Honeywell

Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance materials and technologies (PMT), and safety and productivity solutions (SPS).
Honeywell is a Fortune 100 company, and was ranked 92nd in 2019. The company has a global workforce of approximately 110,000 workers, with approximately 44,000 employed in the United States. The current chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) is Darius Adamczyk.
The company's current name, Honeywell International Inc., is the product of a merger in which Honeywell Inc. was acquired by AlliedSignal in 1999. The company 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 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 index and the following year moved its stock from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq.
History.
The Butz Thermo-Electric Regulator Company was founded in 1885 when the Swiss-born Albert Butz 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 founded the Honeywell Heating Specialty Company in Wabash, Indiana, 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.
In World War II.
With the outbreak of war, Minneapolis-Honeywell was approached by the US military for engineering and manufacturing projects. In 1941, Minneapolis-Honeywell developed a superior tank periscope and camera stabilizers, as well as the C-1 autopilot.
The C-1 revolutionized precision bombing in the war effort, 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 gas gauges for planes, 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, ultrasonics, and telemetry technologies. Honeywell also helped develop and manufacture the RUR-5 ASROC 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, to takeoff, to the point where the aircraft neared its destination and the pilot took over for landing. Called the Automatic Master Sequence Selector, the onboard control operated similarly to a player piano to relay instructions to the aircraft's autopilot at certain way points during the flight, significantly reducing the pilot's workload. Technologically, this effort had parallels to contemporary efforts in missile guidance 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 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.
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 operating system project. The design and features of Multics greatly influenced the Unix operating system. Multics also influenced many of the features of Honeywell/GE's GECOS and GCOS8 General Comprehensive Operating System 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, Honeywell's defense division produced a number of products, including cluster bombs, missile guidance systems, napalm, and land mines. Minnesota-Honeywell Corporation completed flight tests on an inertia guidance sub-system for the X-20 project at Eglin Air Force Base, 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 called Datamatic to enter the computer market and compete with IBM. Two years later in 1957, their first computer, the DATAmatic 1000 was sold and installed. In 1960, just five years after embarking on this venture with Raytheon, Minneapolis-Honeywell bought out 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" of computing. IBM was "Snow White", while the dwarfs were the seven significantly smaller computer companies: Burroughs, Control Data Corporation, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and UNIVAC. Later, when their number had been reduced to five, they were known as "The BUNCH", after their initials: Burroughs, UNIVAC, NCR, Control Data Corporation, and Honeywell.
In 1970 Honeywell acquired GE's computer business forming Honeywell Information Systems. In 1975 it purchased Xerox Data Systems, whose Sigma computers had a small but loyal customer base. In 1986 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. 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 Sperry 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 that assembles all of the nuclear bombs in the United States arsenal. Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, successor to the defense products of AlliedSignal, operates the Kansas City Plant which produces and assembles 85 percent of the non-nuclear components of the bombs.
Home & 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 Company 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. 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, rather than Honeywell's former headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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 of General Electric. 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's competition commissioner, Mario Monti 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 engine), its leasing services (GECAS), and Honeywell's portfolio of regional jet engines and avionics, the new company would be able to "bundle" products and stifle competition through the creation of a horizontal monopoly. US regulators disagreed, finding that the merger would improve competition and reduce prices; United States Assistant Attorney General Charles James 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 – 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 became a subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse AG. Although declining in influence, Honeywell maintains a presence in emerging industries, such as Northern Alberta's oil sands. Honeywell's Plant integrator is currently deployed in some of the most important plant-sites in the Oil Sands (Syncrude, Suncor, 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 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 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. The 475,000-square-foot building on 40 acres in Morris Plains features state-of-the-art technology and greater energy efficiency than Honeywell's Morristown campus, which was underutilized, outdated and costly, according to Cote.
On December 29, 2015, Honeywell completed the acquisition of Elster for US$5.1B (announced on July 28, 2015) entering the space of gas, electricity, and water meters with a specific focus on smart meters and hoped to be a growth driver for Honeywell in 2016 and beyond. The deal also complements the HON Combustion business with the addition of Elster with strong brands such as Kromschroeder and Eclipse. Honeywell International Inc. then acquired the 30% stake in UOP Russell LLC it didn't own already for roughly $240 million in January 2016. In February, Honeywell entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Xtralis, a leading global provider of aspirating smoke detection along with advanced perimeter security technologies and video analytics software, for $480 million from funds advised by Pacific Equity Partners and Blum Capital Partners. The deal was completed on April 1, 2016. In May 2016, Honeywell International Inc. settled its patent dispute regarding Google subsidiary Nest Labs, whose thermostats Honeywell claimed infringed on several of its patents. Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Honeywell said they reached a "patent cross-license" agreement that "fully resolves" the long-standing dispute. Honeywell sued Nest Labs in 2012. In 2017, Honeywell opened a new software center in Atlanta, Georgia.
David Cote stepped down as CEO on April 1, 2017, and was succeeded by Darius Adamczyk, who had been promoted to president and chief operating officer (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) and its consumer products business (Resideo); both companies are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. 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.
COVID-19 Pandemic.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Honeywell converted some of its manufacturing facilities in Rhode Island, Arizona, Michigan and Germany to produce supplies of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers. In April 2020, Honeywell began production of N95 masks at the company's factories in Smithfield and Phoenix, aiming to produce 20 million masks a month. Honeywell's facilities in Muskegon 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 Eric Garcetti announced a deal with Honeywell to produce 24 million N95 masks to distribute to healthcare workers and first responders.
United States President Donald Trump visited the Honeywell Aerospace facility in Phoenix 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".
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 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.
Current as of December 2020
Products and services.
Honeywell has many brands that commercial and retail consumers may recognize, including its line of home thermostats (particularly the iconic round type) and Garrett turbochargers. In addition to consumer home products, Honeywell produces thermostats, sensors, security alarm systems, and air cleaners and dehumidifiers. The company also licenses its brand name for use in various retail products made by other manufacturers, including air conditioners, heaters, fans, security safes, home generators, and paper shredders.
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, Home and 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 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 and to perform $772,000 worth of reparations for environmental violations involving:
In 2003, a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, ordered the company to perform an estimated $400 million 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 contamination in Lisle, Illinois. In 2004, the State of New York 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 in Syracuse, NY 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 sued Honeywell, Occidental Petroleum, and PPG to compel cleanup of more than 100 sites contaminated with chromium, a metal linked to lung cancer, ulcers, and dermatitis. In 2008, the state of Arizona 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 switches had resulted in reductions of more than 11,300 kg, 2800 kg, and 1500 kg respectively of mercury, lead, and chromic acid 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.
Criticism.
On March 10, 2013, the Wall Street Journal 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 criticized "Honeywell International" for spending $18.3 million on lobbying 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 5 executives.
Honeywell has also been criticized in the past for its manufacture of deadly and maiming weapons, such as cluster bombs.