Honeywell can trace its roots back 125 years to 1885, when an inventor named Albert Butz patented the furnace regulator and alarm. He formed the Butz Thermo-Electric Regulator Co. in Minneapolis on April 23, 1886, and a few weeks later invented a simple, yet ingenious device that he called the “damper flapper.”

Today, Honeywell holds more than 28,000 patents or pending patents worldwide and was ranked in the top 10 among U.S. companies and the top 25 worldwide by the Intellectual Property Owners Association in the number of U.S. patents granted in 2009.

In 2009, Honeywell also successfully launched 600 new products. And, in 2010, Honeywell was named one of the “Top 10 Most Inventive Companies” in the U.S. by Forbes magazine and a “Most Innovative Company” by Fast Company.

With approximately 122,000 employees worldwide, including 19,000 engineers and scientists, Honeywell has a relentless focus on quality, delivery, value, and technology in everything we make and do.

For more information, interact with and explore some of Honeywell’s most innovative and differentiated technologies.

FORTUNE magazine announced that Honeywell has been ranked 74 on the 2010 FORTUNE 500 list, which ranks all U.S. companies by revenue.

The full list of the largest U.S. companies is currently available online and related stories will appear in the May 3 issue of FORTUNE magazine, which will also be available on newsstands on April 19.

“U.S. corporations are staging a nearly unprecedented comeback that’s largely escaping notice,” said Shawn Tully, FORTUNE magazine’s editor-at-large.  “For 2009, the FORTUNE 500 lifted earnings 335%, to $391 billion, a $301 billion jump that’s the second largest in the list’s 56-year history, approaching the increase in the robust recovery of 2003.  For last year, the 500 raised their return on sales from less than 1% to 4%. That’s close to the list’s 4.7% historical average.”

For more information, read the online article and view the full list.

Honeywell was named one of the “Top 10 Most Inventive Companies” in the U.S. by Forbes magazine.

According to the article, “The U.S. companies that won the most patents last year also had high earnings and returns on capital, meaning they are good at wringing profits out of the money they invest.”

Honeywell holds more than 29,000 patents or pending patents worldwide and was ranked #8 among U.S. companies and #21 worldwide by the Intellectual Property Owners Association in the number of U.S. patents granted in 2008.

The ranking was compiled using data from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filings by IFI Patent Intelligence, a unit of Dutch media company Wolters Kluwer.

Read the Forbes article.

Honeywell has again been selected as one of the “Most Admired Companies” in the world by Fortune magazine. For the second consecutive year, Honeywell was ranked number three in the Aerospace and Defense industry. In addition, Honeywell ranked number two in the Aerospace and Defense industry’s “long-term” investment category, moving up from number three last year.

Fortune surveyed more than 15,000 top executives, directors and members of the financial community. Results are featured in the March magazine edition.

View this year’s winners.

Norm Gilsdorf, president of Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS), has been named a Distinguished Engineering Alumni (DEA) Award winner from his alma mater, Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Gilsdorf was selected for his outstanding technical and business achievements and his dedication to Purdue University.

After graduating from Purdue in 1977 with a degree in chemical engineering, Gilsdorf joined UOP, a joint venture fully acquired by Honeywell in 2005, where he spent 30 years in various leadership positions, including senior vice president and general manager of the Process Technology and Equipment business. Gilsdorf joined HPS in 2008 as vice president and general manager of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and became president of the business in 2009.

The Purdue College of Engineering has more than 81,000 living alumni. Since 1964, the distinction of DEA has been bestowed upon only 423 of these outstanding individuals who have become leaders in business, public service, and academia.

For more information, read the press release.

John McClurg, Vice President of Honeywell Global Security, was named one of the “Most Influential People in Security” for 2009 by Security Magazine.

The magazine called McClurg “one of the best leaders in the industry,” and acknowledged his responsibility for the strategic and tactical operations of Honeywell’s internal global security services.

McClurg joined Honeywell in 2005, bringing with him more than 22 years of diverse business and security experience. His background includes extensive knowledge of cyber-counterintelligence, computer investigations and infrastructure threat assessments, and counterespionage.

McClurg serves on Honeywell’s Technology Leadership and IT Councils, chairs the Awareness and Innovation Committee of the Overseas Security Advisory Council of the U.S. Department of State, and sits on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Domestic Security Alliance Council.

Each year, Security Magazine solicits nominations from thousands of security industry executives worldwide. With assistance from its editorial advisory board, the magazine reviews each nomination and decides who makes the final list based on who has positively impacted and encouraged colleagues, future security executives, and the general public on security matters. 

Read the full article.

Honeywell has been selected as one of America’s top companies for Investor Relations, according to Institutional Investor magazine’s annual “U.S. Investor Relations” rankings.

The magazine is recognizing Honeywell for:
    – Best Chief Financial Officer – Nominated by the Buy Side
    – Best Chief Financial Officer – Nominated by the Sell Side
    – Best Investor Relations – Nominated by the Buy Side

Institutional Investor magazine polled close to 800 portfolio managers and buy-side individuals, as well as 570 sell-side analysts. Voters identified companies with the best investor relations, as well as the top Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, and Investor Relations professionals.

These results are part of Institutional Investor magazine’s U.S. Investor Relations Perception Study – a comprehensive analysis that cuts beneath the surface of the rankings and offers insight into the voting, as well as the criteria voters use to measure the effectiveness of successful Investor Relations programs.

Read more about the winners.

Kathleen Winters, Honeywell’s Vice President and Corporate Controller, has been named one of the top females in the finance industry by Treasury and Risk magazine.

As the company’s Chief Accounting Officer, Winters oversees Honeywell’s SEC and statutory reporting, accounting policies, internal controls and finance transformation for general accounting.  She is also responsible for government accounting and compliance and serves as a member of the Integrity and Compliance Council.

Prior to this role, Winters was Vice President of Business Analysis and Planning at Honeywell, where she was responsible for strategic and annual financial planning, short range forecasting, and internal financial reporting. 

For more information, read the article in Treasury and Risk magazine.

Honeywell has been selected to receive the prestigious 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for its Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (FM&T). The award is the nation’s highest honor for innovation and performance excellence.

Honeywell FM&T submitted its application in May, which was assessed by a group of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality examiners. In October, a team of examiners interviewed over 300 Honeywell employees to verify information in the application and identify Honeywell’s strengths and opportunities for improvement in its performance excellence journey.

Companies are examined in seven categories: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis, and improvement of organization performance; workforce focus; process management; and results. 

Honeywell FM&T and the other four recipients of the 2009 Baldrige Award will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. next year.

For more information, read the press release.

Building on three years of Treasury and Risk magazine’s “Alexander Hamilton Award” (AHA) wins, Honeywell won awards in the “Best Green Strategy” and “Retirement and Benefits” categories this year.

The AHA awards honor treasury and finance departments for their excellence in solving finance and treasury management challenges.

Honeywell won “Best Green Strategy” for providing financing options to government consumers of its energy efficient products and energy saving performance contracts.  The company also won in the “Retirement and Benefits” category for managing updates to its 401(k) plan while maintaining the plan’s low-cost structure last year.

In 2008 and 2007, Honeywell won the “Overall Excellence” and “Cash Management” awards.  The company also won for their corporate governance practices in 2008 and global liquidity efforts in 2007.

Read the full story about all of the award winners in Treasury and Risk magazine.