May 30, 2008
Bell Helicopter Continues to see Large Demand For Products
FORT WORTH, TEXAS (May 29, 2008) -- Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, continues to experience significant demand for its products across all its market segments.
Bob Fitzpatrick, Bell's senior vice president for Marketing and Sales stated, "Demand for Bell helicopters continues unabated from both new and existing customers. I haven���t seen any slowdown in demand in this current economic environment. All our market segments continue to perform to expectations."
Earlier this year Bell announced they would rationalize their product line and concentrate production on their most popular models, the 206L4, 407, 412 and the 429. As the backlog for these popular models continued to grow, by concentrating manufacturing on these models Bell hopes to reduce customer wait times.
Danny Maldonado, vice president of commercial business development says, "By reducing the number of products we offer, and the amount of customization and variability on the product line, we anticipate a significant increase in our production capacity over the next several years."
About Bell Helicopter
Bell Helicopter is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tilt rotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.
About Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. is a $13.2 billion multi-industry company operating in 34 countries with approximately 44,000 employees. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company , Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Fluid & Power, Textron Systems and Textron Financial Corporation. More information is available at www.textron.com .