For Immediate Release

Bell Helicopter Joins ASQ as Newest Organizational Member

Milwaukee, Wis., April 22, 2008 – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has become an Organizational member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Bell Helicopter manufactures commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical lift aircraft.  As an ASQ Organizational member, Bell Helicopter will have greater access to solutions that help organizations maximize revenue and customer satisfaction by sharing the vision, tools, services and body of knowledge that ASQ membership provides.

Bell Helicopter facilities around the world automatically become members of ASQ. All employees now have access to quality tools that allow an organization to realize greater productivity and performance; create uniformity of skill sets and drive team participation; apply process improvement techniques more widely; encourage continuous innovation; use quality as a business management tool; and reduce training and certification costs.

“Bell is proud to be affiliated with ASQ as an Organizational member,” said Lee Tait, senior vice president, quality, ethics & chief compliance officer at Bell.  “All employees in all departments, not just quality control, will have immediate access to a wealth of valuable information and research; furthering our goal of increasing quality awareness throughout the enterprise.”

“ASQ is absolutely thrilled to have Bell Helicopter join the growing list of organizations in our quality community,” said Paul Borawski, executive director and chief strategic officer of ASQ. “With an ASQ membership, employees within Bell can connect with and develop relationships with other organizations that face similar challenges.  We look forward to giving them access to the quality technology, concepts and tools to help improve their already stand-out organization.”

Also new in 2008, ASQ has moved its Organizational membership out of the pilot phase.  With an ASQ membership, companies are exposed to other organizations that may have lessons learned they’re willing to share.  Through their association with ASQ, viewed as the world’s leading authority on quality, organizations achieve greater credibility.

Bell joins other ASQ Organizational members including Abbott Labs, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Cummins, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems.

Bell Helicopter is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tilt rotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global work force serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.

Textron Inc. is a $13.2 billion multi-industry company operating in 34 countries with approximately 44,000 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 www.textron.com.

The American Society for Quality, www.asq.org, has been the world’s leading authority on Quality for more than 60 years.  With more than 93,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®.  ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., ASQ is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.