ADS Acquires MAR-VEL International
ADS Acquires Mar-Vel International
Expands Law Enforcement Product Lines Through its New Wholly-Owned Subsidiary and Plans Employment Growth
Virginia Beach, Virginia (September 8, 2008) – ADS, Inc. (Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc.) has acquired the assets of MAR-VEL International in order to continue to expand their Law Enforcement product line and accommodate the company’s overall steady growth. The new wholly-owned subsidiary of ADS will manage the sales and operations of ADS’ Law Enforcement Division under the MAR-VEL name, servicing all current ADS Law Enforcement (LE) contracts and increasing ADS’ capability to make additional products available to our nation’s soldiers and first responders.
Located in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and San Diego, California, MAR-VEL was a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Prime Vendor for the U.S. military and has supplied tactical, diving, marine lifesaving and personal protection equipment, including body armor and protective chemical-biological suits, to the military and first responder community since 1946. The MAR-VEL Prime Vendor contract has been moved to ADS.
ADS has transitioned MAR-VEL’s current 50-person workforce to its payroll and plans to grow the company at both locations, hiring additional people and bringing new work into the facilities. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADS, former MAR-VEL owners will continue to help manage operations at the facilities under the MAR-VEL International name, and will play a critical role in ensuring the continued excellence of the MAR-VEL and ADS brands as the Law Enforcement division of ADS.
“Our acquisition of MAR-VEL will allow us to continue to meet the demands of our nation’s soldiers and first responders by offering them increased product choices and ensuring timely delivery of their needed equipment. Under the MAR-VEL brand, we will cater to the specific needs of the Law Enforcement community, ensuring the stamp of quality that comes with the ADS, Inc., and MAR-VEL names,” said ADS CEO and President Luke Hillier. “Our company continues to grow at a rapid rate. We are hoping to hire additional employees at both MAR-VEL locations to meet our current demands and continue to diversify our business.”
With 240 employees nationwide, ADS continues to expand its existing product lines, the scope of their work and their workforce. Located in Virginia Beach and San Diego, they are currently working to secure a wide variety of additional contracts within the DoD and the Department of Homeland Security, and are continuing to field the Army’s Third Generation Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (GEN III ECWCS) to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
About ADS, Inc.
ADS, Inc (www.ADSInc.com) is a second-generation family-owned small business, created in 1979 in Virginia Beach, Virginia as the government sales division of a local diving supply center and catered to the Norfolk-Virginia Beach military community. Since then, ADS has widely expanded its product offering and provides on-time, essential operational equipment combined with industry-leading logistics solutions to all branches of the U.S. military and Federal Agencies, overseeing every aspect of the supply chain and ensuring availability of superior equipment to our men and women in uniform.
