WL Gore and Associates
Encyclopedia
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. is a manufacturing company specializing in products derived from fluoropolymer
s. It is a privately held corporation headquartered in Newark
, Delaware
, with operations around the globe. Although best known as the developer of waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex
fabrics, Gore’s products are also used in a variety of industrial and consumer products, such as electronic signal transmission, diverse industrial applications and medical implants.
had spent 16 years with the DuPont
Company in a number of technical positions that included fluoropolymer research when he decided to form his own company. While working in his basement, he set out to develop a process for insulating a series of parallel electrical wires using polytetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE), a fluoropolymer discovered in 1938 by Roy Plunkett, a chemist with DuPont. His son, Robert W. Gore
(Bob), in college at the time, suggested a method for encapsulating the wires which proved successful and led to the company’s first patent
. The resulting product was called Multi-Tet cable, a multi-conductor ribbon cable used in computers, communications, and process control equipment.
The company operated from the basement of the Gores' home until 1960, when an order from the Denver Water
Company for seven and a half miles of Multi-Tet cable made it necessary to expand manufacturing capacity. The Gores built a new facility in Delaware, not far from their home, which is still in operation. By 1970, Gore and its subsidiary companies had manufacturing plants for wire and cable in Arizona
, Scotland
, Germany
, and Japan
.
Bob Gore joined the company in 1963 upon completion of a Ph.D. in chemical engineering
at the University of Minnesota
. In 1969, he was researching a process for stretching extruded PTFE into pipe thread tape when he discovered that the polymer could be “expanded.” The discovery followed a series of unsuccessful experiments in which he was attempting to stretch rods of PTFE by about 10%. As it turned out, the right conditions for stretching PTFE were counterintuitive. Instead of slowly stretching the heated material, he applied a sudden, accelerating yank that unexpectedly caused it to stretch about 800%. This resulted in the transformation of the solid PTFE into a microporous structure that was about 70% air. The company initially referred to this new material as “fibrillated PTFE”. One year later, it was given the name of “Gore-Tex expanded PTFE”. Today, expanded PTFE (ePTFE) accounts for the vast majority of the company's products.
In 1985, Bill Gore received the Prince Philip Award for Polymers in the Service of Mankind, which honored Gore’s Medical Products Division. The award is given in recognition of polymer
s that have provided a significant service for mankind. In 2005, the Society of Chemical Industry
presented Bob Gore with the Perkin Medal
, which recognizes the most significant achievements in applied chemistry. In 2006, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
for the invention of ePTFE.
Bill Gore served as president of the company until 1976, when Bob Gore assumed the position. Bill continued as chairman until he died in 1986 at the age of 74. Genevieve (Vieve) Gore continued in active service to the company until she died in 2005 at the age of 91.
Charles (Chuck) Carroll, a long-term business leader in the Electronics and Fabrics Divisions, replaced Bob Gore as president in 2000. Terri Kelly, who joined Gore in 1983 as a mechanical engineer in the Fabrics Division, became president in 2005. Bob Gore continues as Chairman of the Board. The company remains privately held.
Gore is one of the 200 largest privately held companies in the United States
. Gore and its subsidiaries employ approximately 8,500 associates at more than 50 facilities throughout the world in East Asia
, Australia
, Europe
and the Americas
.
magazine's annual list of the U.S. "100 Best Companies to Work For." Its European operations have also earned similar honors. Gore UK has been named seven times by London’s The Sunday Times
as one of the “Best Companies to Work For.” In 2009, Gore Germany ranked eighth in the "100 Best Places to Work in Germany" among mid-sized companies. Gore Italy ranked sixth among the "35 Best Places to Work in Italy." Gore France topped the list of “Best Workplaces in France” while Gore Scandinavia ranked fourth among small companies on the list of “Best Workplaces in Sweden.” Gore was listed 12th on the “50 Best Large Workplaces in Europe 2009.”
An important factor in this recognition is Gore’s unique culture, which evolved from the company’s success with small teams during its early years. This approach to business was based on Bill Gore’s experience with “task force teams” while he was employed at the DuPont Company. Such groups were formed at DuPont on an ad hoc basis to attack problem situations. They were usually multidisciplinary and typically operated for short periods of time outside of the company’s formal management hierarchy.
