Textron Aviation

Textron owns Bell Helicopters, Cessna Aircraft and Beechcraft Turboprops, three brands that dominate three different segments of aviation. Combined, they hold over 40% of the general aviation market in North America. The company built this position not by designing aircraft but by acquiring manufacturers when the aviation cycle collapsed. Textron bought Cessna in 1985 during a product liability crisis that had grounded the entire light aircraft industry. New aircraft production in America dropped from 18,000 units to under 1,000 in a decade. Cessna's factories were operating at 12% capacity. Textron paid a fraction of replacement cost for tooling, type certificates and brand recognition that took 50 years to build.