More than seventy years ago co-founders Marlan and Rosemary Bourns set up shop in their tiny 384 square-foot garage in Altadena, California. Their idea to provide a method of accurately determining an aircraft's pitch attitude solved a crucial problem for pilots. The invention of the first miniature linear motion and vane position potentiometers propelled their tiny business into a global corporation, manufacturing a range of products that impact almost every aspect of today's electronics industry.
From its earliest days, Bourns established a benchmark for quality, value, and innovation. In 1952, Bourns patented the world's first trimming potentiometer, trademarked Trimpot®. Bourns' dedication to excellence ensures continuous improvement of its products and services to satisfy customer requirements on a global basis.
The company, with worldwide headquarters in Riverside, California and fourteen other facilities around the world has continued growing through acquisitions and start-ups. Product lines now include precision potentiometers, panel controls, encoders, resistor/capacitor networks, chip resistors/arrays, inductors, transformers, resettable fuses, thyristor-based overvoltage protectors, line feed resistors, gas discharge tubes, telephone station protectors, 5-pin protectors, industrial signal, irrigation and petroleum protectors, CATV coax protectors, signal data protectors, indoor and outdoor POT splitters, network interface devices, and integrated circuits.
Bourns, Inc. serves a broad range of markets, including telecommunications, computer, industrial, instrumentation, automotive, consumer, audio, and medical.