Meet Allied

Allied History

Virginia Air Beginnings

Ken Baker, founder of Virginia Air Distributors, Inc., is originally from Newcastle, England. Ken received his Accounting/Finance degree from Newcastle Tech in England before moving forward in a career that spanned travels around the world. The very foundation and principles that sets Virginia Air apart from the competition are the ones that Ken practiced during his early years of employment, which is to go above and beyond to service the customer. 

After a series of successive positions in accounting, operations and management, Ken accepted a position with Exxon as an Operational Director. Next, he was on to Borg Warner Corporation where he served as Director of Operations - Audit for several years. In 1981, Ken accepted a position with York International as VP of Finance, where he remained until 1986, when he agreed to an opportunity to take over a York Factory owned branch in Richmond, VA. In April of 1987, Virginia Air Distributors, Inc. was created and Ken remains involved in the business today as an advisor. 

Timeline of Branch Openings

In 1987, Virginia Air Distributors had one Branch and fourteen employees. Today, the Company has thirteen Branches and an employee base of over one hundred and sixty employees. Our Branch locations are in Virginia (3), West Virginia (1), North Carolina (5), Ohio (3) and Pennsylvania (1).

1988, the Company expanded its operations and opened another Branch in Chesapeake, VA.

2001 was quite the year of growth for the Company with three Branches opening.

  • May 2001: The Richmond North Branch opened with a concentration in the supplies market.

  • June 2001: The Roanoke Branch opened its doors.

  • July 2001: The Charleston, WV Branch opened.

Growth opportunities continued in March 2002 with the acquisition of the North Carolina Market. Those branches include Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Salisbury.

The next acquisition occurred in January 2003, with Virginia Air Distributors establishing a presence in the Tri-State market, which includes Branch locations in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh.

We opened our 13th branch in Greensboro, NC in 2006.

As we look to the future, Virginia Air is excited about the potential growth opportunities that lie ahead.

More than 36 years of expertise
Wide selection of products
Customer service experts
A network of more than 19 branches
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