publicly traded
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
. It primarily operates in four areas of business:
aerospace
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...
, building technologies, performance materials and technologies (PMT), and safety and productivity solutions (SPS).
Honeywell is a Fortune 100 company, ranked 94th in 2021. In 2021 the corporation had a global workforce of approximately 99,000 employees, down from 113,000 in 2019. The current
chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
and
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) is
Darius Adamczyk
Darius Adamczyk (born February 8, 1966) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Honeywell, an American multinational conglomerate.
Early life and education
Adamczyk was born in Poland on February 8, 196 ...
.
The corporation's current name, Honeywell International Inc., is a product of the merger of Honeywell Inc. and AlliedSignal in 1999. The corporation headquarters were consolidated with AlliedSignal's headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey; however, the combined company chose the name "Honeywell" because of the considerable brand recognition. Honeywell was a component of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
index from 1999 to 2008. Prior to 1999, its corporate predecessors were included dating back to 1925, including early entrants in the computing and thermostat industries.
In 2020, Honeywell rejoined the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
index and the following year moved its stock listing from the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
to the
Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
.
History
The Butz Thermo-Electric Regulator Company was founded in 1885 when the Swiss-born
Albert Butz
Albert Butz (1849–1905) was a Swiss-born American inventor and businessman who founded the Butz Thermo-electric Regulator Company that, through a series of re-organizations, name changes, and mergers, became Honeywell, Incorporated.
Early li ...
invented the ''damper-flapper'', a thermostat used to control coal furnaces, bringing automated heating system regulation into homes. The following year he founded the Butz Thermo-Electric Regulator Company. In 1888, after a falling out with his investors, Butz left the company and transferred the patents to the legal firm Paul, Sanford, and Merwin, who renamed the company the Consolidated Temperature Controlling Company. As the years passed, CTCC struggled with debt, and the company underwent several name changes. After it was renamed the Electric Heat Regulator Company in 1893, W.R. Sweatt, a stockholder in the company, was sold "an extensive list of patents" and named secretary-treasurer. On February 23, 1898, he bought out the remaining shares of the company from the other stockholders.
1906 Honeywell Heating Specialty Company founded
In 1906,
Mark Honeywell
Mark Charles Honeywell (December 29, 1874 – September 13, 1964) was an American electronics industrialist. He co-initiated the eponymous corporation Honeywell and was its first president and CEO (1927–1933).
Early years and marriage
Honeywel ...
founded the Honeywell Heating Specialty Company in Wabash,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, to manufacture and market his invention, the mercury seal generator.
1922–1934 mergers and acquisitions
As Honeywell's company grew (thanks in part to the acquisition of Jewell Manufacturing Company in 1922 to better automate his heating system) it began to clash with the now renamed Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company. This led to the merging of both companies into the publicly held Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company in 1927. Honeywell was named the company's first president, alongside W.R. Sweatt as its first chairman.
The combined assets were valued at over $3.5 million, with less than $1 million in liabilities just months before Black Monday. In 1931, Minneapolis-Honeywell began a period of expansion and acquisition when they purchased Time-O-Stat Controls Company, giving the company access to a greater number of patents to be used in their controls systems.
W.R. Sweatt and his son Harold provided 75 years of uninterrupted leadership for the company. W.R. Sweatt survived rough spots and turned an innovative idea – thermostatic heating control – into a thriving business.
1934–1941 international growth
Harold, who took over in 1934, led Honeywell through a period of growth and global expansion that set the stage for Honeywell to become a global technology leader. The merger into the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company proved to be a saving grace for the corporation.
1934 marked Minneapolis-Honeywell's first foray into the international market, when they acquired the Brown Instrument Company, and inherited their relationship with the Yamatake Company of Tokyo, a Japan-based distributor. Later that same year, Minneapolis-Honeywell would also start distributorships across Canada, as well as one in the Netherlands, their first European office. This expansion into international markets continued in 1936, with their first distributorship in London, as well as their first foreign assembly facility being established in Canada. By 1937, ten years after the merger, Minneapolis-Honeywell had over 3,000 employees, with $16 million in annual revenue.
