United Technologies
| File:United Technologies.svg | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: UTX Dow Jones Industrial Average Component S&P 500 Component | |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Predecessor | United Aircraft Corporation |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Defunct | 3 April 2020  |
| Headquarters | Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Louis R. Chênevert (Chairman and CEO); Frederick Rentschler, founder |
| Revenue |  US$ 58.190 billion (2011)[1] |
| US$ 8.099 billion (2011)[1] | |
| US$ 5.374 billion (2011)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$ 61.452 billion (2011)[1] |
| Total equity | US$ 22.820 billion (2011)[1] |
Number of employees | 199,900 (2011)[1] |
| Website | UTC.com |
United Technologies Corporation (UTC) (NYSE: UTX) is an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in the United Technologies Building in Hartford, Connecticut.[2] It researches, develops, and manufactures high-technology products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, helicopters, HVAC, fuel cells, elevators and escalators, fire and security, building systems, and industrial products, among others. UTC is also a large military contractor, producing missile systems and military helicopters, most notably the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.[3] Louis R. Chênevert is the current CEO.[4]
History
Pre-1970s
1970s and 1980s
In 1974, Harry Gray left Litton Industries to become the CEO of United Aircraft.[5] He pursued a strategy of growth and diversification, changing the parent corporation's name to United Technologies Corporation (UTC) in 1975 to reflect the intent to diversify into numerous high tech fields beyond aerospace.[6] (The change became official on 1 May 1975.) The diversification was partially to balance civilian business against any overreliance on military business.[5] But it was also about growth for growth's sake. UTC became an M&A-focused organization, with various forced takeovers of unwilling smaller corporations.[5] The next year (1976), UTC forcibly acquired Otis Elevator.[7] In 1979, Carrier Refrigeration and Mostek were acquired;[8] the Carrier deal was forcible, while the Mostek deal was a white knight move against hostile takeover designs by Gould.
Being a defense contractor always carries inherent difficulties for a for-profit organization. First, there is the concern that taxpayers' money must never be wasted by allowing the government's private sector contractors to have "excess profits"—a reasonable abstract principle, but one quite hard to define operationally from moment to moment and year to year. Second, there is the concern of warmongering—that any person or corporation with a financial interest in encouraging warfare presents a perpetual risk of inciting violence. Third, being in the military materiel business, warmongering or no, exposes a for-profit organization to a particularly punishing variant of the business cycle: not only the normal bull and bear markets, but also the boom/bust peaks and valleys of wartime and peacetime.
These are the strategic considerations that prompted UTC to diversify, led by a CEO that had been very successful in the conglomerate-building craze of the 1960s and early 1970s.[9]
At one point the military portion of UTC's business, whose aforementioned sensitivity to "excess profits" and boom/bust demand drove UTC to diversify away from it, actually carried the weight of losses incurred by the commercial M&A side of the business.[5] Although M&A activity was not new to United Aircraft (UATC was somewhat of an octopus in its own right circa 1930), the M&A activity of the 1970s and 1980s was higher-stakes and arguably unfocused. Rather than aviation being the central theme of UTC businesses, high tech (of any type) was the new theme. Some Wall Street watchers questioned the true value of M&A at almost any price, seemingly for its own sake.[5]
Mostek was sold in 1985 to the French electronics company Thomson.Thomson Semiconductors
1990s
UTC acquired Sundstrand Corporation in 1999, and merged it into UTC's Hamilton Standard unit to form Hamilton Sundstrand.
2000s
In 2001, UTC entered the fire and security business by purchasing Chubb Security.
In 2004, UTC acquired the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation which planned to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary[10] under their Sikorsky Aircraft division.
In 2005, UTC further pursued its stake in the fire and security business by purchasing Kidde. Also in 2005, UTC acquired Boeing's Rocketdyne division, which was merged into the Pratt & Whitney business unit.
In 2007, UTC opened the Hawk Works,[11] a Rapid Prototyping and Military Derivatives Completion Center (RPMDCC) located west of the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport in Big Flats, NY.
In March 2008, UTC announced it had made a $2.63 billion bid to acquire Diebold, a Canton, Ohio based manufacturer of banking and voting machines.[12] In September 2008 UTC's chairman commented that the acquisition was less than likely to happen.[13] Diebold has since rejected the $2.63 billion buyout bid. The ATM and voting machine maker has called the United Technologies bid inadequate.[14]
On 9–10 December 2009, it was announced that UTC would acquire a 49.5% stake in Carpinteria, CA and London, UK based Clipper Windpower by purchasing 84.3 million new shares and 21.8 million shares from current shareholders for £126.5 million or $206 Million US. Clipper has stated that this equity purchase "will significantly strengthen its balance sheet and enable it to enhance its operations and pursue its strategic initiatives", “This is a transformational transaction for Clipper, bringing substantial capital from a strategic investor who is one of the world’s leading industrial technology companies” said Doug Pertz, President and CEO of Clipper. “We welcome the investment from UTC and their confidence in Clipper’s technology and business opportunities.”.[15][16][17][18][19]
2010s
In April 2010, UTC announced that it was investing €15 million ($20 million) to set up the United Technologies Research Centre Ireland in University College Cork which will carry out research on energy and security systems.[20]
On Monday, 18 October 2010, UTC agreed with Clipper to acquire the rest of the company.[21]
In September 2011, UTC acquired a $18.4 billion deal (including $1.9 billion in net debt assumed) for aircraft components maker Goodrich Corporation.[22]
Business units
- Carrier: A maker of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems.
