Our History

Honeywell Specialty Materials is one of four strategic business groups within Honeywell International, a diversified technology and manufacturing leader serving customers with Aerospace products and services; Control technologies; Automotive products; Specialty Chemicals; Fibers and Electronic Materials.

Honeywell Specialty Materials began as Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation in 1920 when Washington Post publisher Eugene Meyer and scientist William Nichols consolidated five American chemical companies with headquarters in New York City. In 1928, Allied opened a synthetic ammonia plant in Hopewell, Virginia, becoming the world's leading producer of ammonia. Today, Honeywell still has operations in Hopewell.

In 1943, Allied established operations in New Jersey with its Central Research Laboratory in Morris Township at a former umbrella manufacturing plant. Corporate headquarters moved to Morris Township in 1971.

Allied merged with the Signal Companies in 1985 to form Allied-Signal. The new corporation had critical mass in three areas: aerospace, automotive and engineered materials. Allied-Signal began a significant effort to develop and commercialize environmentally-safer substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) by 1988, and today, Honeywell Specialty Materials offers one of the industry's broadest lines of environmentally-safer products for commercial air conditioning, refrigeration and other uses.

Emphasizing intent to grow internationally, in 1995 Honeywell Specialty Materials purchased  the Riedel-de Haën facility in Seelze, Germany, establishing one of Honeywell's largest production sites, manufacturing agrochemicals, inorganic and organic fine chemicals, luminescent pigments and plastics additives, functional dyes and chemicals. Honeywell further bolstered its chemicals portfolio in 1996 by acquiring Muskegon, Mich.-based Burdick and Jackson high-purity solvents. Honeywell also demonstrated a commitment to its Electronic Materials business by opening the Semiconductor Technology and Research center (STaR Center) West, a multi-million dollar low-k integration facility in Sunnyvale, Calif.

In 1999, AlliedSignal and Honeywell Inc. announced a merger to create a global technology company with $25 billion in revenues and technical and product leadership across a wide range of industries. The new company, called Honeywell, would later realign to form four strategic business groups: Aerospace, Automation & Control Solutions, Transportation and Power Systems and Specialty Materials, which was formed by the combination of the Performance Polymers & Chemicals and Electronic Materials businesses.

Honeywell acquired Johnson Matthey Electronics in 1999, becoming one of the top five providers of integrated materials and technology solutions to the electronics industry. Another move to bolster the Electronic Materials business was a 2001 joint venture created between Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Honeywell forming GEM Electronics Materials, L.L.C. Honeywell Specialty Materials purchased Mitsubishi's stake, taking sole ownership in 2004.

In 2005 Honeywell Specialty Materials acquired the 50 percent interest in UOP LLC formerly indirectly owned by Union Carbide Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, giving Honeywell full ownership of the entity.  UOP, a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, process plants and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical and gas processing industries, is now part of Honeywell's Specialty Materials portfolio of businesses, further strengthening Specialty Materials' portfolio of growth-oriented businesses.