World War II
With the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Minneapolis-Honeywell was approached by the US military for engineering and manufacturing projects. In 1941, Minneapolis-Honeywell developed a superior tank periscope, camera stabilizers, and the C-1 autopilot.
The C-1 revolutionized precision bombing and was ultimately used on the two B-29 bombers that dropped atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. The success of these projects led Minneapolis-Honeywell to open an Aero division in Chicago on October 5, 1942. This division was responsible for the development of the formation stick to control autopilots, more accurate fuel quantity indicators for aircraft, and the turbo supercharger. In 1950, Minneapolis-Honeywell's Aero division was contracted for the controls on the first US nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus. The following year, the company acquired Intervox Company for their sonar, ultrasonic, and telemetry technologies. Honeywell also helped develop and manufacture the
RUR-5 ASROC
The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...
for the US Navy.
1950–1970s
In 1953, in cooperation with the USAF Wright-Air Development Center, Honeywell developed an automated control unit that could control an aircraft through various stages of a flight, from
taxiing
Taxiing (rarely spelled taxying) is the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or pushback where the aircraft is moved by a tug. The aircraft usually moves on wheels, but the term also includes aircr ...
, to
takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff.
For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a t ...
, to the point where the aircraft neared its destination and the pilot took over for
landing
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
. Called the Automatic Master Sequence Selector, the onboard control operated similarly to a
player piano
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
to relay instructions to the aircraft's
autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
at certain way points during the flight, significantly reducing the pilot's workload. Technologically, this effort had parallels to contemporary efforts in
missile guidance
Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness. Guidance systems improve missile accuracy by improving its P ...
and numerical control. Honeywell also developed the Wagtail missile with the USAF.
From the 1950s until the mid-1970s, Honeywell was the United States' importer of Japanese company Asahi Optical's
Pentax
is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and rifle scopes), and CCTV optics. The Pentax brand is also used by Hoya Corporatio ...
cameras and photographic equipment. These products were labeled "Heiland Pentax" and "Honeywell Pentax" in the U.S. In 1953, Honeywell introduced their most famous product, the T-86 Round thermostat.
In 1961, James H. Binger became Honeywell's president and in 1965 its chairman. On becoming chairman of Honeywell, Binger revamped the company sales approach, placing emphasis on profits rather than on volume. He also stepped up the company's international expansion – it had six plants producing 12% of the company's revenue. He also officially changed the company's corporate name from "Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co." to "Honeywell", to better represent their colloquial name. Throughout the 1960s, Honeywell continued to acquire other businesses, including Security Burglar Alarm Company in 1969.
In the 1970s, after one member of a group called FREEBruce Johasen, "Out of Silence", ''Minnesota History'' (Spring 2019), 189:
* "Halfhill steered the group through the administrative channels needed to establish FREE as a student group". on the Minneapolis campus (U of M) of the University of Minnesota asked five major companies with local offices to explain their attitudes toward gay men and women, three responded quickly, insisting that they did not discriminate against gay people in their hiring policies. Only Honeywell objected to hiring gay people.Sources: Michael McConnell Files, "Full Equality, a diary" (volumes 1a - d), Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, ''U of M Libraries''.
* Letter to FREE from Vice President Gerry E. Morse, ''Honeywell Inc.'' (29 June 1970):
** "We would not employ a known homosexual." Later in the decade, when faced with a denial of access to students, Honeywell "quietly eversedits hiring policy".
As well, the beginning of the 1970s saw Honeywell focus on process controls, with the company merging their computer operations with GE's information systems in 1970, and later acquiring GE's process control business. With the acquisition, Honeywell took over responsibility for GE's ongoing
Multics
Multics ("Multiplexed Information and Computing Service") is an influential early time-sharing operating system based on the concept of a single-level memory.Dennis M. Ritchie, "The Evolution of the Unix Time-sharing System", Communications of ...
operating system project. The design and features of Multics greatly influenced the
Unix
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
operating system. Multics also influenced many of the features of Honeywell/GE's GECOS and GCOS8
General Comprehensive Operating System
General Comprehensive Operating System (GCOS, ; originally GECOS, General Electric Comprehensive Operating Supervisor) is a family of operating systems oriented toward the 36-bit GE/Honeywell mainframe computers.
