UMA NAMES EITING BUSINESS EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR FOR 2009

November 10, 2009

Highlighting the 104th Annual Awards and Installation Banquet of the Utah Manufacturers Association at Little America on Saturday night was the announcement by UMA president Tom Bingham that Stephen N. Eiting, vice president of operations at Communication Systems-West, a Division of L-3 Communications in Salt Lake City, is the 2009 UMA Business Executive of the Year. UMA annually names a top business and industry executive and awards them with a plaque and an attaché’ case from Zero Manufacturing.

L-3 Communications is a leading provider of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization, training and government services and is a merchant supplier of a broad array of high technology products. Its customers include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, selected U.S. Government intelligence agencies and aerospace prime contractors.

Communication Systems-West (CS-W) is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT and has more than 3,000 employees. Rapid growth has marked Stephen Eiting’s leadership during the past few years. In fact, the number of employees in Salt Lake has increased by 34% in the last 5 years.
Stephen Eiting is a long time employee in this industry. He hired into Sperry as an assembler and has been promoted to increasing levels of responsibility over the last 30 years, culminating in his current role as Vice President of Operations. His breadth of experience includes management in: Manufacturing, Supply chain, Program management, and Quality. Steve loves working with people and teams and enjoys helping them succeed.

Since Stephen’s appointment as VP CS-W has delivered nearly 120,000 systems and products with an on-time delivery rate of more than 90%. One of L-3’s most successful products, the ROVER, is a testament to Stephen’s success – In 2007, ROVER output was five units per day; today the operation boasts an average of 27 completed units per day.

In addition to effectively managing an explosion in employee and product growth, Eiting has led his organization to be profitable year over year even in a declining economy. Revenue growth is approaching $980 million with a profit increase of 23% from 2007 to 2008.

Stephen Eiting earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management as well as a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Utah.

Stephen and his wife, Ronda, live in Bountiful, Utah with their three children.

UMA is pleased to recognize Stephen N. Eiting as its “Business Executive of the Year.” Congratulations to Stephen Eiting and his team at Communication Systems-West.