Gates

When Charles Gates, Sr. Bought The Colorado Tire and Leather Company in 1911 for $3, 500, little did he know his tiny shop in Denver would develop into a leading rubber products firm. Colorado Tire and Leather made a single product, the Durable Tread, a steel-studded band of leather that motorists fastened to their flimsy car tires to extend their mileage. From this modest beginning Gates Corporation, once known as The Gates Rubber Company, has developed into one of the world's biggest manufacturers of industrial and automotive belts and hoses, plus a host of related products.