The original version of GCOS wa ...
operating systems. Honeywell, Groupe Bull, and Control Data Corporation formed a joint venture in ''Magnetic Peripherals Inc''. which became a major player in the hard disk drive market. It was the worldwide leader in 14-inch disk drive technology in the OEM marketplace in the 1970s and early 1980s especially with its SMD (Storage Module Drive) and CMD (Cartridge Module Drive). In the second half of the 1970s, Honeywell started to look to international markets again, acquiring the French Compagnie Internationale pour l’Informatique in 1976. Eight years later, Honeywell formed Honeywell High Tech Trading to lease their foreign marketing and distribution to other companies abroad, in order to establish a better position in those markets. Under Binger's stewardship from 1961 to 1978 he expanded the company into such fields as defense, aerospace, and computing.
During and after the
Vietnam Era
Vietnam Era is a term used by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to classify veterans of the Vietnam War. Various departments of federal, state and local governments as well as private employers often give Vietnam Era veterans s ...
, Honeywell's defense division produced a number of products, including
cluster bombs
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...
,
missile guidance
Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness. Guidance systems improve missile accuracy by improving its P ...
systems,
napalm
Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated alu ...
, and
land mines
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
. Minnesota-Honeywell Corporation completed flight tests on an inertia guidance sub-system for the X-20 project at
Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
, Florida, utilizing an NF-101B Voodoo by August 1963. The X-20 project was canceled in December 1963. The Honeywell project, founded in 1968, organized protests against the company to persuade it to abandon weapons production
In 1980, Honeywell bought Incoterm Corporation to compete in both the airline reservations system networks and bank teller markets.
Honeywell Information Systems
On April 12, 1955, Minneapolis-Honeywell started a joint venture with
Raytheon
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
called Datamatic to enter the computer market and compete with IBM. Two years later in 1957, their first computer, the
DATAmatic 1000
The DATAmatic 1000 is an obsolete computer system from Honeywell introduced in 1957. It uses vacuum tubes and crystal diodes for logic, and featured a unique magnetic tape format for storage.
The CPU uses a 48-bit word (plus four check bits). A ...
was sold and installed. In 1960, just five years after embarking on this venture with Raytheon, Minneapolis-Honeywell bought Raytheon's interest in Datamatic and turned it into the Electronic Data Processing division, later Honeywell Information Systems (HIS) of Minneapolis-Honeywell. Honeywell also purchased minicomputer pioneer Computer Control Corporation (3C's) in 1966, renaming it as Honeywell's Computer Control Division. Through most of the 1960s, Honeywell was one of the "
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
" of computing. IBM was "Snow White", while the dwarfs were the seven significantly smaller computer companies: Burroughs, Control Data Corporation,
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
, and
UNIVAC
UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company an ...
. Later, when their number had been reduced to five, they were known as "The
BUNCH
Bunch may refer to:
* Bunch (surname)
* Bunch Davis (), American baseball player in the Negro leagues
* BUNCH, nickname of five computer manufacturing companies, IBM's main competitors in the 1970s
* Tussock (grass) or bunch grass, members of t ...
", after their initials: Burroughs, UNIVAC, NCR, Control Data Corporation, and Honeywell.
In 1970, Honeywell acquired GE's computer business forming Honeywell Information Systems. In 1973, they shipped a high speed non-impact printer called the
Honeywell Page Printing System
The Honeywell Page Printing System (PPS) announced in 1974, is notable because it was the first commercially successful high speed non-impact printer. It could produce output at up to 18,000 lines per minute, where the earlier Xerox 1200 (the f ...
