Business Description

We are a global manufacturer of innovative, highly engineered power transmission and fluid power solutions. We offer a broad portfolio of products to diverse aftermarket channel customers, and to original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”) as specified components, with the majority of our revenue coming from aftermarket channels. Our products are used in applications across numerous end markets, including automotive aftermarket, automotive OEM, diversified industrial, industrial off-highway, industrial on-highway, energy and resources, and personal mobility. Our net sales have historically been, and remain, highly correlated with industrial activity and utilization, and not with any single end market given the diversification of our business and high exposure to the aftermarket channel. We sell our products globally under the Gates brand, which is recognized by distributors, equipment manufacturers, installers and end users as a premium brand for quality and technological innovation; this reputation has been built over more than 110 years since Gates’ founding in 1911. Within the diverse end markets we serve, our highly engineered products are often critical components in applications for which the cost of downtime is high relative to the cost of our products, resulting in the willingness of end users to pay a premium for superior performance and availability. These applications subject our products to normal wear and tear, resulting in natural, and often preventative, aftermarket cycles that drive high-margin, recurring revenue. Our product portfolio represents one of the broadest ranges of power transmission and fluid power products in the markets we serve, and we maintain long-standing relationships with a diversified group of well-known customers throughout the world. As a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of highly engineered, mission-critical products, we have become an industry leader across most of our end markets and the regions in which we operate. Gates’ business is well-balanced and diversified across products, channels and geographies, as highlighted in the following charts showing breakdowns of our Fiscal 2025 net sales of $3,443.2 million. 5 Table of Content s Our History In 1911, Charles Gates, Sr. purchased the Colorado Tire and Leather Company, a manufacturer of steel-studded bands of leather that attached to wheels to extend their life. In 1917, the Company commercialized the V-belt, which used rubber and woven threading instead of rope belts, which were more commonly used at that time. In 1963, we built the first of many international facilities in Erembodegem, Belgium, followed by Jacarei, Brazil, in 1973. In 1986, we acquired the Uniroyal Power Transmission Company, which included a controlling interest in a joint venture that laid the groundwork for Gates’ growth in the Asia-Pacific region in select product and end-market categories. In 1996, Gates was acquired by a publicly held conglomerate based in the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), Tomkins plc, which was itself acquired in 2009 by Onex Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, who proceeded to divest certain of Tomkins plc’s businesses under a new parent entity, Pinafore Holdings B.V. Gates was acquired by certain investment funds affiliated with Blackstone Inc. in July 2014 and in 2015 established a new executive leadership team with Ivo Jurek as Chief Executive Officer. In January 2018, Gates completed an initial public offering (“IPO”), listing on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Our Solutions We operate our business on a product-line basis through our two reporting segments - Power Transmission and Fluid Power . See Note 4 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report for additional information. We sell our products under the Gates brand in all of the geographies and end markets we serve, as well as under select customer brands in certain markets. Our Power Transmission segment includes elastomer drive belts and related components used to efficiently transfer power in a broad range of applications. Power transmission products represented approximately 62% of our total net sales for Fiscal 2025. Our Fluid Power segment includes hoses, tubing and fittings designed to convey hydraulic fluid at high pressures in both mobile and stationary applications, and other high-pressure and fluid transfer hoses.…