Gates Continues Support of FIRST Robotics Competition

Denver, CO, February 03, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Gates Corporation today announced plans to support the 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) for a fourth consecutive year. Gates, a Crown Supplier for the FRC, will donate over $500,000 worth of power transmission products to be used by students to design and build robots which are then tested in competitive games.

The annual competition helps students to experience the excitement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and to discover the potential rewards a career in these fields can offer. More than 50,000 high-school students from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Turkey, and the U.K. will participate this year.

Teams will compete in Regional Competitions throughout the U.S. during the spring with regional winners attending the FIRST Robotics Championship in St. Louis, Missouri April 27-30, 2011.

An official supplier of its PowerGrip® belts and sprockets to the competition, Gates also provides the support of enthusiastic volunteers who counsel teams on design questions and technical problems, and support the teams during competitive events.

For a second consecutive year, Gates will award multiple $2,000 collegiate scholarships to high school seniors participating in the program. Scholarship finalists are determined by Gates engineering teams, with the six final winners being selected by Gates executives.

Tribby Warfield, President of Gates North America Power Transmission, stated, “Gates believes in the impact of this Competition to stimulate the imaginations of these young, eager students, and, hopefully, direct their creative energies and enthusiasm to careers as future engineers. We are delighted to once again offer our support and active participation to this excellent program.”

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, the not-for-profit organization designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in STEM.

For more information on the Gates Corporation sponsorship of the FIRST Robotics Competition, visit www.gates.com/FIRST. For more information on FIRST, visit www.usfirst.org.

About Gates Corporation
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Gates Corporation (gates.com) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial and automotive products, systems and components with operations in 29 countries. Gates is part of the Industrial & Automotive group of Tomkins plc, which is owned by a consortium comprising Onex and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.

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