s & p 500 component industry conglomerate founded 1923 headquarters providence rhode island usa key people scott c. donnelly 1 chairman ceo president and member of management committee revenue us 13.423 billion 2015 1 operating income us 698 million 2015 1 net income us 698 million 2015 1 total assets us 14.708 billion 2015 1 total equity us 4.964 billion 2015 1 number of employees 35 000 2015 1 website www.textron.com textron nyse txt is an american global aerospace defense security and advanced technologies industrial conglomerate . textron includes bell helicopter cessna aircraft beechcraft and other components . it was founded by royal little in 1923 as the special yarns company and is now headquartered in providence rhode island . textron employs over 35 000 people worldwide . scott c. donnelly is the current president and chief executive officer . contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1.2 campbell era 1.3 after campbell 2 divisions and subsidiaries 2.1 able aerospace services 2.2 bell helicopter 2.3 e z go 2.4 greenlee 2.5 jacobsen 2.6 kautex textron 2.7 textron airland 2.8 textron aviation 2.9 textron systems 3 references 4 external links history edit early history edit 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 . 2 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 . 2 the textile division was sold to deering milliken in 1963 . 3 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 . 2 campbell era edit hardymon brought in lewis b. campbell who became ceo in 1998 . citation needed 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 . citation needed 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 . citation needed 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 . 4 after campbell edit scott c. donnelly became ceo in december 2009 . 5 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 . 6 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 . 7 8 9 10 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 . 6 divisions and subsidiaries edit able aerospace services edit 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 edit bell 429 helicopter bell helicopter is an american helicopter and rotorcraft manufacturer headquartered in hurst texas near fort worth . e z go edit 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 . 11 greenlee edit 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 edit textron purchased jacobsen manufacturing around 1975 and continued to produce jacobsen garden tractors into the 1990s . 12 today jacobsen sells various products used for turf care maintenance equipment vehicles and other products . kautex textron edit 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 edit 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 . 13 textron aviation edit 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 . 14 beechcraft corporation is an american manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft ranging from light single engined aircraft to twin engined turboprop transports and military trainers . the cessna aircraft company was an american general aviation aircraft manufacturing corporation headquartered in wichita kansas . it was merged into textron aviation in march 2014 . 14 textron systems edit rq 7b shadow uav 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 support solutions electronic solutions unmanned systems hunt valley maryland advanced information solutions austin texas geospatial solutions sterling virginia lycoming engines williamsport pennsylvania marine & land systems slidell louisiana tru simulation & training goose creek south carolina weapon & sensor systems wilmington massachusetts a maker of weapons and of surveillance systems 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 . citation needed references edit a b c d e f g 2015 textron annual report pdf . textron . 2013 . retrieved 19 november 2014 . a b c history textron . textron.com . retrieved august 10 2016 . vartan vartanig g. 1963 04 17 . textron leaves textile business ; sells its ameroton division to deering milliken inc. stock eases by 1955 mergers recalled . the new york times . issn 0362 4331 . retrieved 2016 09 08 . michael brush the sky s no limit for ceo perks msn money moneycentral.msn.com october 17 2007 citing paul hodgson up up and away personal use of the corporate jet the corporate library september 4 2007 . about textron leadership biography . textron.com . retrieved 2014 01 07 . a b history textron . textron.com . retrieved august 10 2016 . textron buys beechcraft in 1.4 billion deal textron to buy beechcraft parent for 1.4 bn avweb staff 26 december 2013 . textron confirms beech acquisition . avweb . retrieved 27 december 2013 . niles russ 30 december 2013 . textron fleshes out beech deal . avweb . retrieved 30 december 2013 . e z go selected as official golf car and utility vehicle of universal orlando . e z go press release . august 31 2006 . will oscar h. 2009 . garden tractors deere cub cadet wheel horse and all the rest 1930s to current . voyageur press . p. 55 . isbn 978 1 61673 161 8 . retrieved october 27 2013 . niles russ 1 december 2013 . scorpion may not be built by cessna . avweb . retrieved 7 january 2014 . a b textron completes acquisition of beechcraft . textron . 14 march 2014 . external links edit official website v t e textron subsidiaries aai corporation aerosonde ltd avco bell helicopter cushman greenlee jacobsen dixie chopper ransomes lycoming engines textron aviation beechcraft cessna textron marine & land systems millenworks tru simulation training joint ventures bell agusta aerospace company electric transit inc. people scott c. donnelly dick millman jack j. pelton products m1117 armored security vehicle landing craft air cushion millenworks light utility vehicle cbu 97 sensor fuzed weapon ship to shore connector stingray light tank see also textron aircraft v t e automotive industry in the united states automotive industry economy of the united states transportation in the united states american vehicle manufacturers list agco challenger tractor massey ferguson allied specialty vehicles champion bus collins eldorado national e one fleetwood goshen coach holiday rambler laymor wheeled coach am general american expedition vehicles american growler amp electric vehicles anteros coachworks arcimoto armour group inc. atk motorcycles aurica motors autocar blue bird boulder electric vehicle brammo brunton stalker caterpillar fca us chrysler dodge jeep ram cnh industrial case ce case ih commuter cars cushman cycle scoot delorean chenowth racing products eagle bus environmental performance vehicles equus elio motors faraday future ford lincoln svt general dynamics land systems general motors buick cadillac chevrolet gmc gillig glaval bus greentech harley davidson hdt global hennessey hme john deere karma automotive legacy local motors lockheed martin lingenfelter lenco industries mack trucks millennium luxury coaches morgan olson mosler automotive motoczysz motor coach industries myers motors navistar international ic bus international nissan commercial vehicles north american bus industries oka oshkosh pierce paccar kenworth peterbilt panoz phoenix motorcars polaris industries global electric motorcars indian victory saleen shelby american ssc north america starcraft bus superformance tesla motors textron marine & land systems trans tech transtar racing ultimaster via motors visionary vehicles wheego electric cars zap zimmer motorcars foreign vehicle manufacturers with us operations ab volvo usa bmw us manufacturing company byd auto america changan usa daimler north america daimler trucks north america thomas freightliner western star faw group usa fiat usa fhi america honda of america acura hyundai usa isuzu america kia motors america mazda