AgustaWestland today announced that the Honorable Tom Ridge has joined AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation’s Board of Directors.

Ridge, the 43^rd Governor of Pennsylvania and the first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has significant public and private sector expertise that will allow him to take an active role in advocating for and raising the profile of AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation in Pennsylvania and across the United States.

Ridge currently heads the strategic consulting company Ridge Global where, as CEO, he manages leading experts as they work with businesses and governments to manage risk, global trade, and strategic planning, among other key organizational issues.

“I am confident that Gov. Ridge’s unique and diverse portfolio, rooted in Pennsylvania, and coupled with our company’s recent and anticipated growth, will result in the creation of new opportunities to include expansion of our commercial and industrial reach,” said AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation CEO Bill Hunt. “The investment that AgustaWestland is making to grow the US leadership team will result in a more precise focus on ways in which we highlight key product and program differentiators important to Federal and State Government and private sector customers.”

AgustaWestland Philadelphia, AgustaWestland’s center of operations for production, sales, customer support and training across the Americas, operates out of a 275,000 square foot facility, on a 39-acre site at Northeast Philadelphia Airport in Pennsylvania. The facility also includes final assembly lines for the AW119Kx and AW139 helicopters, a parts supply depot for the Americas and a fully approved FAA and JAA repair station.

As announced in 2013, AgustaWestland Philadelphia will also serve as one of two worldwide production sites for the newest addition to the AW Family of products, the next-generation AW169. The AW169 final assembly line ramp up is already underway, with first deliveries expected in xx.

AgustaWestland Philadelphia also performs helicopter customization, has a delivery center for AW109 Power and GrandNew aircraft, and provides maintenance services for customer aircraft. Over 560 people are currently employed by AgustaWestland Philadelphia and this will increase as a result of this announcement and the expansion of other activities.