Honeywell traces its roots to inventor Albert Butz's company, the Butz-Thermo Electric Regulator Co. in 1885, which produced a predecessor to the modern thermostat. From its origins developing climate control technology, which still operates today, Honeywell has emerged as a sprawling conglomerate with operations that span the globe. Today, it operates through four business segments--aerospace, building technologies, performance materials and technologies, and safety and productivity solutions--increasingly transforming itself into a software-industrial company serving diverse end markets like the U.S. defense, e-commerce, and oil and gas industries.