Having right product at the right time pays off for Virginia Beach company

Virginia Business
January 2006

ADS Inc., a major supplier of tactical and special operations equipment for the Department of Defense, is a prime example of what can happen when the focus is put on customer service. The young company is actually a spinoff business from Lynn-haven Dive Center, a Virginia Beach landmark best known for selling wetsuits and guided diving packages. In the late 1990s, Navy Seals started coming in to buy diving gear, and soon the center found itself catering to the local special operations community.

We did whatever it took to meet their needs,” says Luke Hillier, president and CEO of ADS, whose father, Mike, started and still runs Lynnhaven Dive Center. “For instance, when they were getting ready to deploy, we’d keep the business open after midnight so they could get equipment at the last minute.”

Word quickly spread among the military, and soon business was so good that the Hilliers started a separate company to meet demand. Today, ADS Inc. has offices and supply centers in Virginia Beach, San Diego and Fort Bragg, N.C. It provides night-vision equipment, climbing gear, rescue equipment, protective vests and 20,000 other tactical and special operations products to the military.

The company, which had revenues of more than $200 million last year, recently finished No. 4 on the Inc. 500 ranking of the fastest growing firms in the country. That figure doesn’t even include two major new contracts won by ADS this fall: a $500 million streamlined acquisition vehicle that allows ADS to skip the bid process and deliver equipment directly to the Department of Defense, and a $100 million-plus contract with New York State to provide equipment to first responders and police officers.

Hillier, 34, who grew up working in his father’s business, recognized ADS’ huge potential for growth in a post-9/11 world. He came back to Virginia Beach to take over after a short career in the government contracting business, working first on the buying side for the Naval Air Systems Command and then on the sales side at Oracle Federal.

While he admits that much of the company’s growth is a matter of “right place, right time, right product,” he also notes that his company managed to sidestep the major hurdles that often torpedo companies experiencing rapid expansion.

ADS reached the status of preferred Department of Defense supplier by focusing on service and solutions, developing a go-to-market strategy that relies heavily on former special operations and law enforcement professionals for new business development, and taking the extra step to meet the needs of its unique customer base.

Hillier notes that ADS is far from its roots, with diving gear making up just 2 percent of total sales. But the lessons learned from those early years remain in place. “We’d like to be known as the No. 1 provider of Special Operations equipment solutions, with solutions being the key word,” says Hillier who expects the company to grow 50 percent and hire 50 more employees next year. “Because we also want to provide all of the services around that equipment that will help make our customers more effective and ultimately be successful in fighting the War on Terror.”