This article is about the defunct company prior to its merger with Raytheon Company. For the post-merger company, see RTX Corporation.
United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinationalconglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut.[1] It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems, HVAC, elevators and escalators, fire and security, building automation, and industrial products, among others. UTC was also a large military contractor, getting about 10% of its revenue from the U.S. government.[4][5] In April 2020, UTC merged with the Raytheon Company to form Raytheon Technologies, later renamed RTX Corporation.[6]
In 1974, Harry Jack Gray left Litton Industries to become the CEO of United Aircraft.[7] 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.[8] (The change became official on May 1, 1975.) The diversification was partially to balance civilian business against any overreliance on military business.[7] UTC became a mergers and acquisitions (M&A)–focused organization, with various forced takeovers of unwilling smaller corporations.[7] The next year (1976), UTC forcibly acquired Otis Elevator.[9] In 1979, Carrier Refrigeration and Mostek were acquired;[10] the Carrier deal was forcible, while the Mostek deal was a white knight move against hostile takeover designs by Gould.
At one point, the military portion of UTC's business, whose 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.[7] Although M&A activity was not new to United Aircraft, 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.[7]
In March 2008, UTC made a $2.63 billion bid to acquire Diebold, a Canton, Ohio based manufacturer of banking and voting machines. Diebold rejected the buyout bid as inadequate.[12]
In April 2010, UTC announced that it was investing €15 million ($20 million) to set up the United Technologies Research Centre Ireland at University College Cork’s Tyndall National Institute which will carry out research on energy and security systems.[13]
In June 2012, it was discovered that UTC sold military technology to the Chinese.[14] For pleading guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act and making false statements, United Technologies and its subsidiaries were fined $75 million.[15]
In October 2014, Toshiba and United Technologies made a deal to expand their joint venture outside Japan.[17]
In February 2016, UTC subsidiary Carrier Air Conditioner announced to employees at its Indianapolis and Huntington plants, that Carrier is moving manufacturing to Mexico: "The best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterrey, Mexico. "[18] In December, Carrier agreed to keep the Indianapolis plant open, keeping 700 jobs in Indianapolis.[19] The plant in Huntington, Indiana would still close their doors, leaving 700 employees jobless.[20]
In June 2019, United Technologies announced the intention to merge with defense contractor Raytheon to form Raytheon Technologies Corporation. The combined company, valued at more than $100 billion after planned spinoffs, would be the world's second-largest aerospace-and-defense company by sales behind Boeing.[21] Although UTC was the nominal survivor, the merged company was headquartered at legacy Raytheon's former base in Waltham, Massachusetts.[22] The merger was completed in April 2020.[6]
The chief financial officer's (CFO) position was held by Gregory Hayes until 2014, when he succeeded Louis Chênevert as CEO.[2]
The chairman of the board of directors (chairperson) position went to Louis Chênevert, then the company's CEO, in January 2010, succeeding George David.[24]
For the fiscal year 2017, United Technologies reported earnings of US$4.552 billion, with an annual revenue of US$59.837 billion, an increase of 4.5% over the previous fiscal cycle. United Technologies shares traded at over $114 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at US$98.6 billion in October 2018.[25] UTC ranked No. 51 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[26]
Collins Aerospace: 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. Collins Aerospace was formed following UTC's acquisition of Rockwell Collins in 2018, by combining the newly acquired business with UTC Aerospace Systems, which itself was the result of a 2012 merger of Hamilton Sundstrand and the Goodrich Corporation.
UTC Climate, Controls & Security:[28] Makes fire detection and suppression systems, access control systems, and security alarm systems; provides security system integration and monitoring services.
Chubb:[32] a fire and security systems manufacturer.
United Technologies Research Center (UTRC): A centralized research facility that supports all UTC business units in developing new technologies and processes.[33]
2015, UTC Building & Industrial Systems completed the acquisition of CIAT Group, a leading HVAC manufacturing company in France.[42] In November, Lockheed Martin completed its $9.0 billion acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft.[43]
2017, UTC proposed to acquire Rockwell Collins in cash and stock for $23 billion, $30 billion including Rockwell Collins' net debt, for $500+ million of synergies expected by year four.[44] In 2018, the company announced the Rockwell Collins deal had closed, and that it will split into three independent companies.[45]Pratt and Whitney and the newly formed Collins Aerospace will remain under United Technologies, while Otis Elevator and UTC Climate, Controls & Security (doing business as Carrier) will be spun off as two independent companies.[46]
Kidde:[47] a leading manufacturer of residential smoke alarms, carbon monoxide (CO) alarms and fire extinguishers. Now a subsidiary of UTC spin-off, Carrier
Clipper Windpower: A maker of wind turbines. In December 2010 Clipper Windpower was acquired by United Technologies Corporation. It was sold in 2012 to Platinum Equity LLC.
Hamilton Test Systems, an Arizona-based developer of vehicle emission test equipment, which was sold to Georgetown Partners in December 1990, which 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
Norden Systems: a corporation that manufactures electronics systems for military use, now a part of Northrop Grumman. Acquired in 1958, sold in 1994.[48]
Turbo Power and Marine Systems, Inc: a manufacturer of simple-cycle electrical power generation units of 25 MW and 50 MW. Renamed Pratt & Whitney Power Systems in 2000,[51] sold to Mitsubishi Heavy Industry in May 2013[52] and is now a MHI group company named PW Power Systems, Inc.
UT Communications: bought Lexar and Stromberg Carlson, makers of telephone equipment, which were later sold to Memorex in 1985.
UTC Power: a manufacturer of distributed power generation systems and fuel cells for commercial, transportation, and space and defense applications. It was sold to ClearEdge Power in February 2013.
During the 2004 election cycle, UTC was the sixth largest defense industry donor to political campaigns, contributing a total of $789,561; 64% went to Republicans.
In the 2006 election cycle, UTC was again the sixth largest donor to federal candidates and political parties; 53% of the funds were contributed to Republicans, 35% percent to Democrats;[53]
In 2005, the firm was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.[54][55]
In the 2016 University of Massachusetts Amherst Toxic 100 Air Polluters Index, UTC was ranked 9th by a toxicity population exposure score. It was also reported they release 60,000 pounds (27,200 kg) of toxins into the air.[65]
^ abcdeGershon, Eric (January 1, 2010). "UTC Boss Looks To Make His Mark". Hartford Courant. Vol. CLXXIV, no. 1. Hartford, Connecticut: The Hartford Courant Company. pp. A1, A8 – via Newspapers.com. The main citation is for Page A1; Page A8 appears in this clipping.