. In 1975, it purchased
Xerox Data Systems
Scientific Data Systems (SDS), was an American computer company founded in September 1961 by Max Palevsky and Robert Beck, veterans of Packard Bell Corporation and Bendix Corporation, Bendix, along with eleven other computer scientists. SDS was an ...
, whose Sigma computers had a small but loyal customer base. Some of Honeywell's systems were minicomputers, such as their Series 60 Model 6 and Model 62 and their
Honeywell 200
The Honeywell 200 was a character-oriented two-address commercial computer introduced by Honeywell in December 1963, the basis of later models in Honeywell 200 Series, including 1200, 1250, 2200, 3200, 4200 and others, and the character processor ...
; the latter was an attempt to penetrate the
IBM 1401
The IBM 1401 is a variable-wordlength decimal computer that was announced by IBM on October 5, 1959. The first member of the highly successful IBM 1400 series, it was aimed at replacing unit record equipment for processing data stored on pu ...
market.
In 1987, HIS merged with Groupe Bull, a global joint venture with Compagnie des Machines Bull of France and NEC Corporation of Japan to become Honeywell Bull. In 1988 Honeywell Bull was consolidated into ''Groupe Bull'' and in 1989 renamed to ''Bull, a Worldwide Information Systems Company.'' By 1991, Honeywell was no longer involved in the computer business.
1985–1999 integrations
Aerospace and defense
1986 marked a new direction for Honeywell, beginning with the acquisition of the Sperry Aerospace Group from the Unisys Corporation. In 1990, Honeywell spun off their Defense and Marine Systems business into Alliant Techsystems, as well as their Test Instruments division and Signal Analysis Center to streamline the company's focus. Honeywell continues to supply aerospace products including electronic guidance systems, cockpit instrumentation, lighting, and primary propulsion and secondary power turbine engines. In 1996, Honeywell acquired Duracraft and began marketing its products in the home comfort sector.
Honeywell is in the consortium that runs the
Pantex Plant
Pantex is the primary United States nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility that aims to maintain the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located in the Panhandle of Texas on a site ...
that assembles all of the
nuclear bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
s in the United States arsenal. Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, successor to the defense products of AlliedSignal, operates the
Kansas City Plant
The Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), formerly known as the Kansas City Plant, is a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) facility managed and operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies that manufactures "8 ...
which produces and assembles 85 percent of the non-nuclear components of the bombs.
Home and building controls
Honeywell also began the SmartHouse project to combine heating, cooling, security, lighting, and appliances into one easily controlled system. They continued the trend in 1987 by releasing new security systems, and fire and radon detectors. Five years later, in another streamlining effort, Honeywell combined their Residential Controls, Commercial Systems, and Protections Services divisions into Home and Building Control, which then acquired the Enviracare air cleaner business. By 1995, Honeywell had condensed into three divisions: Space and Aviation Control, Home and Building Control, and Industrial Control.
Industrial control
Honeywell dissolved its partnership with Yamatake Company and consolidated its Process Control Products Division, Process Management System Division, and Micro Switch Division into one Industrial Control Group. It has further acquired Measurex System and
Leeds & Northrup
Leeds & Northrup (L&N) was an American electric technology company founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1899. It was formed by Morris E. Leeds and Edwin Fitch Northrup.
L&N merged with General Signal in 1978. General Signal divested itself ...
to strengthen its portfolio.
1999–2002 merger, takeovers
AlliedSignal and Pittway
On June 7, 1999, Honeywell was acquired by AlliedSignal, who elected to retain the Honeywell name for its brand recognition. The former Honeywell moved their headquarters of 114 years to AlliedSignal's in Morristown,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. While "technically, the deal looks more like an acquisition than a merger...from a strategic standpoint, it is a merger of equals." AlliedSignal's 1998 revenue was reported at $15.1 billion to Honeywell's $8.4 billion, but together the companies share huge business interests in aerospace, chemical products, automotive parts, and building controls.
