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TRW Family of Companies company history timeline

1964

To this end, in 1964 they sold the microwave division and the division that made hi-fidelity components, intercoms, and language laboratories.

The 7 percent profit margin of the new acquisitions, which had a combined profit of $5.7 million on sales of $76.5 million, helped boost TRW's overall margin to 4 percent in 1964, up a percentage point from the year earlier.

1965

Five years later, the two companies merged into Thompson Ramo Wooldridge, which shortened its name to TRW in 1965.

1965: Company is renamed TRW Inc.

1968

The company looked for future growth to run about 10 percent. It had acquired 38 companies through 1968, a pace it would not be able to maintain indefinitely.

1969

In 1969 TRW named a new president, Ruben F. Mettler.

1970

For the five years preceding 1970, the company had average earning jumps of 27 percent annually and an average 23 percent increase annually in sales.

1972

In 1972, for example, it purchased 70 percent of Repa Feinstanzwerk, GmbH, a German-based seat belt producer.

1976

TRW made a risky venture in 1976, entering the tricky market of electronic point-of-sale machines.

1980

In 1980 TRW and Fujitsu Ltd., Japan's largest computer maker, formed a joint venture.

1989

In 1989 TRW made a huge and risky commitment to what at the time was an unprofitable business: air bags.

1991

With its two main sectors down, overall TRW sales for 1991 fell 3.1 percent to $7.91 billion.

Until the fourth quarter of 1991, TRW lo st money on air bags.

1992

In total, the company invested more than half a billion dollars in its air-bag business by 1992.

1994

On the negative side, Talley Industries brought a lawsuit against TRW in 1994, which resulted in a $138 million ju dgment against TRW the following year.

1995

In 1995 TRW was ranked at 126th in the Fortune 500 and continued to be headquartered in Cleveland where it had 1,800 employees and headquarters in LYNDHURST.

1996

The units, based in Germany, had 1996 sale s of $688 million.

LucasVarity, the product of a 1996 merger of Lucas Industries Plc and Varity Corporation, was a leading producer of automotive brakes, and the merger was expected to enable TRW to make integrated systems involving TRW's steering and suspensio n components and the acquired firm's brakes.

1996: TRW divests its Information Systems and Services unit, w hich is later renamed Experian Corp.

1998

With air bags now profitable and generating $600 million in annual revenue, the company aimed to take advantage of their incre asing popularity with consumers and the mandatory inclusion of dual a ir bags in vehicles by the year 1998.

1999

Late in 1999, in the meantime, David M. Cote was brought onboard as president and chief operating officer as well as h eir apparent to Gorman.

1999: British auto-parts maker LucasVarity plc is acquired for $7 billion.

2000

Gorman had to find ways to relieve the company of some of this burden, and toward a goal of cutting debt by $2.5 bi llion TRW divested several noncore automotive units by early 2000.

TRW's automotive operations now generated nearly two-thirds of TRW's sales, which totaled $17.2 billion in 2000.

2001

That year it purchased Talley Ind ustries Inc.'s driver-side air bag unit for $85 million, plus roy alties on any air bag sold in North America through the year 2001.

The newly named TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was head ed by John C. Plant, who had been president and CEO of the former TRW 's automotive business since 2001.

2002

TRW Inc. was purchased by military contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation for $7.8 billion in stock in 2002.

2004

Blackstone the n took the newly named TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. public through a February 2004 initial public offering, after which Blackstone held a 56.7 percent interest in TRW, Northrop Grumman, 17.2 percent (later reduced to less than 10 percent), and TRW management, 1.7 percent.

Blackstone took TRW public in February 2004, selling 24.1 million sha res of common stock at $28 per share.

2005

In September 2005 TRW r eached an agreement to acquire majority control of Dalphi Metal Espan a, S.A. for $240 million.

2015

In 2015, German parts manufacturer Z. F. Friedrichshafen purchased TRW Automotive and renamed the operation ZF TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.

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Founded
1964
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Headquarters
Houston, TX
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TRW Family of Companies may also be known as or be related to TRW Family of Companies, Trw Family Of Companies and T R W Modernfold Company, Inc.