Bill Gore first presented the concept of a “lattice” organization to Gore associates in 1967. He later refined his ideas and presented what he termed “culture principles” in a paper entitled “The Lattice Organization – A Philosophy of Enterprise.” It was distributed to Gore associates in 1976.
Unlike the traditional management structure that Bill Gore had experienced at DuPont, he proposed a flat, lattice-like organizational structure where everyone shares the same title of “associate.” There are neither chains of command nor predetermined channels of communication. Leaders replace the idea of “bosses.” Associates choose to follow leaders rather than have bosses assigned to them. Associate contribution reviews are based on a peer-level rating system.
Bill Gore articulated four culture principles that he called freedom, fairness, commitment and waterline:
In the lattice organization, associates are encouraged to communicate directly with each other and are accountable to fellow members of their teams. Hands-on product innovation and prototyping are encouraged. Teams typically organize around opportunities, new product concepts, or businesses. As teams evolve, leaders frequently emerge as they gain followership. This unusual organizational structure and culture has been shown to be a significant contributor to associate satisfaction and retention.
This corporate culture was highlighted in Malcolm Gladwell's
2000 book, The Tipping Point
.
In addition to these properties, PTFE is soft and mechanically weak, which can be a disadvantage in certain applications. However, Gore has developed capabilities using forms of expanded PTFE with engineered microstructures that can significantly increase its strength
and durability
. Other Gore capabilities enable different materials to be incorporated into the ePTFE microstructure, such as catalysts and antimicrobial agents. This leads to products that can extend the inherent properties of PTFE, such as gas diffusion
membranes with chemical reactivity.
Gore’s product portfolio derives from a number of basic ePTFE forms that include tubes, fibers, tapes, membranes and custom shapes, such as gaskets and patches. Extreme performance testing and reliability are important steps in the development process.
Fibers
Tubes
Tapes
Membranes
Custom forms
Electronic Products Division
Industrial Products Division
Medical Products Division
Fabrics Division
Fluoropolymer
A fluoropolymer is a fluorocarbon based polymer with multiple strong carbon–fluorine bonds. It is characterized by a high resistance to solvents, acids, and bases.-History:Fluoropolymers were accidentally discovered in 1938 by Dr. Roy J...
s. It is a privately held corporation headquartered in Newark
Newark, Delaware
Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, with operations around the globe. Although best known as the developer of waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex
Gore-Tex
Gore-Tex is a waterproof/breathable fabric, and a registered trademark of W. L. Gore and Associates. It was co-invented by Wilbert L. Gore, Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W. Gore. Robert Gore was granted on April 27, 1976, for a porous form of polytetrafluoroethylene with a...
fabrics, Gore’s products are also used in a variety of industrial and consumer products, such as electronic signal transmission, diverse industrial applications and medical implants.
History
The company was founded in 1958 by Wilbert (Bill) Lee Gore and his wife Genevieve (Vieve) Walton Gore in Newark. Bill GoreBill Gore
Wilbert L. "Bill" Gore was a businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded W. L. Gore and Associates with his wife, Genevieve . He gained international attention and respect for nurturing the company from a home-based family business into a worldwide corporation while practicing a unique management...
had spent 16 years with the DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
Company in a number of technical positions that included fluoropolymer research when he decided to form his own company. While working in his basement, he set out to develop a process for insulating a series of parallel electrical wires using polytetrafluoroethylene
Polytetrafluoroethylene
Polytetrafluoroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that finds numerous applications. PTFE is most well known by the DuPont brand name Teflon....
(PTFE), a fluoropolymer discovered in 1938 by Roy Plunkett, a chemist with DuPont. His son, Robert W. Gore
Robert W. Gore
Robert W. "Bob" Gore is an American engineer and scientist, inventor and businessman, who along with his father Bill Gore invented Gore-Tex, a waterproof/breathable fabric made from polytetrafluoroethylene ....
