Abstract: A gripper rod for a shuttleless loom has a toothed rack section made of fiber reinforced synthetic composite, preferably thermoplastic, material. The toothed rack is made of a stack of belts of such material with rectangular perforations increasing in size from the inside out or from the bottom up. By compressing and simultaneously heating the stack the matrix material is cured, whereby the belts are bonded to one another. The gaps between the teeth may extend entirely through the rod or the rod may have a base also made of such belts but not having any perforations.