The corporate headquarters were consolidated to AlliedSignal's headquarters in
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
, rather than Honeywell's former headquarters in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. When Honeywell closed its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, over one thousand employees lost their jobs. A few moved to Morristown or other company locations, but the majority were forced to find new jobs or retire. Soon after the merger, the company's stock fell significantly, and did not return to its pre-merger level until 2007.
In 2000, the new Honeywell acquired Pittway for $2.2 billion to gain a greater share of the fire-protection and security systems market, and merged it into their Home and Building Control division, taking on Pittway's $167 million in debt. Analyst David Jarrett commented that "while Honeywell offered a hefty premium, it's still getting Pittway for a bargain" at $45.50 per share, despite closing at $29 the week before. Pittway's Ademco products complemented Honeywell's existing unified controls systems.
General Electric Company
In October 2000, Honeywell (then valued at over $21 billion) accepted a takeover bid from then-CEO
Jack Welch
John Francis Welch Jr. (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was an American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001.
When Welch retired from GE, he receive ...
of
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
. The American Department of Justice cleared the merger, while "GE teams swooped down on Honeywell" and "GE executives took over budget planning and employee reviews." However, on July 3, 2001, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
's competition commissioner,
Mario Monti
Mario Monti, (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis.
Monti served as a European Commiss ...
blocked the move. This decision was taken on the grounds that with GE's dominance of the large jet engine market (led by the General Electric CF34
turbofan
The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...
engine), its leasing services (
GECAS
GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services) was an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. AerCap acquired the company from GE Capital on November 1, 2021.
GECAS was the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company in ...
), and Honeywell's portfolio of regional
jet engines
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term typicall ...
and
avionics
Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...
, the new company would be able to "bundle" products and stifle competition through the creation of a
horizontal monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a spec ...
. US regulators disagreed, finding that the merger would improve competition and reduce prices; United States Assistant Attorney General
Charles James Charles James may refer to:
* Charles James (British Army officer) (1757/8–1821), English army officer and writer
* Charles James (attorney) (born 1954), former U.S. assistant attorney general
* Charles James (American football) (born 1990), Amer ...
called the EU's decision "antithetical to the goals of antitrust law enforcement." This led to a drop in morale and general tumult throughout Honeywell, and in turn, the then-CEO Michael Bonsignore was fired as Honeywell looked to turn their business around.
2002–2014 acquisitions and further expansion
In January 2002,
Knorr-Bremse
Knorr-Bremse AG is a German manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles that has operated in the field for over 110 years. Other products in Group's portfolio include intelligent door systems, control components, air c ...
– who had been operating in a joint venture with Honeywell International Inc. – assumed full ownership of its ventures in Europe, Brazil, and the USA.
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems
Knorr-Bremse AG is a German manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles that has operated in the field for over 110 years. Other products in Group's portfolio include intelligent door systems, control components, air con ...
became a subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse AG. Although declining in influence, Honeywell maintains a presence in emerging industries, such as Northern
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
's
oil sands
Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...
. Honeywell's Plant integrator is currently deployed in some of the most important plant-sites in the Oil Sands ( Syncrude,
Suncor
Suncor Energy (french: Suncor Énergie) is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Suncor Energy was ranked as the 48th-lar ...
, and others). In February that year, Honeywell's board appointed their next CEO and chairman, David M. Cote. Cote was instrumental in uniting the company cultures of Honeywell, AlliedSignal, and Pittway. Since 2002, Honeywell has made more than 80 acquisitions and 60 divestures, while adding $12 billion in new sales and increasing its labor force to 131,000 as a result of these acquisitions. Under his tenure, Honeywell's stock has nearly tripled from $35.23 in April 2002 to $99.39 as of January 2015.
