N e w Corporation Formed By Halter M a r i n e And Bell Aerospace Textron

Bell Aerospace Textron, headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., and Halter Marine, Inc. of New Orleans, jointly announced the establishment of Bell Halter Inc., a corporation offering design, construction and financing of marine craft utilizing air cushion technology.

Norton C. Wilcox, Bell Aerospace Textron president, said the corporation is a successor to the Bell-Halter joint venture established in 1977 that combined Bell Aerospace Textron's technical know-how with Halter Marine, Inc.'s 24 years of experience as a builder of boats.

The Bell-Halter joint venture, based in New Orleans, produced two surface effect ships utilizing air cushion principles. One, the 110-foot Bell-Halter SES, christened in 1979, has been leased by an oil company and the U.S. Coast Guard. The other, the 48-foot Rodolf, built for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the first American hydrographic survey boat to ride on an air cushion.

John J. Kelly, vice president of Bell Aerospace Textron's New Orleans Operation, is president of the new corporation. He announced that the new corporation has begun production of four "Dashboats" for Command Marine Inc.

of Lafayette, La., to be used in servicing oil rigs. They will be similar to the Bell-Halter SES prototype with a 110-foot length and will carry up to 120 passengers or 40 tons of cargo at an average speed of 32 knots (37 mph).

Mr. Kelly noted that "Speed, fuel efficiency and stability are impressive advantages of these surface effect ships. Because they have less friction with the water, they use less fuel, and they can operate in high seas and poor weather conditions."

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