GKN Aerospace Services Alabama (GKN) of Tallassee, AL and Wallingford CT was formerly Dow-United Technolgies Composite Products, Inc. (Dow-UT). GKN plc of the United Kingdom purchased Dow-UT in December 1998 in an effort to expand its composite capabilities to the United States. Below is a brief history of how Dow-UT grew and marketed itself to become one of the leaders in its industry and attracted the attention of the world including GKN plc.

Dow-UT was a joint venture between United Technologies and Dow Chemical. The joint venture was formed in 1989 in an effort to form a company which would take traditional composite technology to another level to make itself the premier composite provider in the world. UTC provided manufacturing expertise from its existing composite capabilities while Dow supplied process technology. DOW-UT expanded its manufacturing capacity in Tallassee, Alabama, to 260,000 square feet. The company also established a 180,000 square foot facility in Wallingford, Connecticut, for administration, research and development, and production.

Dow-UT's experience in developing advanced composite airframe structures dates back to the 1970's. Building upon extensive experience designing and manufacturing large fairings and secondary structures for Sikorsky helicopters, the company developed the composite rear fuselage for the BLACKHAWK H-60 helicopter and the ACAP all-composite helicopter for the Army. Both of these systems advanced state-of-the-art pre-preg manufacturing through co-curing of details to be cost competitive with metal airframes.