Tillotson is one of the oldest carburetor manufacturers in the world. Our operations date back to 1914, with the manufacture of float carburetors by Tillotson Manufacturing in Toledo, Ohio. In the late 1940’s, Tillotson invented the diaphragm carburetor, which replaced the float bowl with a rubber diaphragm, thus allowing engines to operate in virtually any position. This innovation led the way to explosion in hand-held lawn and garden equipment, including chain saws, brush cutters, and blowers.

In the 1950’s, some daring drivers had the bright idea to mount a chainsaw engine on a chassis and four wheels, creating the first go-kart. Tillotson’s innovative technologies and OE quality made our carburetor the carburetor of choice for long life, reliability and performance.

In the 1960’s, Borg Warner Corporation purchased Tillotson Manufacturing and merged it with Marvel-Schebler to become the Marvel-Schebler/Tillotson Division. This new division manufactured carburetors in Decatur; Illinois, Blythesville, Arkansas and, beginning in 1972, Tralee, Ireland. By 1983, Borg-Warner had consolidated most of its carburetor manufacturing in Tralee, Ireland, but it maintained a small executive and engineering office in Decatur, Illinois.

In 1985, management bought the carburetor operations of Marvel-Schebler/Tillotson and returned it to its roots as Tillotson Ltd., with headquarters in Tralee, Ireland and a US affiliate in Decatur, Illinois.

In 2007, Tillotson introduced its new line of karting carburetors, specifically engineered for the KF class engines. The HW-10 (KF3), HW-11 (KF2), and HW-12 (KF3) are designed to maximize the performance of your KF engine. One lap around the track should convince you that no other carburetor comes close to our legendary performance.