Arizona Firm Wins Contract to Sell $8 Billion in Military Surplus.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 1998--The first-ever commercial venture contract to sell surplus military goods with an original acquisition value of over $8 billion to the public worldwide has been won by Levy/Latham Global LLC (LLG), a partnership of two leading national sales organizations, who in cooperation have become one of the nation's largest disposition firms.

The contract is the first commercial venture transaction awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Details of the five-year contract will be provided at a press conference Oct. 8 in San Diego.

Over the next five years, LLG will dispose of equipment, building materials and electrical supplies no longer needed by the military, according to company officials.

Based in Scottsdale, LLG plans to dispose of assets to the public through live and Internet auctions and various private, direct, sealed bid, and retail sales efforts targeted to individuals, as well as businesses.

Most if not all of the surplus will be sold at a percentage of its original cost, generating revenue to the government while creating exceptional bargains for the consumer, company officials said.

The surplus inventory amounts to more than 400,000 line items, "ranging from the mundane to the unique," according to Michael Himelfarb, president of LLG. Each line item may include one to hundreds of units.

Equipment ranges from machinery and industrial manufacturing equipment, locomotives, rail cars and tractors to utility and work boats, floating dry docks and marine hardware. Building materials include prefabricated structures, nonferrous, ferrous, and nonmetallic materials, while electrical gear includes radio and TV communications equipment, and video recording and reproducing equipment.

The huge inventory is currently warehoused by the Defense Reutilization & Marketing Service (DRMS) under approximately 20 million square feet of space at over 120 sites throughout the continental United States. LLG will conduct initial sales using inventory from 16 of those sites, across the nation from Stockton, Calif., to Portsmouth, N.H.

"The heart of this business venture is sales, pure and simple. The goal is to identify, market, and sell billions of dollars, in original cost, of assets while returning to the government the highest net possible," explained Richard Rubenstein, the firm's vice president of sales.

A major purpose of the government's commercial venture partnership is to make military surplus more available to the public than it ever has been, according to company principals Robert Levy, David Levy and Larry Latham.

"Diverse surplus assets will be made available to more buyers and, through a competitive sales process, will generate the greatest return on the sale of the assets," they explained.

LLG expects to receive new surplus military inventory every two weeks which could be up to 50,000 new additional line items. The equipment comes from thousands of generators that are very much involved in active operations as well as military downsizing. (Generators are military entities that forward surplus for disposition).

Surplus property available for purchase is neither offensive nor defensive weapons and includes tens of thousands of items that can be used by individuals and businesses such as manufacturing machinery and equipment, boats, electrical and industrial supplies, and electronic test equipment.

Five years ago, in 1993, the government deemed DRMS a privatization candidate, and this contract with LLG is the first large-scale partnership transaction implemented in the furtherance of DRMS privatization goals.

"A team of regional managers assisted by experienced and dedicated professionals will provide consistent quality service," vowed Stephen C. Bisset, the company's vice president, logistics.

LLG has headquarters at 6263 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 371, Scottsdale, Ariz., 85250. Tel. [phone]. Information is available on the Internet at www.levylatham.com.