Founded by Marlan and Rosemary Bourns in 1947 in a tiny single car garage, Bourns, Inc. has become a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of electronic components such as resistive products, automotive sensors, circuit protection solutions and microelectronic modules.

The Riverside-based company serves customers in the industrial, consumer, telecommunications and automotive electronics markets with locations in the US, Mexico, Central America, Europe, Taiwan and China. Bourns products, including the then revolutionary Trimpot® trimming potentiometer which Marlan invented, have been used in everything from the Apollo Space program, where critical controls for the lunar landing module and astronaut space suits relied on Bourns components to electronic stability controls for today’s automobiles.

Marlan and Rosemary built the company, which moved to Riverside in 1950, around a simple philosophy: provide top-quality products, responsive service and high value for customers. These ideals are still the benchmarks of Bourns, Inc., which has grown from a few engineers to more than 4,400 employees today!

Unlike many family-owned companies, Bourns has successfully transitioned ownership from one generation to the next. Marlan and Rosemary’s children – Gordon, Linda, Anita and Denise – all have ownership interests in the firm and have played key managerial roles in developing the company. Gordon, who has served as Chairman of the Board and CEO since 1990, together with a very capable management team and dedicated employees, has positioned Bourns, Inc. for continued profitable growth. Some of the third generation family members, Marlan and Rosemary’s grandchildren, are now working in the business and plans are in place for the next generational transfer of ownership and stewardship of the family business.

In addition to its business success, the Bourns name is synonymous with community involvement and charitable causes. The family created the Bourns Foundation to formalize the process of supporting worthy causes in the region, and among its most notable contributions has been the establishment of the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California Riverside.

From founders Marlan and Rosemary to their children Gordon, Linda, Anita and Denise, all the way to the incoming third generation of family participants, the Bourns family has demonstrated over its 63-year history that quality products, responsive service, family solidarity and community involvement are a formula for long term business success!