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Williams Controls Names Investment Banker to Pursue Strategic Alternatives; Names New CEO and President

8 January 2001

Williams Controls Names Investment Banker to Pursue Strategic Alternatives; Names New CEO and President

    PORTLAND, Ore., and FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Jan. 8 Williams Controls, Inc. announced today that the company has
retained the investment banking firm W.Y. Campbell & Company to act as its
financial advisor and assist the Company in evaluating and pursuing various
strategic alternatives available to the Company, including a possible sale of
the company or its operating units.
    The company also announced that Thomas K. Ziegler has been named chief
executive officer, chief operating officer and president of Williams Controls,
replacing Thomas W. Itin who has retired from those same positions that he has
held since 1988.  Mr. Ziegler has been with the organization since 1994 as
vice president of Williams Controls and as president of Williams Technologies,
Inc., responsible for managing the company's strategic business relationships
with outside parties.  Mr. Ziegler will manage the investment banking
relationship and oversee the operations of the company and its subsidiaries.
    W.Y. Campbell & Company (WYC&C), based in Detroit, is a leading
international specialty investment banking firm concentrating on middle market
merger and divestiture activity, targeting companies with sales of $50 million
to $500 million.  WYC&C has represented a number of Fortune 500 companies,
including numerous automotive manufacturing companies and Tier 1 automotive
and truck suppliers, and has completed in excess of 200 sell-side transactions
during the last 12 years.
    The company expects that W.Y. Campbell & Company will immediately complete
a business review and develop a definitive recommendation for the approval of
the board of Williams Controls.  WYC&C will then work with management to
execute the approved plan and enter into discussions and/or negotiations with
third parties regarding the alternatives identified.
    Commenting on these developments, Mr. Ziegler stated, "Management and the
board do not believe that our current share price reflects the true value of
the operations of our company, and we have decided to engage W.Y. Campbell &
Company to explore strategic alternatives that may be available to us to
improve and maximize shareholder value.  We believe that their qualifications,
experience, capabilities and market focus fit the needs of Williams Controls
and that WYC&C is uniquely qualified to assist the company in this effort."
    Mr. Ziegler continued, "We have invested considerable resources in our
businesses over the last three years, in terms of developing new products and
new markets, especially in the sensors and controls parts of our business.  We
believe that exploring various alternatives available to the company will help
us in our efforts to maximize the value of these assets to our company's
shareholders.  We expect that WYC&C will move on an aggressive timetable to
complete their assignment."
    Williams Controls is a designer, manufacturer and integrator of sensors,
controls and communications systems for the transportation and communications
industries.  For more information, you can find Williams Controls on the
Internet at http://www.wmco.com .
    The statements included in this news release concerning predictions of
economic performance and management's plans and objectives constitute forward-
looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1934, as amended.  These statements involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements.  Factors which could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, factors detailed in the
Securities and Exchange Commission filings of the company; economic downturns
affecting the operations of the company or any of its business operations,
competition, the continued availability of the financing to fund the company's
operations, and the ability of the company or its investment banker to
successfully identify and implement any strategic alternatives.  The forward-
looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date
hereof and the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.