Williams Controls products comprise: hydraulic, electronic and pneumatic throttle controls, adjustable pedal systems, configurable joysticks, sensors, hand controls and armrest systems for use on all types of commercial vehicles. The products are the legacy of the Williams Controls company started in 1937 and acquired by Curtiss-Wright in 2012. Williams Controls Inc. was founded in 1937 by Norman C. Williams in Portland, Oregon, to make vacuum water valves for cooling the brake drums of logging trucks and trailers. Over the years, the product range grew and in 1962 Williams Controls introduced its first pneumatic throttle control system, which was created to replace long, complex mechanical linkages. In the 1970s Norm Williams sold his interest in the company and it was taken public in 1989.