards that our cable seals are certified to. The Flexigrip 150M cable seal is certified by the Security Seal Testing Authority (SSTA) as an accepted HMRC customs seal, and for international shipping containers sent by sea freight, our Flexigrip 325M & Flexigrip 500M seals are ISO17712 'H' High Security Classification and C-TPAT compliant - suitable for US customs entry. These certifications make cable seals more suited to customs movements.

Our Range of Cable Seals

flexiGrip cable seals are available in many configurations, including metal or plastic bodies, and in cable diameters from 1.5mm up to 5mm. Below chart provides an overview of our range…

Cable Seal Model	Cable Diameter	Load Resistance	ISO17712 Class	Use Cases
flexiGrip 100S	1.5mm	101kg	Indicative	Road and Rail Freight, Cargo Trucks, Postal and Mail Sacks, Drums, IBC’s, Airline Trolleys, Drums, Boxes, Cash Bags
flexiGrip 100/150ZP	1.5mm	259kg	Indicative
flexiGrip 180ZP	1.8mm	400kg	Indicative
Flexigrip 150M	1.5mm	256kg	Indicative	HMRC Customs, Bulk Tankers, Railway Cars, Valves, Drums, Open Top Barrels
flexiGrip 250M	2.5mm	413kg	Security	Bulk Tankers, Valves, Drums, Open Top Barrels
flexiGrip 325M	3.25mm	1193kg	High-Security	ISO17712 Customs Movements, Shipping Containers, Bulk Tankers, Industrial Valves
flexiGrip 500M	5mm	2039kg	High-Security	ISO17712 Customs Movements, High Value Shipping Containers, Bulk Tankers, Industrial Valves, Railway Cars, Heavy-Duty Sealing,
flexiGrip 500MD	5mm	2039kg	High-Security
StrapSecure Pallet Seal	1.5mm	256kg	Indicative	Pallet and Crate Security, APHA movements

Customisation Options

FEATURE	DESCRIPTION	ILLUSTRATION
Custom Cable Length	We can produce our cable seals with extra-long lengths, such as 2metres. These long length cables are useful for large-scale valve lockout applications, and for sealing around the vertical locking bars of shipping containers and trailer doors.
Cable Material	As standard we supply with galvanised corrosion-resistant steel – however, for increased corrosion resistance we can also offer in full stainless-steel cable options, particular suited to marine and maritime applications.
Custom Engraving	Customisation options are endless, including but not limited to :- Alphanumeric custom markings Barcode 128/39/EAN etc QR / Data Matrices Multiple Line Print Double-Sided Print
Colour Customisation	We offer 12 standard colours as standard, to enable customers to take advantage of colour-coding in their operations
Counterpart Labelling	We can produce cable seals with counterpart labels for duplicate barcode numbering, for application of labels onto paperwork etc. This can reduce possibility for mistakes due to human error / transcription errors.
ABS Encapsulation	Available on 325M and 500M models, we can produce cable seals with fully encapsulated ABS overmouldings, protecting the laser-engraved anodised aluminimum surface, for the ultimate tamper-resistant cable seal solution.