Bell Helicopter (Bell) was once located in Amarillo, Texas in the 60’s and remained a strong employer for our region until the late 1980’s. It was at this time the highly productive major employer closed operations in light of some influential politics. But in 1998, Bell Helicopter began their journey to seek a community that would welcome a large scale operation to assemble the V-22 Osprey, commonly known as the Tiltrotor. The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (Amarillo EDC) and the entire City of Amarillo was very aggressive in this attraction. Several of the parameters of the project required expandable land, highly motivated and skilled workforce, and a training program for this specialized field. The City, Amarillo EDC, Amarillo College, Atmos Energy, Xcel Energy, and various other entities worked diligently to attract the Tiltrotor Assembly Center. At one point in the process, Bell had asked for verification of a skilled workforce. It was at this time a blind advertisement looking to recruit for an aviation-related business was printed in the newspaper. With this advertisement, over 8,000 responses were received. Amarillo College worked to develop a specific training program to polish the education and skills of those people interested in working for Bell. This program is referred to as the BETA program, the Bell Employee Training Alliance. This education opportunity allowed individuals, after having passed the curriculum, to have a guaranteed interview with Bell officials for employment.
In 1998, Bell Helicopter announced their decision to locate the Bell Helicopter Tiltrotor Assembly Center in Amarillo, Texas. Initial investment was $30,000,000 along with the construction of a world-class facility. In this short period of time, the invested amount in this facility has surpassed $100,000,000. Amarillo is very proud of Bell Helicopter and the continued success their company has created for the region. The Amarillo EDC looks to the future for the aviation industry.
