Gates is proud to introduce another resource for designing belt drives and/or calculating installation tension. You may be familiar with Design Flex Pro or our previous Web version, but now Design Flex Mobile is available. Design Flex Mobile bridges the gap between our web based software and phone app, PT Toolkit. Unlike Design Flex Web, this mobile version can be accessed on ANY device connected to the internet. And unlike Design Flex Pro, no download is required. Check it out today by going to www.gates.com/dfmobile from the browser on your device.

Many industrial applications require hardware beyond the standard available from any manufacturer. Maybe it’s nickel-plated sprockets used in oilfield, or plastic mini-pitch sprockets used in office equipment. When you face these quoting and delivery opportunities, don’t forget Gates Made-to-Order Metals team can help. They provide metals for every type of Gates belt, can meet quantity demands from 1 to 10,000 or more, and can also meet special application requirements. Need Stainless Steel Poly Chain sprockets? No problem. Gates MTO Metals team can source products fast – including many common custom configurations available to ship immediately. Contact makemymetal@gates.com today with your request – and they’ll do the rest. For a complete overview of the team capabilities, watch this. For more information including a list of capabilities, visit www.gates.com/mtometals.

When a group of engineering students at California State, Northridge, decided to enter the Human Powered Vehicle Project, they knew that using Gates Carbon Drive instead of chains would produce a more sophisticated and efficient machine. The team worked with Ryan Osborn - one of the Product Application Engineers at Gates - to integrate the belt drives onto their Pedal Slayer, a three-wheeled recumbent designed for everyday in-town use.  Read the story and see more pictures by visiting the Carbon Drive blog.

We are excited to welcome new members to our Industrial General Market Customer Service Team: 

First up is Paul Bahr, a Colorado native who is delighted that he “landed a job in this great state.” Paul attended Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, earning a BA in Communication with minors in both Business and Journalism. Once finished after four years in the heat and humidity, Paul is “glad to be back in Colorado. I am looking forward to the coming months with this great company and working alongside all of you.”

Next, we welcome Audrey Schenck who comes to us with a background supplying firefighting personal safety equipment, fire hose and fire truck supplies. She also has a background as a Corrections Officer in a Maximum Security Prison, where she was tasered, kicked, wrestled and pepper sprayed. When she’s not learning everything she needs to know to take care of Gates customers, you’ll find her playing with her Belgian Malinois  named Jameson and spending time with friends and family enjoying Colorado’s many splendors.

Most recently, Katherine Aste joined the Gates Customer Service team. Katherine is a mother of two, one now entering college and one a junior in high school. An animal lover, she has three dogs and a cat.  She also enjoys gardening, knitting and needlepoint, and cooking with her husband. Just like the rest of us, she enjoys outdoor Colorado.

We are excited to have them on the team and know they will provide great customer service to our distributors.

Gates will be exhibiting at Process Expo this year to present our solutions for energy savings and reduced maintenance for processing facilities of all sorts.  Process Expo is “The Global Food and Technology Show” and serves the entire food processing world – bakery, snack foods, beverage, meat, dairy and more.  Here’s an introductory video, and we hope you’ll stop by our booth when you attend. Visit Process Expo to learn more.

Gates Belt Drive Preventive Maintenance Manual is a thorough guide to help users get the most out of their belt drives.  Covering topics such as Drive Shutdown & Thorough Inspection, Installation, Belt Storage & Handling, Belt Types & Styles, Troubleshooting and much more, this 66-page manual is a must for your collection of helpful tools. Gates recently updated the manual, and it’s available now for download through the Gates PT Partners website. Just click on the Literature Ordering Section.

Are you or your customers faced with a drive application in a wet environment? The Gates Product Application team has a few articles available that might help you navigate to the correct solution for your customer. Various constructions and various tensile cords are impacted differently in wet environments. Read the three articles here. While you are there, subscribe to the blog so you’ll get an email alert when (and only when) a new article is posted. And don’t forget, Gates Made-To-Order Metal team can help with sprockets and sheaves to withstand corrosive conditions!