Textron.com Home > Newsroom > Featured Stories 

July 26, 2006

Textron Recognizes Top Innovations of 2005

Adjust Type Size:

Top employee innovations led to noteworthy product, technology and business practice improvements

Innovations like Greenlee's Ultra Tugger 2 are recognized by the 2005 Chairman's Awards for Innovation.

Textron today announced its top innovations of 2005 at the sixth annual “Chairman’s Awards for Innovation” ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.  The objective of the Chairman’s Award is to recognize and reward employees whose exemplary innovations have led to significant improvements in products and technology, or in the company’s business practices that result in tangible gains in sales, profitability, quality or competitive position. 

“Textron’s future growth is directly linked to our ability to harness and enhance the power and talent of our workforce, and I am incredibly proud of this year’s award recipients,” said Lewis B. Campbell, Textron’s Chairman, President and CEO.  “The individuals and teams recognized have directly contributed to Textron’s growth while continuing to develop an aptitude for excellence with an attitude that drives continuous improvement.  It is these outstanding employees who help make it possible for Textron to advance toward becoming the premier multi-industry company.”

This year’s Chairman’s Award winners were selected from a field of 100 nominations from Textron companies around the globe.  After narrowing the field to 38 finalists, a cross-business panel chose 15 winning innovations from Textron teams based in China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.  Highlights of these innovations include:

• Bell BasiX® Avionics Package, an innovative architecture and package of integrated avionics that provides commonality of equipment across multiple aircraft – by a team at Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Embedded Flight Data Recorder, a high-tech tool for capturing the last 90 hours of flight information, enabling post-accident analysis to determine the cause of a mishap – by a team at Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Method for Improved Impact Analysis, an analytical method to analyze structural impacts with excellent accuracy to eliminate other, expensive testing methods – by a team at Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Computer Simulations for Machining Process Optimization, a computer simulation technique to optimize machining process parameters and increase tool life in order to increase productivity, improve machine tool utilization, and significantly reduce cost and improve quality – by a team at Cessna, Wichita, Kansas.

• Flow Control Vortex Cooler, which provides a 50 percent increase in the cooling system capacity by lowering the incoming supply air temperature and replacing an existing flow control valve – by a team at Cessna, Wichita, Kansas.

• WrinkleForm, an innovative software package for utilizing artificial intelligence modeling to predict aircraft fuselage and sheet metal wrinkling propensity that eliminates subsequent redesign – by a team at Cessna, Wichita, Kansas. 

• Integrated Supply Chain Talent Development Model, a talent development plan with elements focused on recruitment/hiring, assessments of supply chain skills, career pathing, experiential assignments and education to strengthen ISC and leadership skills – by a team at Textron, Providence, Rhode Island and Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas.

• Continuous Screen Changer with Candle Filter Elements (CSC-CC), a filter design that increases the surface screen up to 45 times to avoid contamination – by a team at Textron Fluid & Power, Wettringen, Germany and Charlotte, North Carolina.

• 525 Fiber Tray, a tray that provides a mounting location for all optical components, fibers and splices, reducing the time to assemble the Greenlee 525 product line and virtually eliminates the need for rework due to improper mounting and fiber loss – by a team at Greenlee, Vista, California and Hamilton, Ontario.

• Self Feeding Spade Bit, a bit containing a groove pattern on the side that allows the bit to be pulled through the work piece and be used to enlarge an exiting hole as well – by a Greenlee employee, Rockford, Illinois.

• Ultra Tugger 2 Cable Puller with universal electrical conduit attachment system, a cable pulling system that makes it easy to pull in and maintain the conduit – by a Greenlee employee, Rockford, Illinois.

• Kautex Clear Vision Systems, Global Pump, a new proprietary “modular” design concept for pumps used in CVS for motor vehicle – by a Kautex team, Shanghai, China and Hengoed, England.

• Sales Territory and Resource Strategy “STARS,”  a fact-based strategy and territory model that quickly and clearly defines when a new sales territory should be created or realigned and new sales personnel should be added to the staff – by a Textron Financial Corporation team, Golden Valley, Minnesota, St. Louis, Missouri and Lake Oswego, Oregon.

• Common Smart Submunition, a small (less than 10 pounds) munition capable of selectively defeating military vehicle targets with little or no collateral damage to nearby civilian vehicles, structures or personnel – a Textron Systems team, Wilmington, Massachusetts.

• Total Crisis Management, the adaptation of systems engineering to holistically manage the complex “return of operations” activities associated with Hurricane Katrina, providing the basis for an effective crisis response process that can be used as a model across the enterprise – by a Textron Systems team, Wilmington, Massachusetts, New Orleans, Louisiana, Providence, Rhode Island.  

Return to Featured Stories