Honeywell History

HON Austria photo of random people

Honeywell’s History – international

Honeywell looks back on a tradition spanning over 120 years. The development of a damper control for coal furnaces lays the foundations in 1885. The first German Honeywell distribution company was founded in 1954 in Frankfurt.

1885: Together with a colleague, Albert M. Butz, a son of Swiss emigrants, develops in Minneapolis, Minnesota/USA, a damper control for coal furnaces, a thermostatic system which can automatically control the room temperature in tenement buildings using the available technology. The patents are registered in 1885 and the "Butz Thermo-Electric Regulator Company" is founded. It is the first company to offer products that automatically control the inside temperature of buildings for sale.

1888: The company’s founder leaves Minneapolis. His patents are held by lawyers in the
"Consolidated Temperature Controlling Company".

1892: After renaming the company the "Electric Thermostat Company", William Richard Sweatt takes over control of the company. Ten years later he becomes the sole proprietor of the company which is now signed with the firm name” Electric Heat Regulator Company".

1912: The company builds its first factory and is renamed "Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company".

1924: Mark C. Honeywell, a pioneer of automation technology, develops the clock thermostat in his company, "Honeywell Heating Specialties Company".

1927: William R. Sweatt, proprietor of the "Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company", and Mark C. Honeywell, proprietor of the "Honeywell Heating Specialties Company" in Wabash, Indiana, merge both of their companies. The new firm bearing the name, "Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company", is founded as a stock corporation and achieves sales of 5.25 million dollars in 1928.

1934: The product range for industrial applications can be significantly expanded by the acquisition of the "Brown Instruments Company" at the end of 1934. Founded in Philadelphia in 1859, the company manufactured signalling and writing controllers for industrial processes. The Brown Instruments Company was already active on the international market. The "N.V. Nederlandsche Minneapolis-Honeywell", which was founded in 1934, becomes the first mainstay in Europe. At the height of its pre-war activities, the company has 15 Dutch and German employees. This is swiftly followed by further foreign subsidiaries in England (1936) and Sweden (1938). After the war the three subsidiaries in Amsterdam, London and Stockholm are reorganised, including a subsidiary in Brussels (1946) and in Zürich (1947).

1942: The aeronautical division develops as the forerunner of the present-day aerospace division due to the demands that were placed on the company during the preparations made for America to enter the Second World War.
 
1945: The company’s sales exceed the100 million dollar mark for the first time. Over 17,000 workers are employed worldwide.

The '50’s: Honeywell opens further branches and production sites all over the world. The German distribution company is founded in Frankfurt in 1954. Honeywell reacts to the continual increase in demand for automation technology with innovative developments.

1953: Probably the most famous control device in the world, the Honeywell Thermostat T68 "The Round®", replaces controllers in living quarters, which had thus far been clumsy and rectangular. "The Round" is just as famous in the USA today as Coca-Cola or McDonalds. It is still being produced.

The '60’s: Honeywell enters other areas of automatic technology (industrial automation, sensor technology, aeronautics). Honeywell's sales exceed the 1 billion dollar mark for the first time in 1967. Honeywell spearheads development work in the area of building control.

1972: WSE (today NexWatch, A Honeywell-Company) invents contact-free access control.

The '80’s: Global partnerships are created with the aim of consolidating the company. Setting up joint ventures in the West and the East increase internationalism and broaden Honeywell’s horizons. The fittings’ factory, Heinrich Braukmann, is acquired in Germany in 1980 and renamed Honeywell Braukmann GmbH. This is followed by the acquisition of Centra Bürkle GmbH in the area of heat regulation in 1984.

The '90’s: In Germany, Honeywell acquires Metallwerke Neheim Goeke & Co. (MNG). Honeywell Inc. completes its acquisition of shares in Measurex Corp. (Cupertino/California) in March 1997.

1999: Merger of Honeywell and Allied Signal.
 
The History of Allied Signal

Allied Signal goes back to the Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation which was founded in 1920 by the editor of the Washington Post, Eugene Meyer, and scientist William Nichols. The company merged five chemical companies which were founded in the United States in the 19th century.

1928: Allied opens a factory for synthetic ammonia near Hopewell (Virginia), which is set to develop into the largest producer of ammonia in the world.

After the 2nd World War, Allied recommences production of other new products such as nylon 6 (from which almost everything can be produced, from tyres right through to clothing) and coolants.

1958: The company is renamed Allied Chemical Corp. and relocates to its current location in Morristown (New Jersey).

1962: Allied acquires the company Union Texas Natural Gas, which owned the oil and gas reserves on the entire continent of America. Allied regards this company primarily as a supplier of raw materials for its chemical products. However, this changes at the start of the Seventies when CEO John Connor (Minister for Trade during the term in office of President Lyndon Johnson) sells countless numbers of Allied’s unprofitable divisions and invests in the search for oil and gas reserves. In 1979, when Edward Hennessy Jr. becomes CEO of the Group, Union Texas generates 80% of Allied’s yields.

1983:  In 1981 the Group, trading under the firm name Allied Corp., acquires the aeronautics and automobile company, Bendix Corp. In 1984, Bendix is already contributing to 50% of Allied’s earnings, with oil and gas comprising 38%.

The merger of Allied and Signal Companies in 1985 helps the divisions of aeronautics, automobile and technical materials to reach critical mass. Signal, which was founded by Sam Mosher as the Signal Gasoline Company in 1922, was formerly a Californian company that produced oil from natural gas. When the company began drilling for crude oil in 1928, its name changed to Signal Oil & Gas. Signal ultimately merged with the Garrett Corporation, an aeronautics company located in Los Angeles, and renamed the Group Signal Companies in 1968.

By incorporating the Signal company part Garret in Bendix, aeronautics has become one of Allied Signal's largest divisions. In 1985, the company sold 50% of Union Texas and, with the foundation and split-off of the Henley Group, Inc., sold off 35 non-strategic divisions in 1986.

1991: Under the new CEO, Lawrence A. Bossidy, and with a new management role in numerous important divisions, Allied Signal undertakes a comprehensive restructuring programme. Bold measures follow, which aim to increase cash flow, operating margins, and productivity as well as position the company as a globally competitive power in years to come. The name Allied-Signal changes to AlliedSignal in 1993, which reinforces the image of a uniform company and symbolises the full integration of all divisions.

1992: The company sells the rest of its shares in Union Texas as part of a public tender offer, which nets the company US$ 940m in net proceeds.

During the Nineties: Lawrence A. Bossidy carries out a reorganisation of the company focusing on growth and productivity, which leads to the market value of AlliedSignal shares increasing four-fold and a striking outperformance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500.

1995: In Germany, AlliedSignal purchases the Riedel-de Haën AG from Hoechst AG. The Group thereby acquires a fine chemicals company which is particularly well known in Europe and enjoys a long tradition.

2005: Honeywell purchases Firma Novar plc. which has numerous locations in Germany.
 
Honeywell’s History – Austria & Eastern Europe

1989: Founding of the firm, ESSER Sicherheitstechnik in Vienna, Austria
Sales area: Austria and Eastern Europe

1996: Opening of the first sales office in Prague, Czech Republic and Lugoj, Romania

2000: Renamed ESSER Austria GmbH

2003: Takeover of ESSER Austria by Novar plc. and renamed Novar Austria GmbH

2004: Opening of the first sales office in Moscow, Russia

2005: Takeover by Honeywell

Opening of the first sales office in Warsaw, Poland

2007: Novar Austria GmbH renamed Honeywell Life Safety Austria GmbH

2008: