Textron Aviation has taken a strategic approach to moving into new markets as it works to increase its customer base. As a result, the company has already created a new billion-dollar business with the success of the Citation Latitude, said president and CEO Scott Ernest.

The company is set to deliver Serial Number 104 this quarter, a milestone achieved in a little more than two years since the first Latitudes reached customer hands in summer 2015. Textron Aviation (Booth N3530) had already delivered 81 through June, including 23 in the first six months of this year alone.

“Two-and one half years ago this business didn’t exist at Cessna or Textron,” Ernest said, “and now it’s a billion-dollar business.”

The Latitude, which incorporates the widest and tallest cabin in the in-service Citation lineup, has eclipsed the M2 as the company’s most delivered product currently in production, he noted, and said the program is building momentum as the fleet continues to grow, particularly on the international front. The company recently sold the first of the midsize models to a customer in the Philippines. With NetJets as a key customer—the fractional operator is taking 28 of the aircraft this year—it also is attracting fleet interest, he added.

“It’s hands down been a great program for us,” Ernest said. “In this space you have to make educated decisions on what the new products need to be. This is one where we made a really good decision.”

The decision to move forward with the Latitude came as Textron Aviation eyed a product line that pushed into new and/or larger aircraft categories, and it continues to do so. “We are investing several hundred million dollars a year back into new products, and that does afford you the opportunity to look at the market a little differently with respect to where you think the next product line needs to be,” Ernest said. “[This] may not be necessarily in a current product line you are in, but one that might be an available market [where] people haven’t invested in a while or [one that] might be getting a little tired."

The company spent the early part of the decade reinforcing its current customer base with product updates. The question then became how to grow effectively outside the current base. “As you look forward with Longitude, Hemisphere, Denali and Scorpion; those are all products in spaces where we don’t compete,” he said. “That can only help us with respect to the company’s ability to serve more customers and service more products.”

While the company is moving into new markets where other manufacturers have long built up brand recognition, Ernest said having new technologies in what can be a neglected space, along with an expansive support network, has opened doors.

As far as the market, he said potential buyers remain cautious, but “having new products is always good” because it generates new interest. “We feel that, overall, the market is responding to our new products.”

The market will probably grow incrementally, but “that’s okay…we’re comfortable to see some growth in our business and the new products. It’s the right methodology,” Ernest said. The key, he added has been to continue to move forward, even during difficult times. “We will continue to invest,” he said. “We’re excited where we are at as a company.”