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Williams Controls Awarded Electronic Throttle Control Business

26 January 1999

Williams Controls Awarded Electronic Throttle Control Business By PACCAR Division

    PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 26 --  Williams Controls, Inc.
announced that its subsidiary, Williams Controls Industries,
has been awarded the contract to supply electronic throttle controls to the
Peterbilt Division of PACCAR, Inc.  Peterbilt is a leading manufacturer of
heavy- and medium-duty trucks serving the long-haul trucking industry.
    The contract is an addition to Williams Controls' market leading share of
ETCs supplied to heavy- and medium-duty truck manufacturers.  Under this
contract, Williams Controls Industries will begin to supply its electronic
throttle controls (ETCs) to Peterbilt for its Class 5, 6, 7 and 8 truck
models.  Limited production will begin during April of this year, with full
production expected to begin in June.
    This contract award follows the January 21, 1999 announcement that
Williams Controls Industries, a QS-9000 certified supplier, received PACCAR's
Supplier Quality Certification Award.
    Williams Controls chairman and CEO Thomas W. Itin stated, "Receiving this
contract is the culmination of seven years of work to get our electronic
throttle controls into Peterbilt trucks.  We are pleased that this effort has
resulted in our being able to supply one of the top truck manufacturers in the
world with what we believe is the best product available in the market today."
    Vice President and General Manager of Williams Controls Industries, Dennis
C. Knowlton, stated, "Receiving PACCAR's Supplier Quality Certification Award
was a critical element in our getting the Peterbilt business.  More
importantly, as a Quality Certified Supplier to PACCAR, we are in a position
to capture long term agreements and pursue other business with the PACCAR
companies that was not possible prior to this award."
    Williams Controls is a leading manufacturer and integrator of innovative
sensors, controls and communications systems for the transportation and
communications industries.  For more information, you can reach the Company at
http://www.wmco.com on the World Wide Web.
    Forward-looking statements in this news release, if any, are made under
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.  Certain important factors could cause results to differ materially from
those anticipated by the statements, including the impact of changing economic
or business conditions, the impact of competition, the availability of
financing, the success of products in the marketplace, other factors inherent
in the industry and other factors discussed from time to time in reports filed
by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.