Rite-Solutions grows into one of Middletown's largest companies. How they did it

MIDDLETOWN – At the turn of the 21st century, Aquidneck Island businessman Joe Marino, then 50,  was contemplating retirement after his former company was purchased and his employment was terminated in favor of a new leadership team.

But his business partners, Jim and Kathy Lavoie, a husband and wife duo,  talked him out of it. The three partners agree to a novel business philosophy – seek out the right customers and the right employees and treat them like a family.

“Most models have customers at the center,” said Marino, the chief executive officer and a co-founder, along with Jim and Kathy Lavoie, who are still involved.

He said Jim and Kathy posed a question to him, “What happens if we put the employee at the center of model?”

Though the Lavoies posed the question, it wasn’t the first time Marino had heard the concept.

Marino said he took a course at Harvard and first learned this philosophy from a professor who thought along the same lines, which piqued Marino’s curiosity.

Rite-Solutions, Inc. is now an award-winning business specializing in system engineering, software development, information technology (IT), and cyber security for government and commercial segments. Rite-Solutions has offices in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C, according to spokesman John Thornell.

In less than two months, the company has been awarded more than $160 million in contracts through the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport.

Marino says the company is preparing to celebrate 25 years in business. This comes after starting with 12 people in 2000 and now employing 488 people with room for 50 more job openings.

“Growth was never our main driving focus,” Marino said.

The irony? Growth and lucrative contracts have come to Rite-Solutions through its focus on a culture.

In March, Rite-Solutions was awarded a $60.7 million, five-year contract to support NUWC’s Activity Chief Information Officer (ACIO)/Information Technology (IT) division, which is responsible for strategic planning, operations, maintenance, and compliance of the center’s IT systems and infrastructure, according to a release from Thornell.

The company will provide Informational Technology services in several areas including software engineering, system administration, cybersecurity, client support services/help desk, Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) support, IT governance and application portfolio management support, and more.

Weeks later, the company was awarded a five-year, $10.7 million competitive Task Order from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), Division Newport to provide hardware and software development services for Electronic Warfare, Electronic Support and elements of the Submarine Multi-Mission Team Trainer.

The good news and subsequent good karma didn’t stop there.

On April 1, it was announced that Rite-Solutions was awarded a contract for $88.6 million by NUWC – the largest in company history.

“Under this three-year contract, Rite-Solutions will support  NUWC’s Undersea Warfare Electromagnetic Systems Department (Code 34). “This is a milestone for the company,” Marino said in a written release.

Chad Seelig, the chief financial officer, echoed Marino’s sentiments that the culture has played a significant role in Rite-Solution’s success.

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Seelig said the company tries to know its employees, discover their interests, and find opportunities to bring them together.

“In return, we have happy customers and happy employees who produce and who work under better conditions than other companies. … It’s an investment in the workforce.”

Seelig said the workforce development focuses on helping employees build for the future, with tuition reimbursement and certification assistance.

But it stems beyond that.

“We provide an employee-centric environment. We have social events and culture teams where employees from different projects and employees within the company work on a common interest,” Seelig said.

For instance, there is a “Green Team,” where some employees get together and conduct trash cleanup for the community.

Seelig said there are employee recognition events as well, and the leadership team takes an interest in employees’ passion outside of work. They work to incorporate those interests in the social events and the overall company culture.

“Work is still work but there is not that inherent pressure coming down from your employers. It’s natural and it is more organic,” Seelig said.

A Jamestown native, Seelig said he has been with Rite-Solutions for over 10 years – or around half of his career in the finance field – and “feels blessed” to find a great workplace so close to home.

“We treat people the same as they are in our own home and that is a big differentiator for us,” Seelig said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rite-Solutions places employees at center and finds continued growth