New owner says Englewood defense firm will grow

The new chief executive of an Englewood defense contractor said Wednesday that the company’s new owners don’t intend to lay off any of the current work force.

“Everybody’s employed,” Bill McLendon said of ETI Tech Inc., where he has been named president and CEO. “Our only intention is to add, to the capabilities and to the staff.”

ETI Tech, Inc. was acquired by majority investor Soaring Pine Capital, the company said in a release.

Founded in 1996, ETI provides more than 200 flight hardware parts for military aircraft and ground support equipment for the aerospace defense industry, for fixed and rotary wing aircrafts, including unmanned aerial vehicles. Parts are supplied for the F-35, C-130, F-16 and C-5B, among others, the company said in an announcement.

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McLendon and Jeff Hartman were named president and chief executive, and executive vice president and chief financial officer, respectively, the company said.

“Our intent is to grow ETI as much as we can,” McLendon said in a phone interview. “It’s difficult to put a specific number on how many jobs we’ll create.”

The company has 11 employees today.

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ETI makes sense as an acquisition, McLendon said.

“ETI is so well positioned with the Department of Defense as well as with many of the prime contractors that provide aircraft to the DoD,” he said. “It has an array of over 200 products that it supplies.”

“ETI is a greatly admired and valued supplier to the manufacturers of military aircraft and directly to the Department of Defense. Jeff and I look forward to bringing our extensive military and aerospace experience to this tremendous company to help it grow exponentially,” McLendon said in the company’s prepared statement.

In the acquisition, Soaring Pine, Wells Fargo, Comerica Bank, with McLendon and Hartman, formed ETI Mission Controls, LLC.

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“To help ensure a seamless transition, current president and CEO Mark Sargent will remain with the company for a period of time,” the statement said.

ETI has offices at 75 Holiday Drive, which is its only location.

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