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• AlliedSignal Inc. had a Fluoroglass Divi- sion, which amongst others, manufac- tured PTFE/glass laminates under the trade name of Oak. Hoosick Falls, the small town in New York where AlliedSignal also made FR-4 laminates and copper foil, was also the location for the manufacture of PTFE/ glass prepregs, which were then shipped to AlliedSignal Laminates' plant in LaCrosse for pressing. is was a cross-divisional business. In 1996, Furon Co. acquired the entire Fluroglas Division of AlliedSig- nal Inc., with the company itself getting taken over by Chemfab, which sold the Oak PTFE/glass laminate product line including the assets to Taconic in Petersburgh (NY), located about 15 miles down the road. › Taconic became my next step aer I le AlliedSignal Laminates Systems Germany in mid-1997. • Since 1975, there had also been an unclad laminate/industrial laminate plant in Post- ville, Iowa, using mostly phenolic resin. It didn't fit into AlliedSignal's growing FR-4 empire anymore, and was sold to private investors in 1997. Surprisingly that com- pany continued under the name of Norplex. So, what happened to AlliedSignal Laminate Systems aer I le the corporation? • In 1998 Doosan Electro-Materials acquired the AlliedSignal shares of Doosan Elec- tronics, meaning that AlliedSignal had no laminate plant in Korea anymore. • e Wipperfürth (Germany) plant was sold to Polyclad Laminates in the same year; also meaning the end of AlliedSignal Laminates' presence in Europe. en in 1999 many things changed to great affect, with big announcements in June and July: • e Franklin, Indiana, FR-4 laminate plant closed down. • e ailand factory was also closed down. • June 11: "AlliedSignal to purchase Honey- well; $14.8 billion merger to form bigger player in aerospace, defense" › AlliedSignal Inc. and Honeywell Inc. signed a definitive merger agreement to create a global technology company with revenues of $25 billion and com- bined market capitalization in excess of $45 billion. e combined company renamed Honeywell and became headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. • July 12: AlliedSignal sold its Laminate Systems business to Rütgers GmbH in Ger- many, the parent company of Isola Lam- inates, for $425 million. Its 51% share in Oak-Mitsui JV was sold to Mitsui. at was the end of AlliedSignal Laminate Systems. Within two years, what had once been the world's biggest FR-4 laminate man- ufacturer had disappeared from the market. Even for me, who had already le the company by then, this was hard to comprehend. e years aer 2000 only saw negative news with regard to former AlliedSignal Laminate Systems factories: • 2001: Hoosick Falls Oak Mitsui copper foil plant closed down • 2002: LaCrosse plant closed down • 2002: Hoosick Falls FR-4 laminate plant closed down 52 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2025 Manfred Huschka