1929 The Aviation Corporation (AVCO) was formed as a holding company in order to prevent a takeover of the airmail service operator Embry-Riddle Company by Clement Melville Keys, who planned on buying Curtiss aircraft rather than Sherman Fairchild's aircraft. With capital from Fairchild, George Hann, the Lehman Brothers, and W. A. Harriman, the holding company began acquiring small airlines. By the end of 1929 it had acquired interests in over 90 aviation-related companies.
1930 The airlines were separated into Colonial and Universal Air Lines. The name of Universal Air Lines name was changed to American Airways, and later merged with Colonial to form American Airlines.
1932 The Airplane Development Corporation was formed by Gerard F. Vultee; Errett Lobban Cord soon took over
1934 AVCO acquired the Airplane Development Corporation and formed the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation (AMC)
1936 AMC was liquidated to form the Vultee Aircraft Division, an autonomous subsidiary of AVCO
1936 Lycoming became a division of Avco Corporation.
1939 Vultee Aircraft Division of AVCO was reorganized as an independent company known as Vultee Aircraft, Inc.
1941 AVCO acquired Consolidated Aircraft Corporation
1943 Consolidated-Vultee, known as Convair, was formed by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft
1945 Acquired the New Idea Company from the heirs of Joseph Oppenheim who had founded the farm machinery manufacturer in 1899.
1947 Convair was acquired by the Atlas Corporation
1947 AVCO name changed to Avco Manufacturing Corporation
1959 Avco Manufacturing Corporation name changed to Avco Corporation
1968 Avco acquired the developer of Rancho Bernardo, San Diego
1971 Avco acquired a stake in the developer of Laguna Niguel, California
1984 Avco sold the New Idea line of farm machinery to White Farm Equipment, then part of the Allied Corporation, which formed White-New Idea
1984 Textron acquired Avco Corporation, renaming it Avco Systems Textron
1985 Avco Systems Textron becomes Textron Defense Systems
1995 Textron Systems Corporation was created, consisting of what is now Textron Defense Systems, Textron Marine & Land Systems, and Lycoming
2015 Avco Corporation was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc;
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia