Building Bell’s Legacy: Father and Son Bring Electric Energy to the Amarillo Assembly Center

The Bell Amarillo Assembly Center employs an iconic father-son duo that has been making its mark since the 1980s. Fermin Watts Sr., lead flight electrician, and his son Fermin Watts Jr., assembler electrician, share roles as electricians for the V-22 and chefs for the Bell Cook Team.

Fermin Watts Sr. began his career at Bell in the 1980s after following in his older brother’s footsteps. He was one of the first electricians to work on the Bell AH-1 Cobra and Bell OH-58 Kiowa and the first electrician to work on the V-22 nacelles. He also worked on the Return to Flight program, in Flight as an electrician, and was eventually promoted to a flight production specialist. “My goal is to retire on May 22, 2022 once I will have worked 22 years on the V-22. And that is when I will rely on my son to keep the Watts name alive and well at the Amarillo Assembly Center.”

Inspired by his father’s career, Fermin Watts Jr. decided to leave his firefighter role and enroll in aerospace manufacturing courses at Amarillo College. Upon completion of the courses, Watts Jr. interviewed for and accepted an electrician position at the Bell Amarillo Assembly Center. The kicker – he never told his father about the courses or getting a job.

“Before I knew it my hiring trainer was walking me and the other new hires into another hangar on-site and this just so happened to be the hangar my dad was working in at the time. I remember my trainer shouting “Fermin! Look it’s your son!” Then my dad came over and said, “Son! What are doing here?” That’s when he… finally… found out I had gone through the courses at Amarillo College and been hired at Bell.”

Generational Feature Watts Header.jpg

The father and son duo has been working together for almost 12 years and has shared memories of working on the V-22 and on the Bell Cook Team. Watts Sr. recalled a special memory cooking with his son. “I have enjoyed doing the Bell Cook Team with my son. I remember when I was on the team before my son was even an employee at Bell. There would be times when we had community events going on and would need extra help. I would call him and recruit him to come help us at the cookouts.” The two have continued cooking together and enjoy the time, recipes and effort put into each cookout.

Fermin Jr. is thankful to his dad for the ability to follow in his footsteps and for inspiring him to put in the work for his career as an electrician. “Not all fathers and sons get to share memories quite like that!”

Bell has a rich history of generational employees working together.

About Bell

Thinking above and beyond is what we do. For more than 85 years, we’ve been reimagining the experience of flight – and where it can take us.

We are pioneers. We were the first to break the sound barrier and to certify a commercial helicopter. We were a part of NASA’s first lunar mission and brought advanced tiltrotor systems to market. Today, we’re defining the future of advanced air mobility.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas – as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., – we have strategic locations around the globe. And with nearly one quarter of our workforce having served, helping our military achieve their missions is a passion of ours.

Above all, our breakthrough innovations deliver exceptional experiences to our customers. Efficiently. Reliably. And always, with safety at the forefront.

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, Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Arctic Cat, and Textron Systems. For more information, visit: www.textron.com.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, changes in aircraft delivery schedules or cancellations or deferrals of orders; our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the introduction of new products and upgrades with features and technologies desired by our customers; changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of our products; volatility in the global economy or changes in worldwide political conditions that adversely impact demand for our products; volatility in interest rates or foreign exchange rates; and risks related to our international business, including establishing and maintaining facilities in locations around the world and relying on joint venture partners, subcontractors, suppliers, representatives, consultants and other business partners in connection with international business, including in emerging market countries.

You may also like