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The story of our enterprise begins, quite simply, in a family home in Newark, Delaware. 

Our company founders, Bill and Vieve Gore, marked the new year — and their 23rd wedding anniversary — by establishing our first operations in their basement on January 1, 1958.

It was a big risk: Both in their mid-forties with five children — two in college — they gave up Bill’s salary as a senior research chemist to pursue a dream. A versatile material had captured Bill’s imagination. He saw great untapped potential in polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, a polymer discovered by Roy Plunkett in 1938.

Fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit, Bill and Vieve explored new opportunities to improve lives and industries through materials science innovation.

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Bill and Vieve Gore looking at papers in an office

In appraising the contributions I might make to society…I have no choice; I’m compelled to try to carry out my plan.

Bill Gore, 1957


Historical Milestones

From encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors in any weather to mending hearts and aiding scientists in discovering the origins of our universe, we have accomplished a lot in the last 65 years.

 

2024 - Envisioning the Future of Eye Care

Gore achieves the first human implants of our investigational synthetic cornea in a pilot study in Mexico City. The device could offer a new solution for corneal blindness when donor corneas fail.

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synthetic cornea procedure

2022 - Next Generation GORE‑TEX Products with ePE Membrane

Our first GORE-TEX Products featuring our ePE membrane launch. It's a key milestone in our responsible performance journey in our fabrics business, providing high-performing, durable products that are engineered for long product life.

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infographic for new ePE membrane
2019 - Fuel Cell Innovation 

Gore earns recognition for fuel cell innovation at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress.

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Image showing the inside of a car that runs on fuel cells

2018 - Protecting Biologics

GORE® Improject Plunger unveiled. Provides the only option for silicone-free delivery of sensitive biologics.

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ImproJect Syringe Products

2016 - Gravitational waves

GORE® High Flex Planar Cables played an important role in enabling astrophysicists in Italy and in the U.S. to detect gravitational Waves, the existence of which were theorized by Albert Einstein nearly a century ago. This work earned the scientists the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018.

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image of space

2012 - Enhancing Communication for Air Travelers

GORE™ Cable-Based Antennas are introduced to provide internet access to passengers aboard commercial airplanes.

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image of cable based antenna product with interior of commercial airplane in the background
2009 - Ensuring a Good Game at Wimbledon

Architectural fabric woven from GORE® Fiber is used in the new retractable roof over Centre Court at London's Wimbledon tennis tournament.

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image of wimbledon center court from view of the stands

2008 - Contributing to Mars Exploration

NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander arrives safely on Mars. GORE® Spaceflight Microwave Cable Assemblies help to transmit data required for the spacecraft to position itself for landing.

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graphic of space craft landing on surface of mars

2004 - Taking Photos in Space

Gore Microwave Cable Assemblies (GMCA) help NASA communicate with and receive pictures from the Spirit and Opportunity spacecrafts on Mars. Gore also supplied cable assemblies for the rovers' radiofrequency subsystems.

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image of mars opportunity spacecraft rover

2001 - Mending Broken Hearts

The GORE® HELEX Septal Occluder, used to treat congenital heart defects, is launched in Europe, Africa, Australia and South America.

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graphic of helex septal occluder
1997 
Advancing Guitar String Technology

Gore introduces ELIXIR® Strings, which dramatically improve string tone life and reinvigorate the market for coated guitar strings.

Minimally Invasive Medical Technology

Gore introduces its first minimally-invasive endovascular prosthesis, marrying ePTFE grafts with Nitinol stents

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image of early elixir guitar strings ad

1997 - Minimally Invasive Medical Technology

Gore introduces its first minimally-invasive endovascular prosthesis, marrying ePTFE grafts with Nitinol stents


1995 - Future of Fuel Cell Technology

Gore introduces a membrane electrode assembly used in fuel cell technology.

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image of early fuel cells with technical blueprints

1994 - Automotive Vents for Superior Performance

Automotive vents offer superior performance in exterior and under-hood environments, allowing components to breathe while resisting water and oil.

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image of mid-1990's ad for auto vents

1993 - Equipping the Hubble Telescope

The COSTAR optics apparatus is developed for the Hubble Space Telescope with 11 sets of polyester insulated ribbon cable from Gore.

