Edmonds makes splash in return to fed market

Al Edmonds' retirement from EDS Corp. hasn't turned out quite as he planned. He wanted to use his experience as an Air Force general and as the leader of EDS' federal government business to help small companies grow. He originally intended to buy companies that had a CEO to run them."I would be the chairman and offer counseling and advice," he said.But when Edmonds started talking to William Walker III, owner of Logistics Applications Inc. in Alexandria, Va., Edmonds began thinking about running it himself.Walker "was talking about retiring, and I started helping him get ready to sell," Edmonds said. "I liked what I saw."On Jan. 27, Edmonds bought Logistics Applications for an undisclosed amount. He financed the acquisition himself and is not working with an outside investment group, he said.Logistics Applications has about 200 employees and between $10 million and $12 million in revenue, Edmonds said. It specializes in facilities management , information services and training. Its customers include the Defense Department, Food and Drug Administration and the Energy Department."The company has a lot of potential," Edmonds said.As part of his growth strategy, Edmonds said he wants to form alliances with larger companies and expand the work they are doing with current customers.Acquisitions also will be a part of the strategy. Edmonds said he is looking at companies in areas such as information assurance, homeland security, intelligence and wireless communications.Size is not a factor in Edmond's choices of target companies. "Six figures, seven figures, eight figures, even nine figures ? I'm not going to limit myself," he said.