SOME modern companies carry names that do not indicate the nature of the business carried out.

These have been conjured up by so-called creative people who believe a smarty-pants name will give the business a higher profile.

This can lead to people starting to recognise the name on the side of vans but being still none the wiser as to what the business does.

A reader recently contacted me after coming across the name Tough Ropes of Greenock.

The nature of the business was obvious to her and she believed the name 'Tough' referred to the durability of the firm's products.

I was able to advise it was actually the surname of the company's founder, Alexander Tough.

The business started in Greenock in 1796 and, as Alexander Tough and Sons, moved into a factory in Drumfrochar Road in 1825.

With regard to earlier premises, I have seen a reference to Tough Ropeworks of East Regent Street, Greenock, being destroyed by a fire in May 1840.

Toughs made ropes for every conceivable type of marine craft, and the company's output during the Second World War was remarkable.

It had to use substitute materials to replace those which had previously come from the Philippines, Borneo and Java.

In 1946, George Tough, who was the great, great grandson of the founder, reported that not a single coil of rope had been rejected.

During the war, the firm met all the demands made upon it.

The Drumfrochar Road factory, which was called the Clyde Ropeworks, was damaged during the blitz of May 1941, but was back in operation two days later.

It fared better than the firm's London office which was destroyed and stores and stocks at Cardiff virtually wiped out by German bombers.

In 1961, the firm changed its name to Tough Ropes and became part of a large UK group seven years later.

After 183 years, Toughs ended rope production on 21 December 1979.

It was believed Toughs had been the last manufacturer of marine fishing and industrial ropes in Scotland.

George Tough was retired by this time but his nephew, Ian Campbell, maintained the family connection.

The firm continued for a period as a warehouse and distribution centre.