Wichita, KS - January 22, 2008 - Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has named Mark Withrow to be general manager of its new Bend, Ore., facility, effective Feb. 4. Withrow will be based in Bend and report to Rod Holter, Cessna vice president, single-engine operations and general manager of Cessna's Independence, Kan., facility.
Cessna acquired the Bend production facility in October and produces there the Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 high-performance, single-engine piston aircraft. Withrow will be charged with integrating the new facility into Cessna production processes, eventually expanding production to meet expected demand.
Withrow spent the past year as senior product director for Citation CJ production. He also spent 18 months as general manager of Cessna's production facility in Mexico.
An Air Force veteran, Withrow joined Cessna in 1992 as an Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) mechanic and has held a number of positions with increasing responsibility in aircraft production. He holds both a bachelor's and master's degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, a private pilot's license, and he is a certified Textron Six Sigma Black Belt.
A native of Melbourne, Fla., Withrow and his family will relocate to Bend.
About Cessna Aircraft Company
Based on unit sales, Cessna Aircraft Company is the world's largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. In 2006, Cessna delivered 1,239 aircraft, including 307 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of about $4.2 billion. Cessna has a current backlog of $11.9 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, some 190,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of more than 5,000 Citations is the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at http://www.cessna.com.
About Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. is an $11 billion multi-industry company operating in 32 countries with approximately 40,000 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 http://www.textron.com.