Textron

Early history

Textron started as a textile company in 1923, when 22-year-old Royal Little founded the Special Yarns Corporation in Boston, Massachusetts. The company manufactured synthetic yarns, a niche product at the time. By the start of World War II the company was known as Atlantic Rayon Corporation, and manufactured parachutes. As war production wound down, the company started making civilian products as well, and renamed the company Textron: “Tex" for "textiles," and "tron" from synthetics such as "Lustron". The company was listed on the NYSE in 1947.

Over the next decade and a half, Textron purchased various other manufacturing companies. In 1960, the company also bought Bell Aerospace and E-Z-Go. The textile division was sold to Deering Milliken in 1963.

Later CEOs included G. William Miller (1968–1977), and Joseph Collinson (1977–1979), and Robert P. Straetz (1979–1986). In 1984, Textron took on more debt and bought Avco, a conglomerate almost as big as itself. Later on, James Hardymon took over as CEO.

Campbell era

Hardymon brought in Lewis B. Campbell, who became CEO in 1998.

Starting in 2000, Campbell led a company-wide restructuring program. The share price fell to as low as $13/share in March 2003 after the economic downturn following the collapse of Internet companies and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Diminished demand for helicopters and airplanes led to layoffs at Cessna and Bell Helicopter.

In 2004, Forbes magazine named Campbell as the fifth worst-performing CEO in the country. Shares in Textron plummeted to as low as $10.09 per share in the aftermath of the 2008 economic downturn, driving its market capitalization down to just $3.17 billion.

While the company lost 75% of its value in the first ten years of Campbell's leadership, he managed to take home over $120 million in compensation. His salary in 2008 was $25 million, making him the highest paid executive of a conglomerate. Campbell managed to sell over $40 million in Textron stock in April and May 2008, at prices over $60 per share. In 2007 the Wall Street Journal reported that Campbell had received $494,700 in compensation in the form of his use of a corporate jet to travel between his home and office, which made him the most expensive CEO in the country in terms of use of jet travel. Some shareholders have questioned whether it is a good use of shareholder dollars to pay for the personal lifestyle choice of the CEO to live in one state and work in another.

After Campbell

Scott C. Donnelly became CEO in December 2009.

Textron acquired Mechtronix in Montreal, Quebec, and OPINICUS in Tampa, Fla. in 2013. Donnelly combined these innovative flight simulation companies, along with Textron’s AAI Logistics & Technical Services, to form TRU Simulation + Training in 2014.

On December 26, 2013, Textron agreed to purchase Beechcraft, including the discontinued Hawker jet line, for $1.4 billion. The sale was expected to be concluded in the first half of 2014.

The company expanded their aviation holdings with the purchase of Beechcraft in 2014 and formed a new company called Textron Aviation to market the products of Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker as individual brands.

Able Aerospace Services

Able Aerospace Services is an international business and $70 million aerospace enterprise that is performing more than 8,000 proprietary FAA-approved repairs on aircraft and components."Textron Acquisition of Able Aerospace Services". Vertical Magazine. 21 January 2016. 

Bell Helicopter

Bell Helicopter is an American helicopter and rotorcraft manufacturer headquartered in Hurst, Texas, near Fort Worth.

E-Z-GO

E-Z-GO is a designer and manufacturer of light transportation vehicles for golf courses and for other uses. Products include electric and internal combustion golf carts and multipurpose utility vehicles under the E-Z-Go, Cushman, and Bad Boy Buggy brands.

Greenlee

Greenlee Textron is an industrial and electrical tool company headquartered in Rockford, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 1862 by brothers Robert and Ralph Greenlee to manufacture their invention, a drill surrounded by four chisel blades, used in making the pockets for a mortise and tenon joint, for the furniture industry in Rockford. This device is still used in cabinetmaking. The brothers later diversified into a variety of hand woodworking tools as well as machinery for making wooden barrels. The company was acquired by Textron in 1986. Greenlee today produces various wire and cable installation tools that are used in a variety of fields.

Jacobsen

Textron purchased Jacobsen Manufacturing around 1975, and continued to produce Jacobsen garden tractors into the 1990s. Today Jacobsen sells various products used for turf care: maintenance equipment, vehicles, and other products.

Kautex Textron

Kautex Textron is a supplier to the automotive industry. The company produces plastic fuel systems, selective catalytic reduction systems, windshield and headlamp washer systems, and other products.

Textron AirLand

Textron AirLand, LLC is a joint venture between Textron Inc. and AirLand Enterprises, LLC that is currently developing the Textron AirLand Scorpion aircraft as a private venture.

Textron Aviation

Textron Aviation is a new venture formed in March 2014 from Beechcraft and Cessna, retaining the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker aircraft type names as brands.

Textron Systems

Textron Systems is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. The company is a business unit of Textron Inc., which reported 2012 annual sales in the Textron Systems segment as $1.7 billion.

Its operating units are:

Textron bought and acquired AAI Corporation in 2007, which has now evolved into the Support Solutions, Electronic Systems and Unmanned Systems business units mentioned above. AAI Corporation has developed and fielded products such as the RQ-7B Shadow UAV and various ground control technologies such as the One System Ground Control Station (OSGCS) and the Universal Ground Control Station (UGCS).