| AlliedSignal | 101 Columbia Rd., Morristown, NJ 07962-1057 |
| www.alliedsignal.com | 973-455-2000 Fax: 973-455-4807 |
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In December 1999, AlliedSignal merged with competitor Honeywell. The combined company is now called Honeywell. The link to that snapshot is: http://209.10.50.82/intranet/snapshots/frameplain.cfm?caprange=honeywell&plain=0&CFID=896030&CFTOKEN=99187861
Turbocharged
This manufacturing giant functions like one of its own well-oiled machines under the direction of CEO Larry Bossidy. Divided into three units, AlliedSignal is one of the world's top makers of aerospace and automotive products, chemicals, and engineered materials. Its Engineered Materials sector is the world's largest producer of hydrofluoric acid and third largest manufacturer of nylon in the U.S. The Automotive sector manufactures everything from seat belts and airbags to turbochargers and spark plugs. The Aerospace division develops and produces aircraft collision warning systems.
Five alive
AlliedSignal traces its history to World War I, when Washington Post publisher Eugene Meyer and scientist William Nichols decided to counter the German dominance of the world's chemical industry. Combining five American chemical companies, Meyer and Nichols organized the Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation and began to manufacture ammonia in Hopewell, VA. Meanwhile, Signal was organized as a California based gasoline company with drilling activities in 1928. The two companies merged in 1985, creating a huge aerospace, automotive, and advanced materials business.
Beefy and better
Under CEO Larry Bossidy, who was hired from GE in 1991, Allied has recently focused on international expansion and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry. In 1997, Allied bought Prestone Products and Swiss-based Pharmaceutical Fine Chemicals. It is also optimistic about aerospace sales growth, partly because it recently won a beefy contract for British Airways' new Airbus aircraft plus its new advance warning systems are being widely used by airlines to alert pilots of approaching mountainsides. Allied recently reorganized its aerospace division, hoping to reduce costs save the company $30-$50 million a year.
You can't always get what you want
However, Allied doesn't always gets what it wants. A $10 billion bid to acquire AMP failed, largely due to a skeptical Pennsylvania legislature and federal court. Yet even in the midst of growth, the company has been conscientiously tightening its belt. Allied has eliminating its less profitable businesses and pulled the plug on almost 28,000 jobs. In further efforts to shift their focus towards high growth industries the company has has sold off its low-margin laminate-systems business and agreed to acquire semiconductor material supplier Johnson Matthey Electronics in the summer of 1999.
Honey, I'm home
In June 1999, Allied announced it would purchase Honeywell in an all-stock deal worth $15 billion. The new business, which will be called Honeywell, will be a Fortune 50 company and the third largest industrial group in the Western Hemisphere - after GE, Tyco and Siemens (Germany). Allied's Larry Bossidy will serve as the new company's Chairman, and will work to integrate the two companies until April 2000, when he retires. Michael R. Bonsignore, Honeywell's Chairman/CEO, will serve as CEO of the new Honeywell. Bonsignore will take over as Chairman when Bossidy leaves.
The reorganization is expected to be completed by Bossidy's retirement date. The company is expected to lay off staff according to the 1+1=1 rule, which means that each merged department will be reduced to the size of the larger pre-merger one. Approximately 2,000 jobs will be eliminated during the first six months of restructuring, and an additional 2,500 are expected to be cut the subsequent year.
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AlliedSignal accepts resumes by both fax and regular mail. The company scans resumes into a national database and matches them to available positions for up to six months. Many facilities also have local job hotlines, which provide callers with information about employment opportunities at that particular location. The company reportedly seeks those who "have outstanding computer skills" and are "able to work comfortably around top executives" in a "team-oriented" atmosphere.
Allied recruits at a number of colleges and universities around the country including the University of California at Berkeley, Cornell, Duke, Georgia Tech, NYU, Penn State, Stanford and Virginia Tech. The company also targets students enrolled in specific programs such as the Human Resources (University of South Carolina) and International Management (Thunderbird).
For MBA hires, Allied offers the Pathways Leadership Development Program for students who strive to become General Managers or pursue a specific career track in Finance, Human Resources, Sales and Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, and Information Systems. The three year program promises assignments that are "real jobs where participants are expected to make meaningful contributions to their business" along with career discussions with an executive mentor and performance coaching from an assignment.
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Feels fantastic
Employees at AlliedSignal speak highly of their co-workers; as one person in the Aerospace division puts it, "CEO Larry Bossidy makes a huge investment in his people and it shows in the talents garnered in the workforce." Some employees complain that "decision making and leadership are not the strong points of upper-level management." On the other hand, most regard the training program as "fantastic" and take pride in working for such a large "world-class organization."
Dollar for dollar
Employees disagree about the pay scale, which some call "outstanding" and others regard as "below average." However, "AlliedSignal has some of the best benefits in the industry," according to one employee, "including a stock/savings plan which matches your contribution at 1 for 1 (dollar for dollar) with full vesting after 5 years. Up to 5 years, your contribution is matched at 50%." With the exception of the occasional executive-level meeting, dress around the office is "business casual all the time."
Hours are "fixed at 40: 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (except in manufacturing). Manufacturing works many Saturdays, but few Sundays." There are plenty of opportunities at Allied for women and minorities. Says one employee, "Allied is one of the most non-biased, non-prejudice companies I have ever worked for. My own immediate supervisor is a man but HIS supervisor is a woman. I find her to be more talented and committed than most men I worked for."
Open doors
Employees derive much of their job satisfaction from their autonomy and flexibility; they remark that "our superiors leave us to work my job from day-to-day without too much observation and interference." Says another employee: "the corporate culture is one of change and empowerment, with an emphasis on an 'open door' communication structure."
Foreign predators
But working at Allied does have its challenges though. Like many aerospace companies, Allied is "faced with increasing threat of competition from foreign concerns, and the demand for 100% reliability at reduced cost. AlliedSignal is no different; in fact it is probably more demanding than most you will encounter. The work is intense...Sometimes this involves making personal sacrifices to stay late, even if it interrupts plans you have made in your personal life."
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Human Relations Director
Human Resources
410-992-5813
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Aircraft wheels;Avionics systems;Engines;Flight recorders;Wind-shear detection systems;Electronics coatings;Fluorocarbons; Hydrofluoric acid;Nylon;Photo dyes;Pigments;Polymers;Solvents;Specialty chemicals;Antifreeze;Engine components ;Oil and air filters;Spark plugs;Turbochargers
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