A look at United Technologies Corp. through the years.
United Technologies has been synonymous with Connecticut since its visionary CEO Harry Gray transformed a collection of aerospace companies into a multi-faceted conglomerate headquartered in the iconic Gold Building in downtown Hartford. On Sunday, UTC announced a merger with Raytheon Corp. and said its headquarters would shift to the Boston area.
In Connecticut the heart of UTC has long been Pratt & Whitney, the engine manufacturer that has defined East Hartford ever since 1930, when a group led by Frederick Rentschler set out to build the company. Development of the Wasp engine began in a garage in New Jersey, but production moved to Hartford in 1925 because of its highly skilled workforce and assistance from the established Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool. Co. The engine manufacturer quickly outgrew its space on Capitol Avenue in Hartford and moved to East Hartford.
Pratt’s world-famous dependable engines played a crucial role in U.S. aviation. Its workforce totaled about 40,000 during World War II and its engines powered Navy and Army fighters, bombers and transports. Much of the region’s housing — from small Capes to grand Tudors — was built for company employees.
1860: Pratt & Whitney Co. founded in Hartford by Francis Pratt and Amos Whitney.
World War I: Frederick Rentschler commissioned a captain in the Army and oversees aircraft engine production. Aviation becomes his consuming passion.
Post World War I: Rentschler works with the Wright brothers to create Wright Aeronautical Corp.
1924: Rentschler quits as president of Wright Aeronautical Corp., after the board declines to invest in new engine technology.
1925: Rentschler and two employees build the first Wasp air-cooled radial engine as Rentschler creates the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co. with factory space on Capitol Avenue in Hartford and $1.25 million in financing from Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool Co.
1926: First production Wasp engine takes to the air; becomes the world standard because of its reliability.
1929: The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation is formed when Rentschler teams up with William Boeing to form a company uniting all aspects of aviation — engine and airframe manufacturing and airline businesses serving civil and military markets.
1929: United Aircraft and Transport Corp. breaks ground on a complex in East Hartford to accommodate its growing business; ends association with Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool.
1930: The company leaves Hartford for its $2 million complex in East Hartford.
1934: Federal regulators break up United Aircraft and Transport Corp.; the result is United Aircraft consisting of Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, Chance Vought and Hamilton Standard, become United Aircraft Corp., headquartered in Hartford with Rentschler as president; Boeing; and United Airlines.
1940: Pratt & Whitney has 40,000 employees in 9 million square feet, mostly in East Hartford.
World War II: Pratt produces thousands of engines that power Army and Navy bombers, fighters and transports.
Post World War II: Pratt & Whitney works to develop the nuclear-powered J91 engine.
1952: The B-52 bomber takes it first flight powered by Pratt & Whitney J57 engines.
1969: FAA certifies the JT9D turbofan engine to power the first generation of wide body commercial jets, including the Boeing 747.
1972: Harry Gray is named CEO of United Aircraft. Over the next decade, he transforms a loose array of aerospace businesses, dominated by Pratt & Whitney, into one of the nation’s most respected conglomerates.
1975: The company headquarters moves to the Gold Building in downtown Hartford and the company grows into a diversified giant with $17 billion in sales.
1975: United Aircraft renames itself United Technologies Corp.
1976: UTC acquires Otis Elevator.
1979: UTC acquires Carrier Corp.
1985: Harry Gray steps down as CEO of the company he built into a global powerhouse and is succeeded by Robert F. Daniell.
1993: A sharp downturn in the economy and the aerospace industry leads to deep job cuts at Pratt. Amid fears of plant closures and deeper cuts, the company and its workers reach agreement on a deal that freezes wages in return for a company promise to maintain minimum employment levels in Connecticut.
2003: UTC buys Chubb fire and security business.
2007: UTC merged its fire and security business in its UTC Climate, Controls & Security unit.
2009: After a highly publicized divorce trial that features testimony about lavish lifestyles and detailed accusations of infidelity, UTC chairman George David reaches a divorce settlement with his Swedish countess wife, Marie Douglas-Davi.
2011: Maiden flight of geared turbofan engine on a specially equipped 747. UTC spent more than $10 billion over 25 years to research, develop and test the engine, which it touts as quieter and more fuel-efficient than what its competitors manufacture. But the engine is dogged by production problems, including the manufacture of a titanium fan blade.
2011: Pratt selected as sole supplier of engines for the F-35 fighter. Production of F135 engines guarantees increased employment at Pratt.
2012: UTC buys Goodrich Corp., a Charlotte, N.C., aviation parts and components manufacturer, for $18 billion, as UTC evolves into a builder of more parts of the aircraft.
2012: UTC sells UTC Power, its fuel cell business, as it exits non-aerospace businesses.
2015: UTC sells Sikorsky Aircraft to Lockheed Martin Corp. for $9 billion as it began intensifying its focus on aviation and aerospace.
2015: UTC moves its headquarters out of Gold Building to 10 Farm Springs Road, Farmington.
2018: UTC buys Rockwell Collins Inc., an Iowa manufacturer of aviation components and digital technology, for $30 billion; incorporates it into UTC as Collins Aerospace.
2018: United Technologies Corp. announces it will split into three companies, spinning off its Otis elevator and Climate, Controls & Security businesses to focus on the booming aerospace industry.
June 9, 2019: United Technologies Corp announces it is merging with Raytheon, moving its headquarters out of its historic home in Connecticut.