| Type | Public (NASDAQ: WWD) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace, Aircraft Engine |
| Founded | 1870 |
| Headquarters | Fort Collins, CO |
| Key people | Thomas A. Gendron, President and CEO |
| Products | Mechanical, Hydraulic, and Electronic Control Systems |
| Revenue | $1.71B [1] USD (%+17.5 FY'10) |
| Employees | 6,200 [2] |
| Website | www.woodward.com |
Woodward Inc. is the world's oldest and largest independent designer, manufacturer, and service provider of energy control solutions for aircraft engines, industrial engines and turbines, power generation and mobile industrial equipment.
Woodward Inc. was founded as The Woodward Governor Company by Amos Woodward in 1870. Woodward Governor Company initially made controls for waterwheels ( first patent No. 103,813 ) and then moved to hydro turbines. In the 1920s and '30s Woodward began designing controls for diesel and other reciprocating engines and for industrial turbines. Also in the 1930s, Woodward developed a governor for variable-pitch aircraft propellers. And when the United States military's first turbine-powered aircraft successfully flew, its G.E. engine had a Woodward control. Starting in the 1950s, Woodward began designing electronic controls, first analog and then digital units.
The journey began in Rockford, Illinois in 1870 with Amos W. Woodward's invention of a noncompensating mechanical waterwheel governor(patent No.103,813).[3] Thirty years later his son, Elmer, patented the first successful mechanical compensating governor for hydraulic turbines(patent No.583,527).[4] In 1933, the company became more diversified by expanding its product line to include diesel engine controls(patent No.2,039,507) and aircraft propeller governors(patent No.470,284). Woodward governors followed the rapid advancement of diesel engine applications for railroads, mairitime and electrical generation in many fields. The advent of gas turbine engines for aircraft and industrial uses offered still more opportunities for Woodward designed fuel controls. And, of course, the science of electronics has added impetus to this industry.
Elmer E.Woodward conceived, designed and developed the first successful propeller control in 1933. This model PW-34 propeller governor is on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Today, approximately 75% of all propeller-driven aircraft use Woodward AES controls. A growing number of general aviation and commuter aircraft rely on Woodward AES overspeed governors, synchronizers and synchophasers for the turboshaft, turboprops and reciprocating engines. As engine controls have moved toward electric-based systems, Woodward has responded with a line of electric propeller controls. The engines that are controlled by Woodward Aircraft engines systems are from Honeywell(TPE331), General Electric(CT7),Pratt & Whitney Canada(PT6A series), Raytheon, Vans, and Rotax Corporations. For more historical facts and figures check out the oldwoodward.com website.
As of 2007 Woodward Governor became a $1 billion company with establishments all across the globe including: Japan, China, Europe and many others.
On January 26, 2011 the company announced that shareholders have approved the name change to Woodward Inc.[5]