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astronauts in space working on hubble telescope

1990 - GORE-TEX Fabrics Proven in Antarctica 

An international team traversing the continent of Antarctica wears GORE-TEX Outerwear. One explorer credits the fabric with saving his life.

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group photo of people in antarctica with winter gear and a gore-tex banner
1988 - Protecting Soldiers 

Gore receives its first major orders for GORE-TEX Fabric for military personnel.

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photo of military member from 1980's in camo gear

1986 - Introducing ePTFE Sutures

GORE-TEX® Suture launches in the United States.

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image of sutures sales flyer from 1980's

1981 
Outfitting the Astronauts

Gore fiber is used in space suits designed for astronauts on the Columbia, NASA's inaugural space shuttle mission.

New Medical Applications Launch

Gore launches its first medical ePTFE patch product, the GORE-TEX® Cardiovascular Patch.

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image of astronaut floating in space with earth in background

1980 - Protecting First Responders 

GORE-TEX® Barriers for firefighting turnout gear is introduced to protect first responders from excessive heat stress.

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image of 1980 advertisement for gore products in firefighter jackets
1976 - GORE-TEX Fabric Launches

Gore makes its first sale of GORE-TEX Fabric to Early Winters, Ltd. catalog, which advertises its GORE-TEX Rainwear as "possibly the most versatile jacket ever made!"

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1970s advertisement for early winds ranwear with gore-tex

1975 - GORE-TEX® Vascular Graft

The first GORE-TEX® Vascular Graft is commercialized, launching Gore's medical business.

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image of 1970's sales material for vascular graft product

1973 - Cleaning the Air with Industrial Filtration

Gore's industrial filter bag business begins. Gore is the first to use expanded PTFE for filtration, pioneering membrane surface filtration to capture contaminants and other particles.

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cutaway image showing filter bags placement

1970 - ePTFE Improves Wire & Cable Products

New high-speed coaxial cables, the first commercialized applications of expanded PTFE in electronics, are introduced for the computer market.

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image of 1970 coaxial cables sales material
1969 - The Discovery of ePTFE

While experimenting with PTFE, Bob Gore stretches the material as rapidly as possible. Instead of breaking, as he expected, the expanded PTFE takes on new properties: strength, porosity and enhanced versatility. The watershed discovery dramatically expands Gore product offerings, opening the door to GORE-TEX Fabrics and other expanded PTFE products.

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bob gore stretching eptfe

1969 - Products Land on the Moon

July 21: NASA’s Apollo 11 lands on the moon. Astronauts Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. and Neil Armstrong install seismographic equipment connected to the lunar lander with a small, lightweight cable manufactured by Gore.

Image Courtesy of NASA

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historical photo of original moon landing

1966 - Supplying NASA

Gore supplies cable for NASA’s Surveyor missions, the first U.S. effort to make a soft landing on the moon.

Image Courtesy of NASA

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historical photo of telstar satellite

1964 - Groundbreaking Computer Relies on Gore Technology

Gore supplies cable for the groundbreaking and highly successful IBM System/360 mainframe computer, the first mass-produced digital computer. Gore is the sole supplier of the transmission lines interconnecting the system.

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historical photo of men in larger computer room

1963 - First Patent Awarded

The company earns its first patent. U.S. Patent 3,082,292 is issued to Bob Gore for the “Multiconductor Wiring Strip” known as MULTI-TET™ Cable. Bob Gore suggested this innovation to his father, Bill, while still a sophomore in college.

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photo of original patents on a a desk with a pair of glasses

1960 - First Products Used in Space

Gore cables are first applied in outer space on the Telstar satellite launched by Bell Laboratories.

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image of news clipping from article about gore products in telstar satelite

1960 - First Major Order is Received 

The business remains focused on solving customer wiring problems with a variety of customized products and receives its first major order – 7.5 miles of insulated ribbon cable for the City of Denver.

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black and white photo of ribbon cable installation in denver
1958 - Founding an Enterprise 

January 1: Wilbert L. (“Bill”) and Genevieve (“Vieve”) Gore launch W. L. Gore & Associates in the basement of their home in Newark, Delaware to pursue their belief in the untapped potential of the polymer polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE. The enterprise’s first product is MULTI-TET™ Insulated Wire and Cable. The ribbon cable will be used most heavily in aerospace applications and the burgeoning computer industry.

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Bill and Vieve Gore looking at papers in an office