North American Rockwell
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| Conglomerate | |
| Fate | Division sold Split to two companies |
| Successor |
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems BTR plc Conexant Technologies Meritor Automotive Rockwell Automation Rockwell Collins |
| Founded | 1973 by merger |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Products |
Aerospace Electronics Truck components Printing presses Valves and meters Industrial automation |
| Website | www |
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation. It was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies founded by Colonel Willard Rockwell. At its peak in the 1990s, Rockwell International was No. 27 on the Fortune 500 list, with assets of over $8 billion, sales of $27 billion and 115,000 employees.
Boston-born Willard F. Rockwell (1888-1978) made his fortune with the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. He merged his Oshkosh, Wisconsin-based operation with the Timken-Detroit Axle Company in 1928, rising to become chairman of its board in 1940.
In 1956 Rockwell Manufacturing Co. bought Walker-Turner from Kearney and Trecker. One year later in 1957, Walker-Turner operations were closed down in Plainfield, New Jersey and moved to Bellefontaine, Ohio and Tupelo, Mississippi.
Timken-Detroit merged in 1953 with the Standard Steel Spring Company, forming the Rockwell Spring and Axle Company. After various mergers with automotive suppliers, it comprised about 10 to 20 factories in the Upper Midwestern U.S. and southern Ontario, and in 1958 renamed itself Rockwell-Standard Corporation.
Pittsburgh-based Rockwell Standard then acquired and merged with Los Angeles-based North American Aviation to form North American Rockwell in September 1967. It then purchased or merged with Miehle-Goss-Dexter, the largest supplier of printing presses, and in 1973 acquired Collins Radio, a major avionics supplier. Finally, in 1973 the company merged with Rockwell Manufacturing, run by Willard Rockwell, Jr., to form Rockwell International. In the same year, the company acquired Admiral Radio and TV for $500 million. In 1979, the appliance division was sold to Magic Chef.
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Wikipedia