Textron is an American global aerospace, defense, security and advanced technologies industrial conglomerate. It is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron employs over 35,000 people worldwide.
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 was renamed Textron: “Tex" for "textiles", and "tron" from synthetics such as "Lustron". The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1947.
In September 1953 started the process of turning Textron into a conglomerate by the purchase of the Burkart Manufacturing Company (upholstery filling for automotive industry), followed by the purchase of Dalmo-Victor (airborne Radar Antennae) in early 1954. In 1960 Bell Aerospace and E-Z-GO were bought and in 1992 Cessna was bought from General Dynamics.
On December 26, 2013, Textron agreed to purchase Beechcraft Corporation, including the discontinued Hawker jet line, followed by the formation of Textron Aviation in 2014 to market the products of Beechcraft Corporation, Cessna and Hawker as individual brands.
Divisions and subsidiaries of Textron: Able Aerospace Services, Arctic Cat, Bell Helicopter, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Jacobsen, Kautex Textron, Textron AirLand, Textron Aviation, Textron Systems.
