The Gates Rubber Company and the Nitta Corporation today announced their plan to open a power transmission factory in Thailand.  Gates Unitta Thailand Company will be jointly owned by Gates (51%) and NITTA (49%) and operated by their Asian joint venture company Gates Nitta Asia Pacific Company (GNAPCO).

The new factory will be located at the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate at Rayong, South East of Bangkok and will commence production in February 2003.  The plant will produce a range of Synchronous, Micro-V and V-Belt and related power transmission products for the automotive and industrial markets in the region.

The Gates Rubber Company was established in 1911 and today is the world's largest producer of power transmission belts.  The Nitta Corporation was established in 1885 and became Japan's first successful operation in the manufacture of transmission belts.

GNAPCO, the Asian wing of Gates World Wide Power Transmission Division, already operates from plants in Japan, Korea and China and has distribution facilities in Singapore and Taiwan and a branch office in Hong Kong.

This investment positions GNAPCO strategically to manufacture inside the growing ASEAN trading block and demonstrates its commitment to best serve its customers needs for power transmission products and support- services close to their base of operation.

The Gates Global Power Transmission Division is a part of The Gates Group of Companies, which serve customers worldwide in the industrial and automotive markets with a full line of products and systems components.  The Gates Group manufactures and markets Gates?power transmission systems, fluid transfer systems; Formed-Fibre?head liner and molded trunk liners; Stant?closure caps and onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) valves; Trico?windshield wiper systems; Tridon?electronic turn signal flashers and sensors; Ideal?and Tridon?hose clamps; Standard-Thomson?thermostats; Fedco?heater cores; Schrader?remote tire pressure monitoring systems (RTPMS) and tire valves: Amflo? Camel?and Tru-Flate?tire hardware, tire repair and air accessories; Plews?and LubriMatic?lubrication  equipment, oils and greases; and Edelmann?automotive fittings and power steering hose assemblies.