Atlantic Diving Supply

Atlantic Diving Supply is an American contractor. They are one of the 100 largest federal contractors.

Overview

Atlantic Diving Supply is a reseller of military equipment based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[1] In 2019 they were the 24th largest federal contractor.[2]

History

Atlantic Diving Supply started as a small dive shop in Virginia Beach, Virginia named Lynnhaven Dive Center, which was opened in 1979 by Mike Hillier Sr. Due to its location many early customers had ties to the military.[3] In 1997, the son of the company's founder Luke Hillier created an offshoot which would handle federal contracting with a focus on the military diving community. In 2000, they won their first major contract from the Defense Logistics Agency.[4] Its growth was fueled by the post-9/11 military spending boom.[1]

In 2011, ADS sued non-profit Bancroft Global Development for breach of contract over an order for 18,000 military boots and other equipment. Bancroft countersued them for providing sub-standard equipment, especially cheap costume quality military boots, allegations which were substantiated by reporting.[5]

By 2012, ADS was doing $1 billion a year in government contracting and paid $9m in executive compensation. Company head Jason Wallace received $2.2 million.[6]

In 2015, ADS bought Theodore Wille International, an international military logistics company.[1] In that same year they won a five-year $72 million contract to deliver 1,249 Mk 153 Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) systems to the US Marine Corps. These SMAW have a number of improvements from the original model including the replacement of the 9mm spotting gun with laser and thermal sights.[7]

By 2017, ADS had more than $2 billion in years revenue.[3]

In 2017, ADS agreed to pay $16 million to settle a case which centered on allegations that they had used smaller entities it controlled to fraudulently bid on federal contracts as small businesses.[8][9] In 2019 Ron Villanueva was convicted for helping SEK Solutions, one of the small ADS controlled entities, improperly get contracts set aside for women and minority-owned small businesses.[10]

In 2019, ADS was awarded a contract to supply the base model holsters for the Army's new M17 and M18 service pistols.[11][12]

ADS was one of two companies selected to supply the exercise equipment to the US Army needed to implement the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT).[13]

They were a significant vendor of personal protective equipment and other supplies to the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] They came under scrutiny during this period, due to receiving millions of dollars in pandemic related loans earmarked for small businesses.[1]

In July 2020, former CEO Luke Hillier paid $20 million to settle a personal fraud case against him stemming from his tenure as CEO at ADS.[1]

See also

References
  1. Gregg, Aaron. "Defense contractor with billions in sales got millions in pandemic loans intended for small businesses". www.washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  2. SCHWELLENBACH, NICK; SZAKONYI, DAVID. "Whistleblowers Said This Company Is a Fake Small Business. It Got a PPP Loan". www.pogo.org. Pogo. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  3. METCALFE, TREVOR. "ADS CEO tells of the road to $2 billion in revenue". www.pilotonline.com. Virginia Pilot. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  4. "OUR HISTORY". adsinc.com. Atlantic Diving Supply. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  5. MCCABE, ROBERT. "Virginia Beach company in legal battle over boots". www.pilotonline.com. Virginia Pilot. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  6. Rosiak, Luke. "Executive pay balloons for federal contractors; small businesses add up to big gap". www.washingtontimes.com. The Washington Times. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  7. Bacon, Lance M. "Marines will get more lethal, reliable SMAW in 2016". www.marinecorpstimes.com. Marine Corps Times. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  8. Greggs, Aaron. "Scuba company pays $16 million to settle allegations it defrauded the military". www.washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  9. "Atlantic Diving Supply Scams the Military" (PDF). 32 (9). Undercurrent News. September 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  10. METCALFE, TREVOR. "ADS has partial success in appeal with Small Business Administration". www.pilotonline.com. Virginia Pilot. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  11. Cox, Matthew. "Army Taps ADS to Deliver Holster for New Service Pistol". www.military.com. Military.com. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  12. Keefe, Mark A. "In the Company of Soldiers: The U.S. M17 & M18 Modular Handgun Systems". www.americanrifleman.org. American Rifleman. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  13. Cox, Matthew. "Long-Awaited ACFT Fitness Equipment Arrives at First Army Unit". www.military.com. Military.com. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  14. Staff, InsideNoVa. "Northern Virginia companies receive nearly $1 billion in COVID-19 federal contracts". www.insidenova.com. Inside NoVA. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
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