Charles Gates, Sr. bought The Colorado Tire and Leather Company in 1911 for $3,500. The company’s only product: Durable Tread—a steel-studded band of leather that attached to the flimsy car tires of the day to extend mileage.
In 1917, the founder’s brother, John Gates, invented the rubber and fabric V-belt, charting the company’s future. One decade later, Gates was the world’s largest manufacturer of V-belts. It still is.
Since that time nearly a century ago, Gates Corporation has expanded into the largest non-tire rubber manufacturer in the world. The company now has sales and manufacturing operations in all the world’s major markets, under three major divisions:
- Worldwide Power Transmission
- Worldwide Hydraulic and Industrial Hose & Connectors
- Worldwide Automotive Belts and Hoses
Gates serves the industrial and automotive original equipment and replacement market both directly and through a worldwide network of 150,000 distributors, jobbers and dealers.
Our commitment to quality is reflected in strict adherence to worldwide ISO and QS-9000 standards.
You’ll find Gates products hard at work in markets and applications like the following:
- Agriculture
- Transportation
- Mining
- Forestry
- Construction
- Office equipment
- Computer
- Food processing and handling