(Bob), in college at the time, suggested a method for encapsulating the wires which proved successful and led to the company’s first patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
. The resulting product was called Multi-Tet cable, a multi-conductor ribbon cable used in computers, communications, and process control equipment.
The company operated from the basement of the Gores' home until 1960, when an order from the Denver Water
Denver Water
Denver Water serves 1.3 million people in the City and County of Denver, Colorado and a portion of its surrounding suburbs. Established in 1918, the utility is a public agency funded by water rates and new tap fees, not taxes. It is Colorado's oldest and largest water utility.-Overview:A five...
Company for seven and a half miles of Multi-Tet cable made it necessary to expand manufacturing capacity. The Gores built a new facility in Delaware, not far from their home, which is still in operation. By 1970, Gore and its subsidiary companies had manufacturing plants for wire and cable in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Bob Gore joined the company in 1963 upon completion of a Ph.D. in chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. In 1969, he was researching a process for stretching extruded PTFE into pipe thread tape when he discovered that the polymer could be “expanded.” The discovery followed a series of unsuccessful experiments in which he was attempting to stretch rods of PTFE by about 10%. As it turned out, the right conditions for stretching PTFE were counterintuitive. Instead of slowly stretching the heated material, he applied a sudden, accelerating yank that unexpectedly caused it to stretch about 800%. This resulted in the transformation of the solid PTFE into a microporous structure that was about 70% air. The company initially referred to this new material as “fibrillated PTFE”. One year later, it was given the name of “Gore-Tex expanded PTFE”. Today, expanded PTFE (ePTFE) accounts for the vast majority of the company's products.
In 1985, Bill Gore received the Prince Philip Award for Polymers in the Service of Mankind, which honored Gore’s Medical Products Division. The award is given in recognition of polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
s that have provided a significant service for mankind. In 2005, the Society of Chemical Industry
Society of Chemical Industry
The Society of Chemical Industry is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Its purpose is "Promoting the commercial application of science for the benefit of society". Its first president was Henry Enfield Roscoe and...
presented Bob Gore with the Perkin Medal
Perkin Medal
The Perkin Medal is an award given annually by the American section of the Society of Chemical Industry to a scientist residing in America for an "innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development." It is considered the highest honor given in the US industrial chemical...
, which recognizes the most significant achievements in applied chemistry. In 2006, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging invention and creativity through the administration of its programs. The Hall of Fame honors the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human,...
for the invention of ePTFE.
Bill Gore served as president of the company until 1976, when Bob Gore assumed the position. Bill continued as chairman until he died in 1986 at the age of 74. Genevieve (Vieve) Gore continued in active service to the company until she died in 2005 at the age of 91.
Charles (Chuck) Carroll, a long-term business leader in the Electronics and Fabrics Divisions, replaced Bob Gore as president in 2000. Terri Kelly, who joined Gore in 1983 as a mechanical engineer in the Fabrics Division, became president in 2005. Bob Gore continues as Chairman of the Board. The company remains privately held.
Gore is one of the 200 largest privately held companies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Gore and its subsidiaries employ approximately 8,500 associates at more than 50 facilities throughout the world in East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
Gore Culture
In 2009, for the twelfth consecutive year, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. earned a position on FortuneFortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
magazine's annual list of the U.S. "100 Best Companies to Work For." Its European operations have also earned similar honors. Gore UK has been named seven times by London’s The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
as one of the “Best Companies to Work For.” In 2009, Gore Germany ranked eighth in the "100 Best Places to Work in Germany" among mid-sized companies. Gore Italy ranked sixth among the "35 Best Places to Work in Italy." Gore France topped the list of “Best Workplaces in France” while Gore Scandinavia ranked fourth among small companies on the list of “Best Workplaces in Sweden.” Gore was listed 12th on the “50 Best Large Workplaces in Europe 2009.”
An important factor in this recognition is Gore’s unique culture, which evolved from the company’s success with small teams during its early years. This approach to business was based on Bill Gore’s experience with “task force teams” while he was employed at the DuPont Company. Such groups were formed at DuPont on an ad hoc basis to attack problem situations. They were usually multidisciplinary and typically operated for short periods of time outside of the company’s formal management hierarchy.