Honeywell made a £1.2bn ($2.3bn) bid for
Novar plc
Novar plc (formerly Caradon plc) was an international building supplies group based in the United Kingdom. Novar was formed in 1921 as Metal Box Company from the coming together of several businesses and trades, including canning and printing. ...
in December 2004. The acquisition was finalized on March 31, 2005. In October 2005, Honeywell bought out Dow's 50% stake in UOP for $825 million, giving them complete control over the joint venture in petrochemical and refining technology. In May 2010, Honeywell outbid UK-based
Cinven
Cinven is a global private equity firm founded in 1977, with offices in nine international locations in Guernsey, London, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Luxembourg, Madrid, and Hong Kong that acquires Europe and United States based corporat ...
and acquired the French company Sperian Protection for $1.4 billion, which was then incorporated into its automation and controls safety unit.
2015–present
In 2015, the headquarters were moved to
Morris Plains, New Jersey
Morris Plains is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,532,
David Cote stepped down as CEO on April 1, 2017, and was succeeded by
Darius Adamczyk
Darius Adamczyk (born February 8, 1966) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Honeywell, an American multinational conglomerate.
Early life and education
Adamczyk was born in Poland on February 8, 196 ...
, who had been promoted to president and
chief operating officer
A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...
(COO) the previous year. Cote served as executive chairman through April 2018. On October 10, 2017, Honeywell announced plans to spinoff its Homes, ADI Global Distribution, and Transportation Systems businesses into two separate, publicly traded companies by the end of 2018.
In 2018, Honeywell spun off both Honeywell Turbo Technologies (now
Garrett Advancing Motion
Garrett Motion Inc., formerly Honeywell Transportation Systems and Honeywell Turbo Technologies, is an American company primarily involved in engineering, development and manufacturing of turbochargers and related forced induction systems for g ...
) and its consumer products business (Resideo); both companies are publicly traded on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
. For the fiscal year 2019, Honeywell reported net income of US$6.230 billion, with an annual revenue of US$36.709 billion, an decrease of 19.11% over the previous fiscal cycle. Honeywell's shares traded at over $158 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$113.25 billion in September 2020.
Honeywell relocated its corporate headquarters in October 2019 to Charlotte, North Carolina. On July 1, 2019, Honeywell moved employees into a temporary headquarters building in Charlotte before their new building was complete.
Honeywell Forge launched as an analytics platform software for industrial and commercial applications such as aircraft, building, industrial, worker and cyber-security. In collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University National Robotics Engineering Center, the Honeywell Robotics was created in Pittsburgh to focus on supply chain transformation. The Honeywell robotic unloader grabs packages in tractor-trailers then places them on conveyor belts for handlers to sort. GoDirect Trade launched as an online marketplace for surplus aircraft parts such as engines, electronics, and APU parts. Honeywell announced, in March 2020, its quantum computer is based on trapped ions, its expected quantum volume is at least 64; which Honeywell's CEO called the world's most powerful quantum computer. Honeywell announced the spinoff of its quantum division into a separate company named " Quantinuum" in November 2021.
COVID-19 pandemic
In response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Honeywell converted some of its manufacturing facilities in Rhode Island, Arizona, Michigan and Germany to produce supplies of
personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...
for healthcare workers. In April 2020, Honeywell began production of
N95 mask
An N95 filtering facepiece respirator, commonly abbreviated N95 respirator, is a particulate-filtering facepiece respirator that meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) N95 classification of air filtratio ...
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, aiming to produce 20 million masks a month. Honeywell's facilities in
Muskegon
Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...
and Germany were converted to produce hand sanitiser for government agencies.
Several state governments contracted Honeywell to produce N95 particulate-filtering face masks during the pandemic. The North Carolina Task Force for Emergency Repurposing of Manufacturing (TFERM) awarded Honeywell a contract for the monthly delivery of 100,000 N95 masks. In April 2020,
Los Angeles Mayor
The mayor of the City of Los Angeles is the official head and chief executive officer of Los Angeles. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and is limited to serving no more than two terms. (Under the Constitution of California, all j ...
Eric Garcetti
Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 election, and reelected in 2017. A fo ...
announced a deal with Honeywell to produce 24 million N95 masks to distribute to healthcare workers and first responders.
