Beautifully engraved certificate from the Rockwell Manufacturing Company issued in 1947. This historic document was printed by the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an eagle perched upon a rock with its wings spread. This item has the printed signatures of the company's president (Willard Rockwell ) and treasurer and is over 54 years old. Rockwell History 1919 Willard Rockwell buys a small axle plant called Wisconsin Parts Company to produce a new and improved axle based on his own designs. 1930 Arthur Collins begins making radio transmitters in his new venture named Collins Radio Company. 1933 Admiral Byrd and CBS choose Collins Radio to establish radio contact for Byrd's historic expedition to the South Pole. 1953 Willard Rockwell merges Wisconsin Parts, Standard Steel and Spring and Timken Detroit to form Rockwell Spring and Axle Company. 1967 Rockwell-Standard and North American Aviation merge, forming a new company named North American Rockwell with $2.4 billion in sales. 1973 Rockwell acquires Collins Radio Company, changes its name from North American Rockwell to Rockwell International. 1985 Rockwell acquires Allen-Bradley, the Milwaukee-based maker of industrial automation equipment and North American leader in that market, for $1.6 billion. 1995 Rockwell acquires Cleveland-based Reliance Electric for $1.6 billion. The combination of Rockwell's Allen-Bradley factory automation business and Reliance greatly enhances the ability to compete as a world-leader in its served factory automation markets. 1996 Rockwell announces the sale of its Graphic Systems business to Stonington Partners. 1996 Rockwell sells its aerospace and defense businesses to Boeing for $3.2 billion. 1997 Rockwell spins-off its Automotive business, which begin trading on the NYSE under the name Meritor Automotive, Inc. 1997 Rockwell acquires the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) business of Hughes-Avicom International, Inc. and renames it Rockwell Collins Passenger Systems. 1998 Rockwell announces plans to spin-off its Semiconductor Systems to shareholders; takes $625 million special charge for restructuring to improve competitiveness. The spin-off was completed on December 31, 1998 and began trading on the NASDAQ under its new name Conexant Systems, Inc. 1998 Rockwell Automation acquires Anorad Corporation, a market-leader in linear motors. 1999 Rockwell announces in early February that it is moving its corporate headquarters from Costa Mesa to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in September. 1999 Rockwell Automation acquires EJA Engineering Ltd. Based in the United Kingdom, EJA Engineering Ltd., is a market-leading manufacturer of safety products sold under the brand names of Guardmaster®, Nelsa and Sigma Controls.