Dart World hits bull’s-eye with donations to troops

LYNN ? When U.S. troops try to chill out after a combat mission in Afghanistan, they often turn to throwing darts ? and thanks to a Lynn company, some top-shelf recreational equipment is readily available.Dart World sends monthly shipments of darts and supplies to troops overseas, a gesture greatly appreciated as evidenced by letters of thanks from the battlefield.”The soldiers stop by the command post on a daily basis to throw darts. With our busy tempo and daily combat missions, it’s a great stress reliever,” U.S. Army Capt. Mark E. Glaspell wrote in a July letter to Dart World, sent from Forward Operations Base Gardez, Afghanistan. “It’s nice to know that people at home care enough to do something like this. Your caring has made my soldiers’ day a little brighter. It will not be forgotten.”Dart World, owned by brothers Don and Mark Amirault, has been doing business in Lynn for 33 years. Mark Amirault was the company’s first employee. Don Amirault got into the business by selling darts to area bars. At the time, he was buying his darts from Paul Hong, who owned Dart World, then located in Allston. In 1977, Hong moved the business to Washington Street in Lynn.In March of the following year, Don Amirault opened his first store, Darts and Parts, in the Pevear Building on Munroe Street. He expanded the enterprise by opening stores in Ipswich and Waltham. Mark Amirault joined his brother as a business partner and the pair became a Dart World distributor in 1986.In 1988, they sold the Darts and Parts stores and bought Dart World from Hong.Today, Don Amirault is company president while his brother serves as vice president and treasurer. Dart World is located in the former Pepsi plant on Linwood Street, where the company relocated form Locust Street 10 years aog.Dart World acquired the Anheuser-Busch product license in 1991 and holds the beer company’s largest sporting goods license. It is also the exclusive U.S. distributor for Harrows Darts of England, importing its materials from the United Kingdom. The darts are packaged and then shipped from the Lynn facility. Dart World sells to sporting goods stores, dart shops and other major retailers. GEss