Gore-Tex

Fabric brand manufactured by W.L. Gore & associates, one of the 200 largest US private corporations. Its success in several fields — among which shoe designing and fabric lamination — has been obtained through innovation and research aiming at the setting of avant-garde techniques. For 45 years this was the company’s commitment, whose business started in 1958 when Bill Gore and his wife, Vieve gave birth to W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. in their house’s basement. Bill and Vieve’s efforts were joined by those of their son, Bob who was a chemical engineering student at the time. The first patent concerned a solution set by Bob for a new isolated cable in Pfte, which gave origin to a material called Gore-Tex, a membrane of expanded polytetetrafluoethylene (porous Teflon), with characteristics of absolute impermeability, air-conditioning, windproofing, excellent transpiration characteristics, and elevated comfort propriety. This was followed by new electronic products, thanks to which the company began to expand. A few years later, this expansion was made through the use of pharmaceutical products. In the late 1960s, the company’s plants were located in Delaware, Arizona, Scotland, Germany, and Japan. Gore intervened in space technology that took the Americans to the moon, in high-performance techniques used all over the world, and in computer technologies. The exclusive textile technologies created by Gore must be attributed to the revolutionary membranes that the company invented: thin, light, and time resistant. The company’s brands are Gore, Gore-Tex, Preclude, Hemobahn, Excluder, Glide, and Windstopper. The Italian headquarters is in Cavaion, near Verona. The main headquarters is in Newark, Delaware.
For the fans of mountain and trekking, Duratherm’s technology guaranteed warmth and comfort even at the lowest temperatures. Gore-Tex applied it to the shoes presented at Ispo in Munich.
Gore-Tex launched the new Paclite of ‘third generation’, which had undergone several improvements after the first model proposed in 1998 and its successive evolution in 2000. For climbers, for lovers of long and difficult travels, the new Paclite applications offered a minor overall dimension in luggage. It used a protective layer made by a substance oleophobic in carbon on the membrane, which allows steam to transpire and does not let anything in. The system, besides maintaining the membrane for a longer period, does not require an internal linen. Compared to the previous laminated, it is 15% lighter, more compressible and resistant, while transpiration and waterproofing are increased by 40%. Clothing manufactured in Gore-Tex Paclite are softer and more comfortable, more versatile, and sophisticated. Besides the classic mountain clothing, this material is also perfect for casual and sport garments. Thanks to the new adopted methodologies, the price has diminished by 25%. Gore-Tex, with its 114 research laboratories, launched a product that covered every need in the world of sport.
Notwithstanding the difficult market conditions, Gore-Tex was not affected by the crisis. The diversification of products, not only highly technical in content, but also enlarged to include sportswear and city fashion, led to the brand in collaboration with Prada Sport. Two new products have also been launched: Airvantage, which exploited the principle of double glasses through inflatable interspaces, and Xcr Stretch Fabric which reduced transpiration.
Gore-Tex, after years of research focused on technological perfection for extreme and dangerous sports, tried to reach the city and outdoor market with a new product, Gore-Tex Xcr. The newly created membrane of the American company reduced its thickness (0.6 mm) and growth in transpiration (+50%).