Bell Helicopter Expands Capabilities in Europe

Bell Helicopters Opens New Paint Facility and Delivery Center in Prague

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (May 12, 2016) - Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company announced today that its Prague location officially opened a new paint facility and delivery center -providing full aircraft completion and delivery capabilities to its European customers.

Please find the ceremony photos here.

"Bell Helicopter's continued investment in the region reinforces our commitment to our European customers to provide an in-region facility that offers the industry-leading service and support we are known for worldwide," said Glenn Isbell, executive vice president, Customer Support and Services for Bell Helicopter. "We are continually assessing our service capabilities to find innovative solutions to best meet our customers' mission requirements."

The Bell Helicopter facility in Prague provides full maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities. It is the company's official regional customization, delivery and aftermarket service center in Europe - complemented by Bell Helicopter's extensive support and service network located throughout the region.

"We are excited that that we have added full paint and delivery capabilities, with the installation of two brand new paint booths and a new delivery center on-site," said Joachim Goldenberg, General Manager for Bell Helicopter in Prague. "Our customers demand excellence and we are working hard to exceed their expectations."

With a unique design concept accounting for minimum space area utilization, the new paint facility is state-of-the-art, including technologies to enable exceptional quality. The size of the new paint booth has been designed to enable paint operations for all Bell Helicopter commercial products ranging from legacy products to those currently in development. And by integrating the latest requirements for safety of operations, ease of maintenance, energy sustainability, environmental and ergonomics - Bell Helicopter has been able to vastly improve the paint process.

"We are investing to ensure Bell Helicopter can offer the most modern and robust services to meet the long-term needs of our customers," said Mitch Snyder, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter. "Europe is a key market for us to continue to grow and develop our balanced business."

For more than 40 years Bell Helicopter has supported its customers in more than 50 countries in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa from its Amsterdam Supply Center. The Prague facility is just one of a growing network of support and service facilities Bell Helicopter has located throughout Europe. Bell Helicopter also owns Rotor Blades, Ltd., in Warminster, England, a blade repair center, and has 16 Bell Helicopter Customer Service Facilities (CSFs) located throughout Europe and Russia to perform maintenance, repair and overhaul on Bell Helicopter aircraft.

Bell Helicopter also announced just last year that it will be partnering with its sister company, TRU Simulation, for the first Bell Helicopter regional training center in Valencia, Spain. The facility is anticipated to open in late 2016.

"Our growth in the region has been driven by one thing - and that is our European customers," added Snyder.

Bell Helicopter provides its customers with local support in every corner of the world and has the largest support network in the industry with more than 100 Authorized Customer Service Facilities in 34 countries. Ranked number one in customer support for 22 consecutive years by Professional Pilot magazine, Bell Helicopter is committed to having resources where customers operate to speed up delivery of service and support, and give customers access to service professionals that are easy to reach, know the operating environment and understand their needs.

To learn about how Bell Helicopter can assist you with your aircraft operations, please visit the Customer Advantage Plan website, email cap@bh.com or contact your Bell Helicopter Support & Services Sales Representative.