TRW, INC., headquartered in Cleveland, was a major international corporation recognized for its leadership in the AUTOMOTIVE, AEROSPACE, and electronics (see ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS) industries. The company was founded as the Cleveland Cap Screw Co. which was incorporated on 28 Dec. 1900 to produce connectors and fittings primarily for automobiles and light machinery. Its first technological innovation was the production of automobile valves in 1904. It soon became the recognized leader in the field and became the world's largest independent producer of engine valves (its innovative sodium filled valves were used in the Spirit of St. Louis on Lindbergh's 1927 trans-Atlantic flight). Although the WINTON MOTOR CARRIAGE CO. owned the company from 1905-15, its principal development began under CHAS. E. THOMPSON, who reorganized the firm in 1908 as the Electric Welding Products Co., started to purchase chassis parts, and acquired plants in other cities. Thompson bought the firm from Winton in 1915 and changed its name to the Steel Products Co. When it was renamed Thompson Products, Inc., in 1926 it was a well-established manufacturer of finished automotive and aviation goods.