United Technologies

Type: Public (NYSE: UTX)
Founded: 1929
Headquarters: Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Key people: George David, CEO & Chairman
Industry: Conglomerates
Products: Conglomerates
Website: www.utc.com

General Information

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) (NYSE: UTX) is an American multinational conglomerate based in Hartford, Connecticut, and is the 20th largest U.S. manufacturer. UTC is a $48 billion company that researches, develops, and manufactures products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, helicopters, heating and cooling, 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 Black Hawk Helicopter. In 2005, it received over 5 billion dollars in military contracts. George David is the current CEO.

History

The core group of United Technologies companies was founded in 1929 as United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, by the merger of Boeing, Chance Vought, Hamilton Standard, Pratt & Whitney, and Sikorsky Aircraft. As a result of the Air Mail Act in 1934, United Aircraft and Transport broke up into three independent companies: Boeing, United Aircraft, and United Airlines. Vought was spun off as an independent business in 1954, but otherwise, United Aircraft maintained its original corporate structure and concentration in the aerospace and defense industries well into the 1970s.

United Aircraft changed its name to United Technologies in 1975, and the next year acquired Otis Elevator. In 1979, Carrier Refrigeration and Mostek were acquired; Mostek was sold in 1985 to the French electronics company Thomson. United Technologies acquired Sundstrand Corporation in 1999, and merged it into UTC's Hamilton Standard unit to form Hamilton Sundstrand. Two years later, UTC entered the fire and security business by purchasing Chubb Security, which was followed in 2005 by Kidde. Also in 2005, United Technologies acquired Boeing's Rocketdyne division, which was merged into the Pratt & Whitney business unit.