AlliedSignal - History

History

The Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation originated with the 1920 merger of five chemical companies: Barrett Chemical Company (est. 1858), General Chemical Company (est. 1899), National Aniline & Chemical Company (est. 1917), Semet-Solvay Company (est. 1895), and the Solvay Process Company (est. 1881), with the backing of chemist William Nichols, who became concerned about dependence on the German chemical industry during World War I, and financier Eugene Meyer. The company renamed itself the Allied Chemical Corporation in 1958, then simply the Allied Corporation in 1981. Allied merged with the Bendix Corporation in 1983, beginning the company's involvement in aerospace.

The Signal Companies traced their history to the Signal Gasoline company, founded by Samuel B. Mosher in 1922. It renamed itself to Signal Gas & Oil in 1928 to reflect its expanding businesses; by the 1950s, Signal was the largest independent oil company on the West Coast of the United States and Mosher held large stakes in American President Lines and Flying Tiger Line. In 1964, Signal merged with the Garrett Corporation, an aerospace company, in 1964, and the combined company adopted The Signal Companies as its corporate name in 1968.

The merger of Allied and Signal made aerospace the new company's largest business sector. The combined company adopted the name Allied-Signal on September 19, 1985. It dropped the hyphen to become AlliedSignal in 1993 to reinforce a one-company image and signify the full integration of all of its businesses. In 1999, AlliedSignal acquired Honeywell and took its more-recognizable name. The acquisition was meant as a final triumphant move to cap off a long career by AlliedSignal's CEO, Larry Bossidy.