Honeywell, with significant operations in Twin Cities, will break into three companies

The once-leading Minnesota corporation, now based in North Carolina, has been pressured by shareholders to split up. Honeywell, which has deep roots in Minnesota and still has significant operations in the state, will split into three separate companies. Charlotte, N.C.-based Honeywell, one of the last U.S. industrial conglomerates, announced on Thursday that it will break out its building automation and aerospace divisions into two separate businesses. Honeywell said in December it was considering spinning off its aerospace division. Even earlier, it announced plans to spin off its advanced materials business, which makes electronic goods, refrigerants, and industrial additives. Honeywell has aerospace facilities in Plymouth and Minneapolis as well as a building automation operation in Golden Valley. It also has a facility in Bloomington. The Honeywell breakup comes after an activist shareholder, Elliott Investment Management, bought a $5 billion stake in the company last fall. Elliott had been pushing for Honeywell to split its automation and aerospace divisions. The separation of the automation and aerospace technologies businesses is expected to be completed in 2026, while the advanced materials business will be spun off by year’s end or in early 2026. A Honeywell spokeswoman said in an email to the Minnesota Star Tribune, “This is just Day 1, and it’s business as usual and there will be no changes until the separation is complete in the second half of 2026.” Honeywell had long called Minneapolis home, and it was one of Minnesota’s leading publicly traded corporations. But in 1999, its headquarters were moved to New Jersey after Allied Signal bought the company. — news from Star Tribune