ALL RITE DISTRIBUTING TO RECEIVE PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FROM DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

 Fort Wayne, IN – Fort Wayne-based All Rite Distributing Co., Inc. has received notification that it will be presented with a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Vendor Excellence Award for Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.  Nominated by the Defense Supply Center Columbus, All Rite will receive the prestigious award at a dinner on August 24 as part of the DLA Enterprise Supplier Conference and Exhibition in Columbus, Ohio.  The award presentation to All Rite representatives will be made by Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, SC, USN, who is director of the DLA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.

 “We are humbled to receive the DLA Vendor Excellence Award for Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses,” stated All Rite President J. Brian McNaughton upon learning that his company was chosen for the distincion.  “To have been selected as a leader amongst our peers is a great honor for us.”

 All Rite Distributing has served as a contractor for the defense industry for more than 10 years.  The company has worked with Partners in Contracting Corporation (PICC), a Hammond-based organization that helps Indiana companies secure government contracts, and its local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) to strategically position itself as an emerging defense contracting leader.  The PTAC is housed at the Northeast Indiana Small Business Development Center in Fort Wayne and is led by PICC Counselor-Trainer Gil Perry. 

 All Rite Distributing was founded in 1972 as a wholesale distributor warehouse in the automotive aftermarket, but the company has seen its government contracting business grow exponentially in recent years.  Steve Dunning, director of government sales for All Rite, estimates that 70 percent of the firm’s 2010 sales will be in defense contracts, doubling the amount that the company had in 2008.  This contrasts with only 10 percent of its sales in 2000, when All Rite first began venturing into government contracts.

 As a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), All Rite has an advantage in the contract bidding process in that it can explore various set-aside opportunities available only to such companies.  All Rite already has received five excellence awards to date from the Defense Supply Centers located in Columbus, Ohio and Richmond, Virginia.

 About All Rite Distributing Co., Inc.

All Rite Distributing Co., located at 1430 Dividend Road in Fort Wayne, was founded in 1972 by World War II veteran John McNaughton, now deceased.  The company is currently led by J. Brian McNaughton, one of the founder’s grandsons, as president, and Gary McNaughton, one of the founder’s sons, a Vietnam War veteran who is serving as vice president.  Other key personnel include Steve Dunning as director of government sales, Darin Little as contract administrator/expediter, and Dave Strader as logistics manager.