(FORTUNE Magazine) – It's one of those things you remember from growing up. Driving with my family across southern New England on the Merritt Parkway, we would pass over the Housatonic River on the singing steel bridge and my father would point down to the riverbank and say, "Look, there's the Sikorsky helicopter factory." And my eyes would light up. Actually there wasn't that much to see--usually just a handful of choppers sitting out on the big tarmac. Still, it was a helicopter factory! Cool!

What I didn't know for years--and wouldn't have given a hoot about anyway--is that Sikorsky is owned by United Technologies (UTX, $70). What is United Technologies all about? Well, I like to think of UTX as the other big conglomerate. But the Dow component is also the quiet company that ends up winning the race.

United Technologies has a parcel of different businesses (six actually). Some of them are quite familiar, including dominant names like Otis in elevators and Carrier in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning--but you knew that). The heart and soul of the company, though, is airplane-engine maker Pratt & Whitney (very Connecticut Yankee). You want some history? Get this: In 1929, Pratt & Whitney merged with Boeing and some other aviation companies to form United Aircraft & Transport. Then in 1934 new antitrust laws forced the company to split into three entities: Boeing, United Airlines, and United Aircraft, precursor to the modern UTX, including Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky. (And you thought the AT&T breakup was big!)

Nowadays, however, Carrier is actually the biggest piece of United Tech, accounting for about 30% of its sales. This business just got a huge win by beating out Trane to become the featured A/C system at Sears nationwide. As for Otis, the venerable elevator maker (there are 1.5 million Otis elevators in operation) has a 27% share of the world market for new elevators and escalators. Analyst Howard Rubel of Soundview Technology Group thinks this business could be hitting the up-button. "Otis's top line is going to be explosive this year, with a great percentage of it coming from currency translation," he says. "Almost 80% of Otis's revenue is generated outside the U.S."

Speaking of Otis Elevator, it's time for us to pause for a brief moment of back-patting. In a February 1986 FORTUNE article on up-and-coming young managers, we pegged 43-year-old George David, an executive VP of Otis Elevator, as one to watch. And we were right! In 1994, David became CEO of UTX, succeeding Bob Daniell.

United Technologies is often compared with GE--both giants are based in Connecticut--and there is no love lost between the two behemoths. The rivalry was accentuated by the Honeywell brouhaha. Three years ago UTX made a $40 billion bid for the New Jersey tech conglomerate that was derailed by an 11th-hour offer by Jack Welch at GE. Honeywell spurned UTX for GE, but David had his revenge by helping convince the European Union that the GE/Honeywell combination would be anticompetitive.

Wall Street never seems to get that excited by United Technologies. That figures, since UTX has only beaten the market over the past six months, one year, two years, five years--and 30 years too. (It's up 13% this year, vs. 8% for the Dow overall.)

Oh, and I almost forgot Sikorsky. It makes the Black Hawk, the workhorse of the U.S. Army's air cavalry, as well as Marine 1, the President's helicopter. And one final note: Yes, every time I drive over the Housatonic River on that singing steel bridge, I point out the Sikorsky factory to my kids too.