Gates, a maker of transmission belts and water pumps, is moving into the data center market.

Founded in 1911 as a tire and rubber firm, Colorado-based Gates is a manufacturer of power transmission belts and fluid power products including pressure washers, hoses, and water pumps.

This week the company announced it was moving into the data center space in partnership with direct-to-chip liquid cooling firm CoolIT Systems.

Together, the companies are working to develop ‘more efficient and reliable’ liquid cooling solutions. Gates said it is leveraging its expertise in materials science, fluid conveyance, and thermal management to offer solutions for the data center cooling market.

The partnership includes developing new solutions and tightening the supply chain between Gates’ North America-based operations and CoolIT's Calgary, Canada manufacturing hub, to support market growth.

"Data center cooling is a natural market extension for Gates,” said Tom Pitstick, president of global strategy for Gates. “We have over a hundred years of experience in thermal management applications and that experience has positioned us well to participate in a wide range of applications, from the electrification of vehicles to high-power industrial applications such as data center cooling,"

Founded in 2001, CoolIT designs, engineers, and manufactures advanced liquid cooling solutions for the data center and desktop markets, including its split-flow direct liquid cooling technology. The company was acquired by KKR and Mubadala last year.

Hamid Rafiei, SVP of global operations at CoolIT Systems, added: "Our partnership with Gates leverages their strong technical capabilities and secures the capacity for key components that are integral in our data center product portfolio. We anticipate being well equipped to address the surging AI market demand with the Gates support."