Exhibit 99.1

            Nickolas W. Vande Steeg Joins Trimble Board of Directors

SUNNYVALE,  Calif., July 16, 2003 - Trimble (Nasdaq:  TRMB) today announced that
Nickolas W. Vande Steeg,  60, a senior vice president and operating  officer for
Parker  Hannifin   Corporation  (NYSE:  PH),  the  world's  leading  diversified
manufacturer of motion and control technologies with over $6 billion in revenue,
has joined the Company's Board of Directors.  His addition brings the membership
of Trimble's board to seven.

"Nick brings  significant  knowledge and experience to Trimble from his 31 years
of service at Parker  Hannifin,"  said Steven W.  Berglund,  president and chief
executive officer of Trimble. "His leadership  experiences at Parker Hannifin, a
company  that  produces  and  distributes  a wide  variety of highly  engineered
products on a  worldwide  basis,  will  contribute  to take  Trimble to the next
level.  We expect that Nick will complement the existing  Board's  competencies,
particularly in operations,  and management and strategic  development.  He is a
practical,  hands-on individual with strong values and I look forward to working
with Nick going forward."

Mr. Vande Steeg has been employed with Parker Hannifin  Corporation in a variety
of different  roles since 1971.  Currently,  he is a senior vice  president  and
operating  officer and is overseeing the "lean  organization"  element of Parker
Hannifin's WIN Strategy, which is focused on premier customer service, financial
performance  and  profitable  growth.  The  "lean  organization"  goals  include
lowering  manufacturing and overall systems costs, cycle time reductions,  lower
inventories  and decreasing  waste during the production  process.  Prior to his
current  position,  he served in  several  positions  in  Parker's  Seal  Group,
including Global Seal Group President.

Mr. Vande Steeg received his B.S. in Industrial  Engineering from the University
of  California,  Irvine in 1968.  He then  received  an M.B.A.  from  Pepperdine
University in Malibu,  California in 1985. He and his wife,  Jeanne,  have three
children.

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About Trimble
Trimble is a leading innovator of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. In
addition to providing  advanced GPS components,  Trimble augments GPS with other
positioning  technologies,  as well as wireless  communications and software, to
create complete  customer  solutions.  Trimble's  worldwide  presence and unique
capabilities position the Company for growth in emerging applications  including
surveying,  automobile navigation,  machine guidance,  asset tracking,  wireless
platforms,   and   telecommunications   infrastructure.   Founded  in  1978  and
headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Trimble has more than 2,000 employees in
more than 20 countries  worldwide.  For an interactive  look at Company news and
products, visit Trimble's Web site at http://www.trimble.com