United States President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
visited the
Honeywell Aerospace
Honeywell Aerospace is a manufacturer of aircraft engines and avionics, as well as a producer of auxiliary power units (APUs) and other aviation products. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, it is a division of the Honeywell International conglom ...
facility in
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
on May 5 where he acknowledged the "incredibly patriotic and hard-working men and women of Honeywell" for making N95 masks and referred to the company's production as a "miraculous achievement".
In April 2021,
Will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
and Honeywell collaborated on Xupermask, a smart mask made of silicon and athletic mesh fabric that has LED lights, 3-speed fans and noise-canceling headphones in the mask.
Business groups
The company operates four business groups – Honeywell Aerospace, Honeywell Building Technologies, Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS), and Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT). Business units within the company are as follows:
Honeywell Aerospace
Honeywell Aerospace is a manufacturer of aircraft engines and avionics, as well as a producer of auxiliary power units (APUs) and other aviation products. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, it is a division of the Honeywell International conglom ...
provides avionics, aircraft engines, flight management systems, and service solutions to manufacturers, airlines, airport operations, militaries, and space programs. It comprises Commercial Aviation, Defense & Space, and Business & General Aviation. In January 2014, Honeywell Aerospace launched its SmartPath Precision Landing System at Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport in Spain, which augments GPS signals to make them suitable for precision approach and landing, before broadcasting the data to approaching aircraft. In July 2014, Honeywell's Transportation Systems merged with the Aerospace division due to similarities between the businesses. In April 2018, Honeywell announced to develop laser communication products for satellite communication in collaboration with Ball Aerospace and plans future volume production. In June 2018 Honeywell spun off and rebranded its Transportation Systems as Garrett.
Honeywell Building Technologies and Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions were created when Automation and Control Solutions was split into two in July 2016. Honeywell Building Technologies comprises Honeywell Building Solutions, Environmental and Energy Solutions, and Honeywell Security and Fire. On December 7, 2017, Honeywell announced that it has acquired SCAME, an Italy-based company, to add new fire and gas safety capabilities to its portfolio. Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions comprises Scanning & Mobility, Sensing and Internet of Things, and Industrial safety.
Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies comprises six business units: Honeywell UOP, Honeywell Process Solutions, Fluorine Products, Electronic Materials, Resins & Chemicals, and Specialty Materials. Products include process technology for oil and gas processing, fuels, films and additives, special chemicals, electronic materials, and renewable transport fuels.
Corporate governance
Honeywell's current chief executive officer is
Darius Adamczyk
Darius Adamczyk (born February 8, 1966) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Honeywell, an American multinational conglomerate.
Early life and education
Adamczyk was born in Poland on February 8, 196 ...
. , the members of the board were:
Acquisitions since 2002
Honeywell's acquisitions have consisted largely of businesses aligned with the company's existing technologies. The acquired companies are integrated into one of Honeywell's four business groups (Aerospace, Building Technologies (HBT), Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS), or Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT)) but retain their original brand name.
Environmental record
The
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
states that no corporation has been linked to a greater number of Superfund toxic waste sites than has Honeywell. Honeywell ranks 44th in a list of US corporations most responsible for air pollution, releasing more than 4.25 million kg (9.4 million pounds) of toxins per year into the air. In 2001, Honeywell agreed to pay $150,000 in
civil penalties
A civil penalty or civil fine is a financial penalty imposed by a government agency as restitution for wrongdoing. The wrongdoing is typically defined by a codification of legislation, regulations, and decrees. The civil fine is not considered ...
and to perform $772,000 worth of reparations for environmental violations involving:
* failure to prevent or repair leaks of hazardous organic pollutants into the air
* failure to repair or report refrigeration equipment containing
chlorofluorocarbons
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are fully or partly halogenated hydrocarbons that contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F), produced as volatile derivatives of methane, ethane, and propa ...
* inadequate reporting of
benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...
,
ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...
sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
,
sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...
