Rockwell Automation

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Meet the OTTO fleet.

© OTTO by Rockwell Automation/Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rockwell Automation is an American company that develops factory control systems, industrial software, and related technologies for manufacturers. It traces its roots to Rockwell International Corporation, whose businesses included aircraft, space systems, electronics, and industrial automation. Before selling its aerospace and defense businesses to The Boeing Company (BA) in 1996 and becoming Rockwell Automation in 2001, the company was one of the nation’s leading aerospace contractors, contributing to the U.S. space program and producing military and commercial aircraft.

Rockwell Automation traces its history to two companies that merged in 1967: North American Aviation, Incorporated, one of the leading U.S. aircraft manufacturers of the 20th century, and Rockwell-Standard Corporation, an industrial manufacturer whose roots dated to 1919.

The history of North American Aviation dates to its incorporation in 1928 by the financier and corporate organizer Clement Melville Keys as an elaborate holding company, 70% of which was owned by Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Corporation and the remainder by Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT), Curtiss Flying Service, and Donald Douglas. In 1933, automobile giant General Motors (GM) acquired a 30% stake in North American Aviation through its subsidiary General Aviation Corporation, which also owned Fokker Aircraft.

By early 1934, North American owned the Sperry Gyroscope Company, more than a quarter of its former parent TAT (which later became Trans World Airlines), and a majority share of Western Air Express. Because of new U.S. antitrust legislation separating aircraft manufacturers from airlines, GM sold most of its aviation holdings. Although North American Aviation remained partially owned by GM, it became an autonomous company.

Under the leadership of aircraft engineer James Kindelberger, who became North American’s president in 1934, the company transformed itself from a holding company into a highly successful aircraft manufacturer by focusing on single-engine airplanes. Its first major production contract came after the U.S. Army Air Corps ordered 42 BT-9 trainer aircraft, the company’s first significant military aircraft. Between 1935 and 1945 North American supplied more than 42,000 military aircraft, including the P-51 Mustang fighter and the T-6 Texan trainer (both first flown in 1940).

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North American Aviation F-86 jet fighter, which became operational in 1949. During the Korean War F-86s were pitted against Soviet-built MiG-15s in history’s first large-scale jet fighter combat.

United States Air Force Museum

After World War II, North American’s aircraft division developed the F-86 Sabre (first flown in 1949), the first American swept-wing jet fighter, and the F-100 Super Sabre, the first American production fighter to fly at supersonic speeds for sustained periods. GM sold its controlling share of North American to the public in 1948, after which the aircraft maker began to diversify, becoming involved in the development of rockets, guidance systems, and atomic energy. It also developed the Thor, Redstone, Jupiter, and Atlas rockets, which launched U.S. satellites and space capsules into orbit in the late 1950s and ’60s.

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An X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft, built by North American Aviation, separating from a Boeing B-52 during an air launch on June 21, 1960.

NASA

In the 1950s North American built the X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft for the U.S. military and NASA to gather information on flight conditions beyond the atmosphere. First flown in 1959, the X-15 set unofficial altitude and speed records for aircraft during the 1960s—almost 108 km (67 miles) and 6.7 times the speed of sound.

Rockwell-Standard traced its origins to a small axle plant founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, by Col. Willard Rockwell in 1919. The company produced truck axles for military use during World War I and in 1928 merged with the Timken-Detroit Axle Company, a leader in the heavy-duty axle field. During the 1930s Rockwell worked with the U.S. War Department to design truck and tank transmissions and eventually expanded into all types of automotive parts.

By the 1950s Rockwell-Standard had grown into a diversified manufacturer serving the automotive, trucking, and industrial equipment markets. In 1958 Rockwell moved into aircraft manufacturing by acquiring Aero Design and Engineering. That acquisition broadened Rockwell’s manufacturing capabilities and positioned it for its 1967 merger with North American Aviation.

In 1967, North American Aviation merged with Rockwell-Standard Corporation to form North American Rockwell Corporation, combining one of the nation’s leading aircraft manufacturers with a diversified industrial company. The company adopted the name Rockwell International Corporation in 1973.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, the company’s North American division became the key development center for the Apollo program, including the Saturn V rocket’s second stage and final assembly of the entire launcher. It also designed and built the Apollo Command and Service modules.

In 1972, it began development of the space shuttle for NASA, eventually building five operational orbiters. The company’s Rocketdyne division (established as part of North American Aviation in 1955) developed the rocket engines used in many U.S. space programs, including those for the three stages of the Saturn V rocket and the main engines of the shuttle orbiter.

Rockwell International’s last airplane was the supersonic, variable-wing B-1B Lancer bomber (first flown in 1984). Despite these successes, Rockwell in the 1980s diversified into such fields as electronics and automotive products in an effort to reduce its dependence on U.S. government-contracted space systems and weapons.

In 1985, Rockwell acquired Milwaukee-based Allen-Bradley, a leading manufacturer of industrial control equipment, for $1.6 billion. The acquisition significantly expanded Rockwell’s presence in factory automation and became the foundation for its industrial automation business.

By the time it sold its defense electronics and aerospace businesses to Boeing in 1996, Rockwell had become a major manufacturer of modem chips, commercial avionics, and factory automation equipment. The sale marked the company’s transition away from aerospace and defense and toward the industrial automation business that would become Rockwell Automation.

In 2001, Rockwell International completed its transformation by spinning off its avionics and communications business as Rockwell Collins, which was acquired by United Technologies in 2018, later becoming RTX Corp. (RTX).

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Carrying a heavy load.

© OTTO by Rockwell Automation/Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved.

Following the spin-off, Rockwell International began doing business as Rockwell Automation and retained the New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol ROK. It formally changed its name to Rockwell Automation, Inc., in 2002. The company focused on industrial automation, building on the businesses that Rockwell International had developed and acquired during the previous two decades.

Rockwell Automation continued to expand its industrial automation through acquisitions, including:

The modern company bears little resemblance to the aerospace contractor that helped build the Apollo spacecraft and space shuttle, or the truck axle business founded by Col. Rockwell. Yet Rockwell Automation traces its history to both, reflecting a century-long evolution from industrial manufacturing to aerospace to factory automation.