Williams Controls Names General Manager for Largest Subsidiary
17 December 1997
Williams Controls Names General Manager for Largest Subsidiary
PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 17 -- Williams Controls, Inc.
announced that it has named Dennis C. Knowlton as Vice
President and General Manager of its Williams Controls Industries, Inc.
subsidiary in Portland, Oregon. This subsidiary is the largest and most
profitable of the Williams Controls companies, manufacturing electronic and
pneumatic sensors and control systems for the heavy truck and automotive
industries.
Dennis Knowlton brings extensive manufacturing and leadership experience
to the Portland operation, including a background in both U.S. and European
automotive parts manufacturing. His twenty year career with Delphi Interior
and Lighting Systems Division of General Motors Corporation included four
years as Operations Director for Fisher Body Overseas Corporation in Northern
Ireland. He was also Manufacturing Business Unit Manager for the Flint,
Michigan plant of Delphi. As Quality Manager of Delphi's Flint operation, he
was responsible for directing and managing all quality-related programs and
led the effort for this facility to attain certification for the QS-9000
Quality System.
Most recently, Mr. Knowlton was Regional Manager for Team USA Quality
Systems, where he was instrumental in helping another Williams Controls
subsidiary, Premier Plastic Technologies, attain QS-9000 certification earlier
this year. QS-9000 certification is awarded to suppliers that complete a
rigorous operational review to implement a quality process within their
organization, providing for continuous improvement, emphasizing defect
prevention and reducing process variation and waste. Williams Controls
Industries expects to be QS-9000 certified by March 1998.
Williams Controls chairman and CEO Thomas W. Itin stated, "Dennis Knowlton
will play a key role, within the Williams Controls organization, in managing
the growth and expansion of our largest and most profitable subsidiary. With
the upcoming QS-9000 certification, the Portland operation will feature a
focus on quality throughout the organization. Dennis' background in
manufacturing and quality systems, gained through two decades of European and
U.S. automotive parts experience, will provide Williams Controls Industries
with the leadership to expand its current business with truck manufacturers
while seeking opportunities in related markets.
Mr. Itin continued, "We had the chance to see how Dennis operated within
our Portland organization while he was a consultant on our QS-9000
certification. He displayed strong leadership and team building skills with
the people in Portland, and I expect that he will build on that relationship
in his new role as General Manager, focusing our engineering, manufacturing
and marketing resources on foreign and domestic transportation market
opportunities."
Williams Controls is a manufacturer and integrator of sensors, controls,
and communications systems for the transportation, communications and
agriculture industries. For more information, you can reach us at
http://www.wmco.com on the World Wide Web.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the
Company, its current operations and its future prospects, which involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected. These and other risks relating to the Company's business are
set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K and other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Williams Controls, Inc.