Agusta (now part of AgustaWestland) is an Italian helicopter manufacturer. It is based in Samarate Northern Italy. It is a subsidiary of Finmeccanica. The company was founded by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923 who flew his first airplane in 1907. The MV Agusta motorcycle manufacturer began as an offshoot of the Agusta aviation company at the end of the Second World War as a means to save the jobs of employees of the Agusta firm.