, and
caprolactam
Caprolactam (CPL) is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)5C(O)NH. This colourless solid is a lactam (a cyclic amide) of caproic acid. Global demand for this compound is approximately five million tons per year, and the vast majority is use ...
emissions
In 2003, a federal judge in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.environmental remediation of chromium waste, citing "a substantial risk of imminent damage to public health and safety and imminent and severe damage to the environment." In the same year, Honeywell paid $3.6 million to avoid a federal trial regarding its responsibility for
trichloroethylene
The chemical compound trichloroethylene is a halocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent. It is a clear, colourless non-flammable liquid with a chloroform-like sweet smell. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, w ...
contamination in
Lisle, Illinois
Lisle ( ) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,390 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the population was recorded to be 23,270. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Resea ...
. In 2004, the
State of New York
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...
announced that it would require Honeywell to complete an estimated $448 million cleanup of more than 74,000 kg (165,000 lbs) of mercury and other toxic waste dumped into
Onondaga Lake
Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York, immediately northwest of and adjacent to Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern e ...
in
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
, from a former Allied Chemical property. Honeywell established three water treatment plants by November 2014, and the chemicals cleanup site removed 7 tons of mercury. In November 2015, Audubon New York gave the Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Conservation Award to Honeywell for its cleanup efforts in “one of the most ambitious environmental reclamation projects in the United States.” By December 2017, Honeywell completed dredging the lake and, later that month, the Department of Justice filed a settlement requiring Honeywell to pay a separate $9.5 million in damages, as well build 20 restoration projects on the shore to help repair the greater area surrounding the lake.
In 2005, the state of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
sued Honeywell, Occidental Petroleum, and PPG to compel cleanup of more than 100 sites contaminated with chromium, a metal linked to lung cancer,
ulcer
An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughing o ...
s, and
dermatitis
Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can ...
. In 2008, the state of
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
made a settlement with Honeywell to pay a $5 million fine and contribute $1 million to a local air-quality cleanup project, after allegations of breaking water-quality and hazardous-waste laws on hundreds of occasions between the years of 1974 and 2004.
In 2006, Honeywell announced that its decision to stop manufacturing
mercury switch
A mercury switch is an electrical switch that opens and closes a circuit when a small amount of the liquid metal mercury connects metal electrodes to close the circuit. There are several different basic designs (tilt, displacement, radial, etc ...
es had resulted in reductions of more than 11,300 kg (24,900 lb), 2800 kg (6200 lb), and 1500 kg (3300 lb) respectively of mercury, lead, and
chromic acid
The term chromic acid is usually used for a mixture made by adding concentrated sulfuric acid to a dichromate, which may contain a variety of compounds, including solid chromium trioxide. This kind of chromic acid may be used as a cleaning mixtu ...
usage. The largest reduction represents 5% of mercury use in the United States. The EPA acknowledged Honeywell's leadership in reducing mercury use through a 2006 National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) Achievement Award for discontinuing the manufacturing of mercury switches.
Carbon footprint
Honeywell reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 2,248 Kt (-89 /-3.8% y-o-y)Alt URL and aims to reach net zero emissions by 2035.
Criticism
On March 10, 2013, ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reported that Honeywell was one of sixty companies that shielded annual profits from U.S. taxes. In December 2011, the non-partisan liberal organization
Public Campaign
Every Voice is an American nonprofit, progressive liberal political advocacy organization.
criticized Honeywell International for spending $18.3 million on
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...
and not paying any taxes during 2008–2010, instead getting $34 million in tax rebates, despite making a profit of $4.9 billion, laying off 968 workers since 2008, and increasing executive pay by 15% to $54.2 million in 2010 for its top five executives.
Honeywell has also been criticized in the past for its manufacture of deadly and maiming weapons, such as
cluster bombs
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...
Top 100 US Federal Contractors
The Top 100 Contractors Report is a list developed annually by the U.S. General Services Administration as part of its tracking of U.S. federal government procurement, of the "Top 100" contractors in the United States.
In fiscal year 2005, the fe ...