Beach company wins military, civilian contract

VIRGINIA BEACH

ADS Inc., a family-owned business that supplies gear and equipment to the military and civilian emergency responders, has won a federal contract that could double its revenue and work force over the next two years, a company official said Wednesday.

Over five years, the contract has a potential value of up to $4 billion to supply equipment, training and logistics support for fire and emergency responders at military installations, at other federal facilities and for state and local governments.

The contract, awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency, calls for a maximum of $800 million in orders from five geographic regions across the United States.

"It's a huge award for us," said Luke Hillier, ADS president and chief executive officer.

Hillier said the privately held company, spun off from the family's Lynnhaven Dive Center in 1996 as Atlantic Diving

Supply, expects to double its work force of around 140 in Virginia Beach over the next two years. Its annual sales revenue, which he said is several hundred million dollars, also is expected to double.

Under the contract, ADS will have to compete with two or three other companies in each of the geographic regions to win task orders, but Hillier said he is confident ADS will receive millions of dollars in orders.

"There's a ton of task orders" that will be issued, Hillier said. "We have to compete for the orders, but with our very competitive infrastructure it's a slam dunk."

Hillier describes ADS as a "value-added distributor" that assembles various equipment and gear into kits for "just in time" delivery to military and government customers. Under the new contract, ADS would provide equipment such as fire hoses, ladders, breathing apparatuses, search and rescue supplies, and protective clothing such as boots and helmets.

ADS is in an office park off Viking Drive and has a warehouse on London Bridge Road. Its employees range from warehouse workers earning around $30,000 a year to business development and contract specialists making up to $150,000, Hillier said. Many of its customer-service workers have military experience.

Jon W. Glass, (757) 446-2318, jon.glass@pilotonline.com