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Innovation

Throughout Textron's long history, innovation has been at the very core of our success. As the world's first multi-industry company, our business model introduced a new paradigm. The Chairman’s Award for Innovation celebrates this spirit among our employees.

The Chairman's Award for Innovation

Since 1999, the Chairman’s Award for Innovation has recognized individuals and teams within Textron whose exemplary innovations have led to significant improvements in products and technology or in the company’s business practices that have resulted in tangible gains in sales, profitability quality or competitive position.

The award winners come from all Textron businesses and cut across functional areas. Innovation awards are awarded in the categories of Product & Technology and Business Practice. A cross-business panel evaluates each nominee and selects the finalists and the winners.

Textron Chairman, President & CEO Lewis B. Campbell presents the awards at an annual dinner. Winners receive a $5,000 cash award, a trophy and lapel pin, and inclusion on the Chairman’s Award for Innovation Wall of Fame at Textron’s World Headquarters.

Winning Projects from the 2007 Chairman's Award for Innovation

Here are the winning projects from the 2007 Chairman’s Award for Innovation, which were announced in July 2008.

• Adaptive Active Vibration Control Algorithms, a new development to improve the effectiveness and customer acceptance of Active Vibration Control systems for helicopters - by a team at Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Advanced Infrared Signature Measurement Capability, an industry-leading system developed to measure the heat signatures of military rotorcraft, with unmatched accuracy, speed and cost-effectiveness - by a team at Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Environmental Compliance Through In-Transit Recovery of Heavy Metals from Wastewater, an improvement that eliminates one full tank and a process step in the wastewater treatment plant by injecting treatment chemicals into transfer piping. The result it a capacity increase of 50,200 gallons per day, elimination of capital investment and reduction in process time - by a team at Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Faster V-22, every V-22 Osprey will see improved performance in all areas while in airplane mode, including the ability to fly at least 20 knots faster - by a team at Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Strategic Research Planning and Management Process, a new process with three major components: the technology roadmap used to detail technology gaps that must close to enable future products, the project selection process ensures that annual research projects align with the roadmap and meet critical-to-satisfaction metrics, and the earned-value process optimizes cost, schedule and technical performance - by a team at Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Centers of Excellence, a new concept in supplier relationship management designed in the Fabricated Components Commodity Team (FCCT) at Cessna. FCCT leadership and strategic sourcing personnel worked directly with select suppliers to create a Center of Excellence for manufacturing families of parts - by a team at Cessna, Wichita, Kansas.

• Cessna Mustang/Model 510 Cabin Entry Door, a design that provides a simple solution to the demanding certification and customer requirements of the Mustang program. The most notable requirements were mechanism efficiency, ease of operation and an improved level of safety of the cabin entry door design - by a team at Cessna, Wichita, Kansas.

• Citation Service Center Mobile Service Unit (MSU), a truck mounted maintenance facility, specifically designed and outfitted to service Cessna Citation aircraft both during emergency and scheduled maintenance at airports, either in the customers' hanger or a transient location - by a team at Cessna, Wichita, Kansas and San Antonio, Texas.

• Universal Tool Jig, a design used to help assembly operators. It's used as a supplemental device to hold several parts for the purpose of drilling small sheet metal parts in a more efficient and safe way - by a team at Cessna, Wichita, Kansas.

• A/C Drive propulsion system for golf cars, an efficient, reliable and safe technology that supplies controllable power to the wheels of a golf car in effort to control speed, acceleration and braking - by a team at E-Z-GO, Augusta, Georgia.

• Brake by Wire and Automatic Parking Brake for Electric Vehicles, a brake with an electric drive motor and electromechanical brake. The braking command is provided by a piston sensor on the brake pedal - by a team at E-Z-GO, Augusta, Georgia.

• High Pressure Pumps for Ship Based SWI and Trenching Applications, a design and development that allows high pressure centrifugal pumps to be employed on board ships operating in difficult sea conditions - by a team at Fluid & Power, Sheffield, United Kingdom.

• Split Pump, a new gear pump, developed by Maag, to split the gear pump housing to fulfill customer requirements. Created to guarantee the ease of operation and withstand the high pressures and loads inside the pump casing. The whole system is assembled on a sliding/moving mechanism to fulfill all safety requirements and accelerate the cleaning process - by a team at Fluid & Power, Zurich, Switzerland and Bonn, Germany.

• NETcat Pro, a network cable tester with an intuitive touch-screen interface with a new system to combine a remote cable test unit and office ID unit in one, while keeping cost and power consumption down - by a team at Greenlee, South Wales, United Kingdom.

• Eclipse Hybrid Electric Walking Greens Mower, a fully-electric hybrid mower--an industry first--utilizing an interchangeable battery or generator power plant. The hybrid power systems also reduces fuel consumption and exhaust emission by up to 40 percent and reduces fatigue-causing vibration and noise levels by up to 30 percent - by a team at Jacobsen, Charlotte, North Carolina.

• Hybrid Capital, this business practice consists of highly structured subordinated debt that is treated as equity, to some extent, by the rating agencies. The hybrid was adopted to drive substantial savings in cost of capital and improvement in ROIC/EVA. - by a team at Textron Corporate and Textron Financial, Providence, Rhode Island.

• Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) IED Fragment Defeat Kit, a life-saving, add-on armor kit for Textron's ASV, designed to defeat the blast and shrapnel threats posed to soldiers by improvised explosive devices. The kit can be installed in the field and is currently being retrofitted on all ASVs currently in use - by a team at Textron Systems, Slidell, Louisiana.

• LiteLight - Very Light Weight High Power Laser System, a laser that incorporates three major innovations to achieve an extremely high power solid state laser design suitable for military applications - by a team at Textron Systems, Wilmington, Massachusetts.

• Directed Encasement for Metallic Whisker Mitigation, a process that successfully encapsulates leads of electronic components for the mitigation of metallic whisker growth and associated reliability risks - by a team at Textron Systems, Wilmington, Massachusetts.