The Early Years 1960-1970
- NDI is a family owned company, founded on January 2, 1960 by Frank J. Gaziano and his wife Norma Gaziano, who was the initial bookkeeper and treasurer of the company.
- Frank was an executive for many years with Anheuser-Busch before purchasing the southern Maine A-B wholesalership.
- The first warehouse and office were located on York Street in Portland and 10 people were initially employed.
- Within three years, a facility was built on Fore Street in Portland. It was here that beer sales increased, new employees were added, and the original building was renovated and expanded to include a can recycling center and a glass bottle washer.
The Growth Years 1970 - 1980
- In the early 1970’s NDI began to distribute wines. Today National represents some of the finest wineries in the U.S. and many other countries.
- In 1979, Jeff Kane joined the company as VP/General Manager.
- With the introduction of computerization, and the need for more space, NDI moved to a new location. New, modern offices and a state of the art ‘Controlled Environmental Warehouse’ were built at the existing location at 116 Wallace Ave, South Portland.
- The move was completed in September, 1980.
- In 1980, NDI sold 1,000,000 cases of Anheuser-Busch products. This was the combined total of all A-B brands sold. This was the first of many milestones achieved.
- Also, in 1980, Jeff Kane was appointed Successor Manager of NDI.
The Milestone Years 1980 - 1990
- In 1982, Frank Gaziano was chosen to sit on the Anheuser-Busch Wholesaler Panel.
- In 1984, as the company approached it’s 25th anniversary, NDI sold 1,000,000 cases of the Budweiser Brand for the first time. It should be noted that this was a goal long sought after.
- In 1985 National was named as an Ambassador Wholesaler, the highest award that could be bestowed on A-B distributorship. Only 60 of the then 1000 wholesalers ever received this award.
- In 1989, Jeff Kane was named President and Successor Manager.
- Due to increased business and the ever expanding product lines in beers, wines, and non-alcoholic products, the warehouse has been expanded several times beginning in 1985 with yet another expansion in 2007.
- In 1989, a non-alcohol department was established to develop sales in waters, juices, and sodas. National purchased the distribution rights in southern Maine for Polar Sodas.
- In 1990, National was named an Anheuser-Busch ‘Wholesaler of the Year’ in New England.
The New Direction Years 1990 - Present
- In 1994, Jeff became A-B Equity Manager when Frank became CEO.
- In 1995, the office area was renovated and expanded. The beer and wine departments, as well as the financial department were all relocated in the different areas of the offices and sales areas.
- In 2003, NDI acquired the Heineken Portfolio.
- The number of employees has grown from the original 10 to over 170.
- In 2006, the NDI website was introduced, NDI began selling Rolling Rock, the most recent brand purchased by A-B, and soda sales exceeded 500,000 cases led by the explosive growth of energy drinks.
- In 2007, NDI acquired the rights to the InBev brands, Bass, Beck’s, Lowenbrau.
- The senior management team includes Jeff Kane, Carmine Castaldo, Charlie Gagnon, Dave Nelson, along with Sales Managers, Tim Longstaff (beer), Dan Kane (wine), and Jason Seavey (non-alc).
