Cessna celebrates 20th anniversary of Greensboro Service Center

cessnalogoWICHITA, Kan., Dec. 16, 2013 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, this month is commemorating the 20th anniversary of its Greensboro Citation Service Center. The facility, located at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C., is one of the busiest in the network of company-owned service centers, and this year alone handled approximately 2,500 service orders for aircraft operating in or traveling through the mid-Atlantic United States.

Joe Hepburn, senior vice president of Customer Service says, “Our Citation Service Centers are integral to the extensive service network we offer our customers. The Greensboro Service Center is one of the most popular because of its convenient location and its reputation developed during the past two decades by the approximately 100 employees who work there. With nearly 6,500 Citation jets in the world, no one knows better how to service these high performance jets than our own employees.”

Greensboro is one of 15 company-owned service centers offering maintenance, inspections, parts, repairs, avionic upgrades, equipment installations, refurbishments and other specialized services for Cessna’s line of Citation business jets. The 137,300-square-foot facility, of which 69,000 square feet is outdoor ramp space, recently added the Caravan single-engine utility turboprop to its FAA Part 145 Repair Station certificate.

Greensboro started servicing customer aircraft in December 1993 and held a grand opening in May 1994. In 2008, it doubled its original ramp area to accommodate more aircraft at the facility. In recent years Cessna has stationed mobile service units within the Greensboro service area; these specially outfitted trucks carry many of the tools and equipment found in Cessna Citation Service Centers and can perform a variety of service-related procedures up to and including engine exchanges.

“This year, we’ve brought into service a third mobile service unit supported by our facility,” said Jim Heasley, who has worked at the Greensboro Citation Service Center for 16 years, including the past three as general manager. “Our unique location along the eastern seaboard and the tremendous value we offer operators has allowed us to grow offsite support from 400 service events several years ago to more than 1,100 this year.”

Between its on-site and off-site operations, the Greensboro Citation Service Center has a complete line of airframe and engine maintenance, inspection and repair capabilities, as well as full avionics troubleshooting, repair and modification capabilities. The facility has a team of about 100, including 75 technicians with an average tenure of 12 years. The FAA has recognized Greensboro with its Diamond Award for five straight years, recognizing that safety and technical knowledge training for maintenance specialists exceeds the standard FAA requirements.

About Cessna
Cessna is the world’s leading general aviation company. Since its inception in 1927, Cessna has designed, produced and delivered nearly 200,000 airplanes around the globe. This includes 6,500 Citation business jets, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. Today, Cessna has two principal lines of business: aircraft sales and aftermarket services. Aircraft sales include Citation business jets, Caravan single-engine utility turboprops, single-engine piston aircraft and lift solutions by CitationAir. Aftermarket services include parts, maintenance, inspection and repair services. In 2012, Cessna delivered 571 aircraft, including 181 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of $3.111 billion. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at cessna.com.

About Textron
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, 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, and Textron Systems. More information is available at textron.com.