Bill Gore first presented the concept of a “lattice” organization to Gore associates in 1967. He later refined his ideas and presented what he termed “culture principles” in a paper entitled “The Lattice Organization – A Philosophy of Enterprise.” It was distributed to Gore associates in 1976.
Unlike the traditional management structure that Bill Gore had experienced at DuPont, he proposed a flat, lattice-like organizational structure where everyone shares the same title of “associate.” There are neither chains of command nor predetermined channels of communication. Leaders replace the idea of “bosses.” Associates choose to follow leaders rather than have bosses assigned to them. Associate contribution reviews are based on a peer-level rating system.
Bill Gore articulated four culture principles that he called freedom, fairness, commitment and waterline:
- Associates have the freedom to encourage, help, and allow other associates to grow in knowledge, skill, and scope of responsibility
- Associates should demonstrate fairness to each other and everyone with whom they come in contact
- Associates are provided the ability to make one's own commitments and are expected to keep them
- A waterline situation involves consultation with other associates before undertaking actions that could impact the reputation or profitability of the company and otherwise “sink the ship.”
In the lattice organization, associates are encouraged to communicate directly with each other and are accountable to fellow members of their teams. Hands-on product innovation and prototyping are encouraged. Teams typically organize around opportunities, new product concepts, or businesses. As teams evolve, leaders frequently emerge as they gain followership. This unusual organizational structure and culture has been shown to be a significant contributor to associate satisfaction and retention.
This corporate culture was highlighted in Malcolm Gladwell's
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
2000 book, The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference is a book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little Brown in 2000....
.
Product Portfolio
Gore’s product line builds around a core material set using expanded PTFE and other fluoropolymers. PTFE has a combination of properties well suited to high performance applications. Some of those properties are- Low dielectric constantDielectric constantThe relative permittivity of a material under given conditions reflects the extent to which it concentrates electrostatic lines of flux. In technical terms, it is the ratio of the amount of electrical energy stored in a material by an applied voltage, relative to that stored in a vacuum...
(good electrical insulator) - High thermal resistance (-200°C to + 260°C)
- Low coefficient of friction
- Low flammabilityFlammabilityFlammability is defined as how easily something will burn or ignite, causing fire or combustion. The degree of difficulty required to cause the combustion of a substance is quantified through fire testing. Internationally, a variety of test protocols exist to quantify flammability...
- UV-resistant
- Hydrophobic and oleophobic (non-wetting to water and oil)
- Chemically inert (and biocompatible)
In addition to these properties, PTFE is soft and mechanically weak, which can be a disadvantage in certain applications. However, Gore has developed capabilities using forms of expanded PTFE with engineered microstructures that can significantly increase its strength
Strength of materials
In materials science, the strength of a material is its ability to withstand an applied stress without failure. The applied stress may be tensile, compressive, or shear. Strength of materials is a subject which deals with loads, deformations and the forces acting on a material. A load applied to a...
and durability
Durable good
In economics, a durable good or a hard good is a good that does not quickly wear out, or more specifically, one that yields utility over time rather than being completely consumed in one use. Items like bricks or jewellery could be considered perfectly durable goods, because they should...
. Other Gore capabilities enable different materials to be incorporated into the ePTFE microstructure, such as catalysts and antimicrobial agents. This leads to products that can extend the inherent properties of PTFE, such as gas diffusion
Diffusion
Molecular diffusion, often called simply diffusion, is the thermal motion of all particles at temperatures above absolute zero. The rate of this movement is a function of temperature, viscosity of the fluid and the size of the particles...
membranes with chemical reactivity.
Gore’s product portfolio derives from a number of basic ePTFE forms that include tubes, fibers, tapes, membranes and custom shapes, such as gaskets and patches. Extreme performance testing and reliability are important steps in the development process.