- Clipper Windpower: A maker of wind turbines
- Hamilton Sundstrand: Designs and manufactures aerospace systems for commercial, regional, corporate and military aircraft; a major supplier for international space programs. Provides industrial products for the hydrocarbon, chemical, and food processing industries, construction and mining companies.
- Otis: Manufacturer, installer, and servicer of elevators, escalators, and moving walkways.
- Pratt & Whitney: Designs and builds aircraft engines, gas turbines, and rocket engines.
- Sikorsky Aircraft: Maker of helicopters for commercial, industrial, and military uses.
- UTC Fire & Security: Makes fire detection and suppression systems, access control systems, and security alarm systems; provides security system integration and monitoring services.
- UTC Power: Manufacturer of distributed power generation systems and fuel cells for commercial, transportation, and space and defense applications.
- United Technologies Research Center (UTRC): A centralized research facility that supports all UTC business units in developing new technologies and processes.[23]
United Technologies' headquarters operations are located in the United Technologies Building in Hartford, Connecticut. The United Technologies Building is known locally as the "Gold Building" due to its gold-tinted glass-mirror exterior.
Former businesses
Before 1975 (UATC or UAC)
- Boeing—from 1929 to 1934
- Chance Vought—from 1928 to 1954
- A predecessor division that would become, as its own corporation, United Airlines
- Hamilton Standard, which became part of Hamilton Sundstrand
Since 1975 (UTC)
- Hamilton Test Systems, an Arizona-based developer of vehicle emission test equipment, which was sold to Georgetown Partners in December 1990, who renamed it Envirotest Systems Corp. It is now part of Environmental Systems Products Holdings (ESPH).
- Inmont paint and resins, which was later sold to BASF
- Mostek semiconductor — from 1979 to 1985
- Norden Systems - a corporation that manufactures electronics systems for military use, now a part of Northrop Grumman.
- UT Automotive — Now, a division of Lear Corporation
- UT Communications bought Lexar and Stromberg Carlson, makers of telephone equipment, which were later sold to Memorex in 1985.
- Turbo Power and Marine Systems, Inc - Simple-cycle electrical power generation Power units 25 MW & 50 MW currently known as Pratt & Whitney Power Systems
Political contributions
During the 2004 election cycle, UTC was the sixth largest defense industry donor to political campaigns, contributing a total of $789,561. 64% of UTC's 2004 contributions went to Republicans. UTC was also the sixth largest donor to federal candidates and political parties in the 2006 election cycle. 35% of those contributions went to Democrats; 53% of the funds were contributed to Republicans.[24]
In 2005, United Technologies was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.[25][26]
Philanthropy
In 1981, a contribution from UTC made possible the exhibition "Paris/Magnum: Photographs 1935-1981," featuring photographs of Paris taken by photographers of Magnum Photos, the agency founded in 1947 by Robert Capa, George Rodger, Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Vandivert, and David Seymour. A volume of the same title, with text by Irwin Shaw and an introduction by Inge Morath, was also published in 1981.
UTC is the sponsor of "Aphrodite and the Gods of Love" at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, opening fall 2011.[27]
Environmental record
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have identified UTC as the 38th-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States as of 2008. UTC released roughly 110,000 pounds of toxic chemicals annually into the air [28] including manganese, nickel, chromium and related compounds.[29]
In 2006, they joined the Chicago Climate Exchange as a Phase 1 and Phase 2 member.[30]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Annual Report 2011" (PDF). UTC. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ "Contact." United Technologies Corporation. Retrieved on 7 January 2011. "Mailing address United Technologies Corporation United Technologies Building Hartford, CT 06101."
- ^ CorpWatch : United Technologies
- ^ "United Technologies elects Chenevert CEO". Reuters. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Fernandez 1983.
- ^ Fernandez 1983, p. 246.
- ^ Fernandez 1983, pp. 246–251.
- ^ Fernandez 1983, pp. 260–264.
- ^ Holland 1989.
- ^ Schweizer acquisition press release
- ^ Hawk Works opening article from Global Security web site
- ^ UTC's bid for Diebold
- ^ Diebold Falls on United Technologies Comment on Bid (Update2)
- ^ "Diebold rejects $2.63 billion buyout bid - Business - US business - msnbc.com". MSNBC. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ Clipper Windpower Gets GBP126.5 Million Investment From United Tech
- ^ Clipper says UTC to buy 49.5 percent stake
- ^ United Technology flies to the rescue of Clipper Windpower
- ^ UTC aims to take 49.5% of Clipper Windpower
- ^ "Clipper Windpower Press Release". Clipperwind.com. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ UTC to acquire remaining interest in Clipper Windpower North American Windpower, 18 October 2010. Retrieved: 23 October 2010.
- ^ "United Technologies to acquire Goodrich in USD 18.4 bn deal". 23 September 2011.
- ^ http://www.utrc.utc.com/
- ^ Top Contributors to Federal Candidates and Parties: Defense
- ^ Drinkard, Jim (17 January 2005). "Donors get good seats, great access this week". USA Today. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ "Financing the inauguration". USA Today. 16 January 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ http://www.mfa.org/sites/default/files/MFA_Aphrodite%20press%20release_8.9.11_0.pdf
- ^ "Toxic 100 Index". Political Economic Research Institute. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
- ^ "United Technologies". Political Economic Research Institute. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
- ^ UTC - Community involvement, grants, financial support and support of the arts - hvac, fuel cells, helicopters, security systems, elevators
Bibliography
- Fernandez, Ronald (1983), Excess Profits: The Rise of United Technologies, Boston: Addison-Wesley, ISBN 9780201104844.
- Holland, Max (1989), When the Machine Stopped: A Cautionary Tale from Industrial America, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, ISBN 978-0-87584-208-0, OCLC 246343673.