Honeywell faces project inquiry

By SCOTT BARANCIK

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 19, 2000

CLEARWATER -- Honeywell officials say the company is cooperating with a federal inquiry into a project at its Clearwater facility.

NASA and Department of Defense representatives visited the $24-billion aerospace firm late last week in search of information about its "miniature inertial measurement units," a company spokesman said. The 9-pound devices help satellites determine their position in the sky and can serve both military and commercial purposes.

Larry Speight, vice president and general manager of Honeywell's space systems division, said he had no comment Saturday and hung up on a reporter.

But Honeywell spokesman Thomas Crane confirmed the visit to the 1,800-employee facility, saying federal officials requested information concerning the satellite devices and their manufacture.

"At this point, we don't know the focus of the inquiry," he said. "We're providing them with whatever information they need."

Honeywell spokesman Joseph Militano said it is not unusual for government officials to seek information from contractors. Still, he said, he didn't know the circumstances of the visit. "I'm not saying that this instance is fairly routine," he said. "I don't know enough about it to characterize it for you."

Contacted at home Saturday, NASA Inspector General Roberta L. Grossal said she was unaware of any particular inquiry at Honeywell but said it was possible one was under way without her knowledge.

According to NASA's Web site, the company has 24 separate contracts with the space agency worth a combined $110-million. AlliedSignal, a Morristown, N.J.-based firm that announced in June it was acquiring Honeywell, has NASA contracts worth more than $2-billion.

-- Scott Barancik can be reached at (727) 893-8215. Times staff writer Mike Brassfield contributed to this report.

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