Gore Products
A representative list of Gore products follows:Fibers
- Weaving and sewing threads
- Dental floss
- High tensile strength fibers
- Packing materials
- Filtration felts
Tubes
- Peristaltic pump tubing
- Vascular grafts and stent grafts
- Endoscope sheaths
- Medical instrumentation cable sheaths
- Oil exploration probes
- Ground reclamation analytical sensors
Tapes
- High frequency data cables
- Space exploration wire and cable
- Microwave transmission cables and connectors
- Flat cables for extreme environments
- Guitar strings
- Shifting and braking cables for bicycles
Membranes
- Waterproof, breathable laminated fabrics
- Static and reactive filtration laminates
- Fuel cell electrodes
- Battery electrodes and separators
- Super-capacitor electrodes
- Dielectric shields
- Vents
Custom forms
- Surgical implant patches and meshes
- Sealing gaskets
- Electromagnetic interference shields and gaskets
Applications of Gore Products
These products are utilized in a wide variety of industries and end uses, which includes the following:- Aerospace
- Automotive and transportation
- Chemical process industries
- Clean room operations
- Communications
- Computing and electronics
- Energy
- Environmental reclaim and composting
- Healthcare and medical
- Industrial manufacturing
- Military and defense
- Outdoor apparel and sports clothing
- Pharmaceutical manufacture
- Safety and protection
Trademarks
The company has more than 200 active registered U.S. and foreign trademarks. The following is a partial list of its more widely used marks:Electronic Products Division
- GORE-FLIGHT Microwave Assemblies
- GORE-SHIELD EMI Gaskets
- GORE EYE-OPENER + Conductor Technology
- GORE Infiniband Assemblies
- GORE PHASEFLEX Microwave/RF Test Assemblies
- GORE POLARCHIP Thermal Interface Material
- GORE SIL-KORE Tubing and Jacketing
- GORE SKYFLEX Aircraft Sealant
- GORE SNAPSHOT EMI Shield
- GORE SPEEDBOARD C Prepreg
- GORE TETRAD MicroArrays
Industrial Products Division
- CLEANSTREAM Vacuum Cleaner Filters
- ELIXIR Strings
- ELIXIR Cables
- GORE Cooling Filters
- GORE INLIGHTEN Window Screens
- GORE LYOGUARD Freeze-Drying Products
- GORE PRIMEA Membrane Electrode Assemblies
- GORE Packaging Vents
- GORE Protective Vents
- GORE REMEDIA Catalytic Filtration
- GORE RIDE-ON Bike Cables
- GORE STA-PURE Tubing
- GORE TENARA Architectural Fabrics
- GORE TENARA Sewing Thread
- GORE Turbine Filters
- PRISTYNE Filter Media by Gore
Medical Products Division
- GORE DUALMESH Biomaterial
- GORE EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis
- GORE HELEX Septal Occluder
- GORE INFINIT Mesh
- GORE INTERING Vascular Graft
- GORE MYCROMESH Biomaterial
- GORE PRECLUDE Pericardial Membrane
- GORE PROCEL Cast Liner
- GORE PROPATEN Bioactive Surface
- GORE PROPATEN Vascular Graft
- GORE SEAMGUARD Staple Line Reinforcement
- GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis
- GORE VIABAHN Endoprosthesis
- GORE VIABIL Biliary Endoprosthesis
- GORE VIATORR Endoprosthesis
Fabrics Division
- CROSSTECH products
- GORE BIKE WEAR products
- GORE RUNNING WEAR products
- GORE CHEMPAK Selectively Permeable Fabric
- GORE CHEMPAK Ultra Barrier Fabric
- GORE Medical Protective Fabrics
- GORE Cover for Composting
- GORE OPTIFADE Concealment
- GORE-SEAM Tape
- GORE-TEX products
- GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY promise
- SURROUND Product Technology
- WINDSTOPPERWindstopperWindstopper is a fabric laminate made by W.L. Gore & Associates. It is similar to Gore-Tex, except that it is only windproof and breathable, not waterproof...
products
External links
- Gore Corporate Web Site
- GORE-TEX Fabric
- ELIXIR Strings
- CLEANSTREAM Filters
- Gore Medical Division
- GORE OPTIFADE Concealment
- Alan Deutschman. The Fabric of Creativity. Fast Company. : An article describing the Gore business culture