Case Studies

Environmental: responsible product innovation

Gates E3 Drive™ technology
This is a further solution for reducing fuel consumption in passenger vehicles. The two-speed drive system allows accessories such as the air conditioning compressor and alternator to operate at idling speed, (where fuel is used most efficiently by these accessories) while the engine still operates at drive speed. The driver will not notice a difference in vehicle operation but will see fuel consumption reduce by 5% or more.

Green Building Products
Product development efforts in our Building Products group are also focused on environmental protection or ‘green building' applications. We continuously introduce new products to maintain our leadership role in both residential and non-residential markets. Our brands are well positioned to take advantage of green building initiatives driven by end customers around the world. Our current product line-up includes commercial energy-recovery ventilators for more efficient outside air management, variable-air volume control boxes, free-cooling economisers, outside air measuring and maintenance devices, tight-sealing dampers, permanent building sunshade devices, tighter sealing ductwork and energy efficient fan systems.

Carbon™ Drive System
Gates expanded into the mainstream bicycle industry with the development of the Carbon™ Drive System, a dynamic new technology that is revolutionizing the bicycle industry. The durable new belt is impervious to weather conditions giving it two to three times the life of a bike chain. The Gates Poly Chain® GT® Carbon™ belt earned the coveted Product of the Year award from Plant Engineering magazine.

LubriMatic Green
Plews/Edelmann introduced LubriMatic Green, a line of bio-based, biodegradable lubricants. LubriMatic Green products are ecologically friendly, from a renewable resource, and meet or exceed the performance characteristics of petroleum lubricants.

Community: local support

Working with community organisations
Gates, Balsareny, Spain, works with organisations such as Ampans and Cire, employing mentally handicapped people and ex-prisoners. Gates sends its belts to the organisations where their employees complete the final packaging of the products. Similarly, Gent Distribution Centre, Belgium has worked together with the sheltered warehouse of Aalst for several years, employing disabled people to package its products.

Heston Rovers Football Club
Gates, Dumfries, Scotland provided employees and materials to help build changing facilities for Heston Rovers Football Club. Approximately 200 children aged between 5 and 16 attend the club weekly. They were so delighted with the support and physical help Gates employees had given the Club during the construction of their new changing facilities, they offered Gates the opportunity to place its logo on their new shirts as a way of saying thank you.

Habitat for Humanity
Ruskin, Lexington, Kentucky donated lighting fixtures, ceiling grids and tiles, doors, windows to Habitat for Humanity, for use on its various community projects. Similarly, the engineering department of Gates, Windsor, Canada participated in Habitat for Humanity's Blitz Build for the second year in a row. The event consisted of building two brand new homes for families in need.

Customers: partnership approach

Reducing packaging
Gates, Dumfries, Scotland has been working with one of its customers to reduce disposable packaging. The project has resulted in a 30% reduction in cardboard boxes purchased for the transit of its product and has lowered the customer's packaging waste by 4.5 tonnes.

Operational excellence
Gates, Elizabethtown, Kentucky recently started working on an operational excellence project with Harley-Davidson. The programme evaluates suppliers based upon a number of metrics (quality, delivery, cost, demand flow and technology) and Elizabethtown was complimented for outstanding success at improving its metrics over the past five years. As a result, Elizabethtown has been asked to mentor some of Harley-Davidson's other suppliers so that they can follow the Gates model of improvement.

Employees: welfare

Health and welfare programme
Schrader Bridgeport, Altavista, Virginia opened a woodland walking trail on company grounds in March 2008 which is actively used by employees. Altavista also operates a wellness group providing initiatives for participants such as guest speakers, samples of healthy food and monthly health newsletters. Employees are taught relaxation methods for stress reduction and can participate in goal setting techniques for all areas of life, not just wellness.

Smoking cessation programme
To support the goal of becoming a tobacco- free facility within three years, Gates Mectrol, Germany started a prevention programme for smokers. At its kick-off event, a professional non-smoking coach conducted carbon-monoxide tests to demonstrate the diminished lung capacity of smokers. This was followed up by further courses to help employees stop smoking.

HSE Excellence Award: winning formula

Lasco Bathware, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania was the winner of the Chairman's HSE Excellence award presented in 2008. Elizabethtown operated throughout 2007 without an accident or single safety or environmental audit violation and also displayed a strong commitment to employees and an ongoing desire for improvement which lead to waste and cost reductions.