History
ITT has a rich and vibrant legacy, shaped by world-class products and services, technological leadership, international expansion and a series of successful reinventions. Beginning as a telecommunications provider, ITT grew to be one of the largest global conglomerates and completed multiple demergers, before becoming the focused global multi-industrial company it is today.
A Historic Call
The story of ITT begins with a historic call — for its founders to develop phones. The original International Telephone & Telegraph was created in 1920 by two brothers named Sosthenes and Hernand Behn who set out to build the first worldwide system of interconnected telephone lines. The company had a small beginning as the Puerto Rico Telephone Company but grew quickly through strategic acquisitions and the purchase of telephony patents. The result was the creation of a major international provider of telephone switching equipment and telecommunications services.
The Conglomerate Years
The next chapter for ITT can best be described as the conglomerate years. From 1960 to 1977, ITT acquired more than 350 companies and had a portfolio that included well-known businesses such as Sheraton hotels, Avis Rent-a-Car, Hartford Insurance and Continental Baking, the maker of Wonder Bread. During that time, ITT grew from a medium-sized business with $760 million in sales to a global corporation with revenue of $17 billion.
Following the conglomerate years, ITT began restructuring through strategic divestitures and acquisitions to organize the company into more manageable segments. It culminated in 1995 when ITT split into three separate, independent companies: ITT Corporation, which was focused on the hotel and gaming businesses; ITT Hartford, which became a stand-alone insurance operation; and ITT Industries, which started as a collection of manufacturing companies.
A decade later, ITT Corporation had been acquired, ITT Hartford had changed its name, and ITT Industries continued its transformation. ITT Industries, which changed its name back to ITT Corporation in 2006, played an important role in several vital markets, including water treatment and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control.
A New ITT
Throughout each chapter in its history, ITT has been known for pursuing transformative strategies to create value for shareowners. In 2011, a new chapter began when ITT Corporation separated into three independent publicly traded companies spinning off its water and defense-related businesses. After five years of success, ITT reorganized in 2016 creating a brand new parent company, ITT Inc., a global, multi-industrial manufacturer of highly engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for a wide range of transportation, industrial and energy markets.
The Next Chapter
As of 2024, the new ITT reached several key milestones: three billion dollars of annual revenue and the $10 billion market cap threshold. The company's growth and differentiation are sustained through a combination of several factors: execution, the quality of leadership and a debt-free balance sheet.
In addition to the company's organic growth, inorganic growth through acquisitions has been a main component of the new ITT's story. These additions enabled the company to expand its product portfolio across the key end markets it serves: transportation, flow (for the industrial, chemical, energy and mining industries) and aerospace and defense. Recent acquisitions of highly engineered products include Habonim (an Israeli-based provider of valves and actuators), Micro-Mode (a California-based specialty connectors manufacturer for space and defense applications) and Svanehøj (a Denmark-based provider of customized critical liquid and cryogenic pumps). By integrating these acquisitions into the company's ‘Safety, Quality, Deliver and Cost' operating framework, ITT has grown sustainably and solidified itself as a global industrial manufacturing leader.
With ITT's ongoing focus on innovation, operational excellence and flawless customer service across all its brands, ITT is well-positioned for continued value creation for customers, shareholders and employees now and into the future.