UTC Aerospace Unit Gets Florida Offices
Follows Rockwell Merger
United Technologies Corp. has leased office space in West Palm Beach, Fla., for the executive offices of its new aerospace division.
The aerospace and building systems manufacturer is merging its UTC Aerospace Systems business, based in Charlotte, N.C., with Rockwell Collins Inc. UTC is buying the Cedar Rapids, Iowabased aviation manufacturer for $30 billion.
The combined company, Collins Aerospace, will have executive offices in West Palm Beach, where UTC’s jet engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney, has operated for years. UTC has leased 16,000 square feet of office space in downtown West Palm Beach, The Palm Beach Post reported Thursday.
Christopher Roog, director of economic development for West Palm Beach, said the Collins Aerospace move is a “welcome addition.”
Municipal officials have been marketing downtown as a financial services hub and corporate headquarters, he said. With 232 businesses in a half-square-mile of downtown, West Palm Beach has a “good cluster” of businesses, Roog said.
A UTC spokesman, asked to confirm the office space deal, referred to an announcement in February by UTC Aerospace Systems and Rockwell Collins that a “small exe- cutive leadership office” will be at a UTC site in Palm Beach County, Florida.
The companies also said a “high-level organizational structure” for Collins Aerospace will be designed around six strategic business units at current sites. Businesses for aerostructures will be in Chula Vista, Calif.; avionics and mission systems in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; interiors in Winston-Salem, N.C.; mechanical systems in Charlotte, N.C.; and power and controls in Windsor Locks.
The various locations reflect UTC’s global reach. In addition to its corporate headquarters and Otis elevator headquarters in Farmington, the conglomerate operates its Pratt & Whitney headquarters and research center in East Hartford; an engine factory in Middletown; a digital accelerator in New York City; Otis, Pratt & Whitney and UTC Aerospace Systems sites in Singapore; and other manufacturing and repair sites in Columbus, Ga., and elsewhere.
In 2016, UTC opened a corporate headquarters of its building climate busi- ness in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The location of business headquarters is a touchy subject in Connecticut, particularly after General Electric Co. moved to Boston last year, ending its 42-year presence in Fairfield.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly approved a deal with UTC in 2014, unlocking millions of dollars of tax credits for the conglomerate in exchange for a $500 million investment. Supporters said thousands of manufacturing and other suppliers will benefit. Critics called it corporate welfare for a publicly traded multinational.
UTC is running into delays as it seeks approval from Chinese regulators before it can wrap up its Rockwell Collins acquisition. The deal, which was to close by Sept. 30, is now expected to be wrapped up by late November or early December.
The acquisition would place UTC in a commanding position in the manufacturing of planes and their parts and components such as cockpit and navigation equipment, landing gear and airline data collection.