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 conglomerate. It generates approximately $10 billion in annual revenue from a 50/50 mix of commercial and defense contracts.
The company experienced a boom during World War II, when it equipped bomber planes with avionics and invented the autopilot. After the war, it transitioned to a heavier focus on peacetime applications. Today, Honeywell produces space equipment, turbine engines, auxiliary power units, brakes, wheels, synthetic vision, runway safety systems, and other avionics.
A Honeywell APU was used in the notable emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549, and a Honeywell blackbox survived under sea for years, thus exceeding by far its specified limits to reveal the details of the crash of Air France Flight 447. The company was also involved in the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey and in 90 percent of U.S. space missions. It's involved in the U.S. NextGen program and Europe's SESAR program for advancing avionics.
President Barack Obama awarded a Honeywell employee the National Medal of Technology for his contributions to air flight safety technology. The company owns dozens of patents related to NextGen technology, aircraft windshields, turbochargers, and more. It was also involved in an 11-year-long patent dispute regarding ring laser gyroscope technology.
Business
Honeywell Aerospace is responsible for about thirty percent of Honeywell’s total revenue with half from commercial contracts and half from defense contracts. The division generates $10 billion in annual sales with $2 billion in profit. In 2010, 75 percent of revenue was from the Americas.
Honeywell expects future revenue sources to be more geographically diverse as aviation grows in emerging markets like India and Africa. In these regions, a lack of ground support encourages the use of additional cockpit avionics to prevent crashes and determine flight routes. Honeywell publishes a regular business aviation forecast, which acknowledged a significant decline from 2008 to 2010, but expects recovery to 2008 levels by 2017.
History
Corporate history
Honeywell Aerospace began in 1914. Over nearly a century, through various acquisitions, mergers and name changes, Honeywell Aerospace combined legacy companies Sperry, Bendix, Garrett AiResearch, Pioneer, Lycoming, Grimes, King Radio and AlliedSignal. Garrett Corporation also acquired Aero Engineering Inc., Aero Sales Engineering, Ltd. and Air Cruisers Company in 1954.
Following the death of its founder John Cliff Garrett in 1963, Garrett Corporation merged with Signal Oil & Gas Company to avoid a hostile takeover by Curtiss-Wright, forming The Signal Companies. In 1982 Allied Corporation acquired Bendix Aerospace after coming in late in a protracted fight involving Bendix, Martin Marietta, and United Technologies. Originally, Bendix had tried to acquire Martin Marietta. Martin Marietta then bid for Bendix, and United Technologies entered the fray to help Martin Marietta. After the dust cleared, Allied Corporation was the apparent victor. In 1985 The Signal Companies merged with Allied Corporation forming Allied-Signal Inc. Allied-Signal (later renamed to Honeywell International in 1999) now includes [what was (in 1986) called] Honeywell Inc., and in 1986 Honeywell Inc. acquired Sperry Aerospace for $1.025 billion.
Allied-Signal acquired the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division of Textron in 1994, and Grimes in 1997. Allied-Signal acquired Honeywell in 1999, and changed the name of the resulting company to Honeywell International.
Early history
In the late 1930s Honeywell added temperature controls to moving vehicles like cars, trains and airplanes. This was more challenging than a traditional stationary furnace, because the temperature around a plane changes drastically as it climbs and descends. Honeywell provided the air conditioning system for America's first nuclear-powered submarine in 1954 and many Honeywell controls were used in the Manhattan Project.