On October 1, 1911, Charles Gates Sr. purchased the Colorado Tire and Leather Company located in
Denver, Colorado beside the
South Platte River. Colorado Tire and Leather Company made a single product, the Durable Tread, a steel-studded band of leather that motorists attached to tires to extend their mileage. In 1917, the company began phasing out leather in favor of rubber and Charles Gates changed its name to the International Rubber Company. That same year, John Gates, Charles's brother, developed a belt made of rubber and woven threading called a V-belt, due to its shape. It replaced the hemp and rope belt used on automobiles and industrial machinery at the time, and was a model for the common
serpentine belt. The belt's success propelled the company to become the largest manufacturer of V-belts, a title it still holds. In 1919, the International Rubber Company changed its name to the Gates Rubber Company. Gates continued its expansion across the United States, opening more factories and hiring thousands of people. Then, in 1954, its first international manufacturing facility was built in
Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Expansion to other countries followed. In 1958, the company opened Gates Rubber de Mexico. In 1963, Gates built a belt and hose plant in
Erembodegem,
Belgium, the first of many European facilities. In the 1980s, Gates expansion continued when the company acquired the Uniroyal Power Transmission Company and became the world's largest synchronous/
timing belt manufacturer, firmly establishing its growth path in the
Asia-Pacific region. After an unsolicited approach, in July 2010 Tomkins was acquired by a Canadian consortium of private equity firm Onex Corporation and the
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for £2.9 billion. In July 2014,
The Blackstone Group, the world's largest buyout firm, agreed to acquire The Gates Corporation from
Onex Corp. (OCX) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $5.4 billion. In December 2017, Gates Corporation filed an
initial public offering and became a public corporation. The company's headquarters are located at 1144 15th Street in Denver, Colorado. == Products, services ==