Bourns TRIMIT trimming potentiometer 2016-11-06

Bourns, Inc. is an American

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

company that develops, manufactures and supplies

electronic components An electronic component is any basic discrete device or physical entity in an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singular form and are not ...

for a variety of industries including automotive,

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

electronics,

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

equipment and

portable electronics Mobile computing is human–computer interaction in which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage, which allows for the transmission of data, voice, and video. Mobile computing involves mobile communication, mobile hardware ...

. Established in

Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

in 1947 by Marlan and Rosemary Bourns, graduates of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, the company was founded to develop and sell

and

sensors A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

to the aerospace industry. Bourns has 15 manufacturing facilities around the world and has continued growing through the development of new products and technologies as well as through acquisitions. The company has approximately 9000 employees worldwide. Its current Chairman of the Board and CEO is Gordon Bourns, the son of the co-founders.

History

Marlan and Rosemary Bourns started the company in their garage in

in 1947. Their invention of linear motion and vane position potentiometers provided a method of accurately determining an aircraft's pitch, and helped to grow their business into a global corporation. Headquartered in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, Bourns makes and provides a broad range of electronic components and circuit protection devices including automotive

, circuit protection solutions, magnetic and inductor products, specialty engineering and manufacturing services, precision

potentiometers A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. The measuring instrum ...

, panel controls, encoders and resistive products.

Technology innovations

In 1952, Bourns patented the trimming potentiometer, trademarked "Trimpot".Bourns, Inc. - Our Beginnings
Bourns, Inc. In 1995, Bourns acquired VRN's Trimmer assets and introduced the first 4 mm surface-mount sealed tact

switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

. In 2008, Bourns acquired the Transient Blocking Unit (TBU) assets of Fultec Semiconductor, Inc.

Acquisitions

* 2001: Joslyn GDT Division assets * 2003: Telecom Protection assets from Texas Instruments Sensors & Controls Division * 2003: Microelectronic Modules Corporation assets * 2004: MMC's Switch Power Products assets * 2004: RUF Automotive Group * 2005: Tyco/Meggitt's Fuel Card Product assets * 2006: J.W. Miller Magnetics Business * 2006: the Automotive Controls Division assets of SSI Technologies * 2006: Polymer PTC division of Therm-O-Disc, Inc. * 2008: the Transient Blocking Unit (TBU) assets of Fultec Semiconductor, Inc. * 2008: the Protection Products assets of Emerson Network Power Energy Systems * 2009: Central Office Surge Protection Products assets from Corning Cable Systems LLC * 2012: Assets from Jensen Devices AB, Stockholm, Sweden * 2014: Komatsulite Mfg. Co., Ltd * 2015: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.'s trimming potentiometer business

References

External links

Corporate website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090717004640/http://www.edn.com/info/CA6632131.html?industryid=48661 EDN: 19th Annual Innovation Awards {{Authority control Electronics companies of the United States Technology companies of the United States Electronics companies established in 1947 Fabless semiconductor companies Companies based in Riverside, California 1947 establishments in California