Vee belts (also known as V-belt or wedge Belts) are an early solution that solved the slippage and alignment problem. The V-belt was developed in 1917 by John Gates of the Gates Rubber Company. The “V” shape of the belt tracks in a mating groove in the pulley (or sheave), with the result that the belt cannot slip off. The belt also tends to wedge into the groove as the load increases — the greater the load, the greater the wedging action — improving torque transmission and making the vee belt an effective solution. They can be supplied at various fixed lengths or as a segmented section ie Nutlink, where the segments are linked (spliced) to form a belt of the required length. For high-power requirements, two or more vee belts can be joined side-by-side in an arrangement called a multi-V, running on matching multi-groove Vee Pulleys. The strength of these belts is obtained by reinforcements with fibers like steel or polyester.