United Technologies Corporation

Infobox Company
company_name = United Technologies Corporation
company_
company_type = Public (nyse|UTX)
company_slogan = You can see everything from here.
foundation = 1929
location = Hartford, Connecticut, USA
key_people = Louis R. Chênevert, CEO George David, Chairman
num_employees = 222,000
industry = Conglomerates
products = Conglomerates
revenue = profit $54.759 billion USD (2007)| net_income = profit $4.224 billion USD (2007)| homepage = [http://www.utc.com/ utc.com]

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) (nyse|UTX) is an American multinational conglomerate based in Hartford, Connecticut and is the 20th largest U.S. manufacturer. [ [http://www.utc.com/profile/facts/index.htm United Technologies Corporation - Facts and Figures ] ] It researches, develops, and manufactures high-technology 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 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. [ [http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=14 CorpWatch : United Technologies ] ] In 2005, it received over 5 billion dollars in military contracts. Louis R. Chênevert is the current CEO. [cite web |url=http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/investing/news/breakingnews/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6739961 |title=United Technologies elects Chenevert CEO |accessdate=2008-04-09 |date=9 April 2008 |publisher=Reuters]

History

The core group of United Technologies companies was founded in 1929 as United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, by the merger of the Boeing Airplane Company, Boeing Air Transport, 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.

In 2004, UTC acquired the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation which will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary [ [http://www.sacusa.com/Closing_Press_Release.PDF Schweizer acquisition press release] ] under their Sikorsky Aircraft division. In 2007, UTC opened the Hawk Works [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2007/10/mil-071008-sikorsky01.htm Hawk Works opening article from Global Security web site] ] , 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. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-02194042.apds.m0738.bc-ct--unitmar02,0,1837156.story UTC's bid for Diebold] ] In September 2008 UTC's chairman commented that the acquisition was less than likely to happen. [ [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJ6YsVBjXFwI&refer=home Diebold Falls on United Technologies Comment on Bid (Update2)] ]

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 in 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. [ [http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=D&Cycle=2004 Top Contributors to Federal Candidates and Parties: Defense ] ] Several prominent politicians have served on the board of directors for UTC, including: former Sen. Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN), Antonia H. Chayes, former Undersecretary of the Air Force, Charles Duncan, Jr., former Secretary of Energy, Jamie S. Gorelick, former Deputy United States Attorney General, William J. Perry, former Secretary of Defense, and Christine Todd Whitman, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. [ [http://www.pogo.org/p/contracts/c/co-030618-unitedtech.html pogo.org The Politics of Contracting - United Technologies 2004 Project On Government Oversight ] ]

In 2005, United Technologies was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush. [cite news |first=Jim |last=Drinkard |title=Donors get good seats, great access this week |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-16-inauguration-donors_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date=2005-01-17 |accessdate=2008-05-25 ] [cite news |title=Financing the inauguration |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-16-inaugural-donors_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date= |accessdate=2008-05-25 ] [cite news |title=Some question inaugural's multi-million price tag |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-14-price_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date=2005-01-14 |accessdate=2008-05-25 ]

Environmental record

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have identified UTC as the 43rd-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with roughly 430,000 pounds of toxic chemicals released annually into the air. [ [http://www.peri.umass.edu/Toxic-100-Table.265.0.html Political Economy Research Institute Toxic 100] (Study released May 11, 2006) retrieved 15 Aug 2007] Major pollutants indicated by the study include manganese, chromium, nickel, and related compounds. [ [http://www.rtknet.org/new/tox100/toxic100.php?company1=4053&chemfac=chem&advbasic=bas] Toxics Release Inventory courtesy rtknet.org] The Environmental Protection Agency has named UTC asa potentially responsible party for at least 23
Superfund toxic waste sites. [ [http://www.publicintegrity.org/Superfund/SiteResults.aspx?act=united%20technologiesEPA database courtesy Center for Public Integrity] ]

They are currently on a four-year program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 12 percent, water consumption by 10 percent and non-recyclable waste by 30 percent globally.Fact|date=July 2008 UTC was a founding member of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) and has been an EPA Climate Leader since 2003.Fact|date=August 2008 In 2006, they joined the Chicago Climate Exchange as a Phase 1 and Phase 2 member. [ [http://www.utc.com/responsibility/environment.htm UTC - Community involvement, grants, financial support and support of the arts - hvac, fuel cells, helicopters, security systems, elevators ] ]

False claims verdict and fine

In August, 2008 Federal Judge Thomas Rose in Dayton, Ohio ruled that United Technologies' Pratt & Whitney unit knowingly made false claims related to billing for jet engines it supplied to the U.S. military in the 1980s and fined the company $7 million. The judge reduced the fine from the $628 million Federal prosecutors sought because the government suffered no actual damages from the false claims. [Citation
title = United Technologies Fined for Inflating Jet Costs (Update1)
last = O'Reilly
first = Cary
last2 = Schmidt
first2 = Robert
date = 2008-08-01
publisher = Bloomberg L.P.
url = http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=a59rvdd3gLjg
accessdate = 2008-08-12]

Business units

*Carrier: A maker of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems.
*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 rockets.
**Pratt & Whitney Canada
**Rocketdyne
*Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation: Maker of helicopters for commercial, industrial, and military uses.
**PZL-Mielec
**Schweizer Aircraft
*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.
* [http://www.utrc.utc.com/ United Technologies Research Center (UTRC)] : A centralized research facility that supports all UTC business units in developing new technologies and processes.

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

Like many conglomerates, UTC has dabbled in many areas. Some of these companies included:

* 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
* Chance Vought aircraft - from 1928 to 1954

References

External links

* [http://www.utc.com UTC Homepage]
* [http://www.gstock.com/quote/utx.html United Technologies Corp. stock quote & chart]
* [http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AUTX UTX stock quote & chart]