Avionics News January 2012 - 35

at Piper. At Universal, it was scattered, so I brought it together. During the years, I hired many of the folks who are still there today. There is very little turnover at Universal – it’s a great company.

People often say their company is great. What makes Universal great?
It’s a very stable company. There’s a plaque in the hallway listing the people who have worked here more than 20 years, and I think we have 28 of them. In my career at Universal, I have only experienced one layoff, which is pretty remarkable. It seems as if we are through this rough period, and we’re now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s the people, too. Universal is a people-oriented company, an open communications company without a lot of management layers. In fact, there is just the COO between my boss and the owner of the company. The owner calls and talks to me occasionally, so there are not a lot of people that can, in my experience, cause friction or misinformation. I feel fortunate that I can help steer the company and participate in its success. Several years ago, the founder of the company, Hubert Naimer, passed away. But, he was kind enough to share ownership with employees via a stock option plan. We directly share in the company’s success.

That is one of Universal’s strong points. We were a one-product company for many years, and now we’ve expanded. The knowledge we’ve gained has been one of our real strengths, so I enjoy the diversity. On a typical day, I will receive calls from customers who will name a very new or very old product and ask if our system will work with it, and I’ll research the details.

When you’re doing your outdoor activities, what mountains are those?
East of Tucson, it’s the Winchester Mountains. The area where I fish is the White Mountains in northeastern Arizona.

Do you have a family?
Our children are grown and out on their own. We also have two beautiful granddaughters, ages 5 and 7. My wife Becky and I are looking forward to retirement where we sell our house, buy a sailboat and sail to the South Pacific. I learned to sail growing up. I’m a jack of all trades. I often say if I can’t fix it, nobody can. I have an extensive library of sailing research, but the timing isn’t fixed yet. We may start from the East Coast and go through the Panama Canal.

Have you been involved with the AEA?
I have attended AEA shows for years; it’s a great organization. In fact, I find the AEA the place where we really make business happen. Universal distributes its products through a dealer network, and working with them is critical to us. They are our front line to make sales.

When you’re not working, what do you do?
Fishing is my No. 1 hobby. I know that sounds odd living in Arizona, but we do have mountain streams where we catch small mouth bass and two kinds of trout. We have Apache brown trout, which are native, and rainbow trout, which are stocked. I also love hiking and camping. I’m a big outdoorsman. I also like hunting. This past weekend, we went hunting for mule deer, which involved a lot of hiking. We do use the deer for food – nothing goes to waste. We weren’t successful this year though, but we still had a beautiful time in the mountains. Another hobby I have is brewing beer. I enjoy making a variety of ales and stouts and share most of what I make with friends.

Wow – that’s an ambitious plan.
Yes, but we won’t be in a hurry.

What future do you see for this industry?
The future for Universal is looking good. We have plans for new products coming down the line, and the future is slow, steady growth. There has to be some more recovery first, but we see the industry is past the bottom point and headed for an upswing. It won’t be gangbusters, but 2012 will be better than the last two years, and 2013 and 2014 will be even better. q To learn more about Universal Avionics Systems, visit www.uasc.com.
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What do you like best about your job?
I like the variety of it. I deal with a tremendous variety with all of our products that are installed and integrated into a wide variety of airplanes and systems.

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january

2012

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Avionics News January 2012

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