FORT WORTH, TEXAS (December 16, 2014) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), completed another successful year of Maintainers and Operators (M and O) Conferences for 2014 with its tenth and final conference in Sacramento, Cal., last week. Throughout 2014, Bell Helicopter’s Customer Support and Services organization was able to connect with more than 900 customers worldwide through the 10 conferences. This year, conferences were hosted in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Bogota, Colombia; Santiago, Chile; Zhuhai, China; and Singapore as well as several locations in North America.

The M and O conferences serve as a key differentiator in Bell Helicopter’s support and services profile, providing insight and training on maintenance and support topics to operators of Bell Helicopter’s light, medium and intermediate product lines. In addition, key suppliers share technical updates and maintenance practices.

“We always appreciate the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our customers and gather their feedback,” said Steve Woolston, director, Product Support for Bell Helicopter’s Customer Support and Services organization. “This year, we’ve received positive comments on the conference format itself, including the new presentations, the addition of several new supplier presentations and additional opportunities to contribute to the discussion through interactive polling.”

This year, Bell Helicopter added several new presentations to assist customers with maintenance efforts including corrosion prevention; avionics and electrical systems; composite panel maintenance and repair. Topics were also expanded outside the traditional maintenance agenda to address key organizational issues such as communications and leadership and managing maintenance costs. The majority of the material at each conference was delivered in the local language illustrating Bell’s commitment to its growing global customer base.

Hands-on training was offered at many conferences, including elastomeric bearing inspection, FADEC troubleshooting, composite material insert familiarization and cable connection/coax repair.

“We rely heavily on customer input and incorporate their suggestions into future conferences,” continued Woolston. “This unique approach to our conferences helps differentiate them as a unique service offering unmatched in the industry.”

The 2015 M and O conference schedule will be available on the Bell Helicopter website after the beginning of the year.

Press Contact

SARA MONGER

Bell Helicopter

About Bell Helicopter

Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor 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 multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, 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, Beechcraft, Hawker, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. For more information, visit www.textron.com.

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