Specializing by Generalizing

By Rindi White

In the crowded field of equipment suppliers, how does one stand out? For Yukon Equipment, flexibility is the company’s specialty. Whether leasing a loader in Kotzebue or servicing a broken backhoe in Bethel, for seventyfive years, the company has been evolving to meet the needs of its Alaska clients.

“We’re not the biggest equipment dealer in the state, but we are the most flexible,” says Charlie Klever, president of Yukon Equipment. The company, owned by Calista Corporation since 2010, operates three locations: its headquarters in Anchorage and branches in Wasilla and Fairbanks.

“As such we can change our business plan and adjust to the market much more quickly and, we think, more efficiently,” he says.

“The last few years we have really put an emphasis on our village and remote sales, partially because one of our mission statements is to supply support and benefit to the region—the Calista region, the Bethel area,” he says. “We sell equipment to villages and remote sites all over the state. We’ve gotten quite efficient at that.”

Klever says the company will rent the equipment and later sell it. A new machine circulates through the rental fleet for three years before being sold, which presents an affordable option for villages. ”They can buy several pieces of equipment instead of just one for half a million dollars,” Klever explains.

The company also does a brisk business in renting or leasing to homeowners and small contractors, he says, and that market is trending toward ownership lately.

Klever says, “When the opportunity arose, we were able to expand that opportunity. We had the customers, we had the demand, we could get the equipment, and it was wise for us to expand; we weren’t taking a leap of faith.” hundreds of different components,” Vogel says. By focusing on familiar industry sectors, he says TriJet is positioning itself as a world-class specialized parts supplier. Or, as he puts it, “Can we make this as good as it would be made in the South 48?”

Do Good Work, Then Do It Again

Since its origins as St. George Construction in Kotzebue to its expansion and relocation to Anchorage, STG has done it all, from fuel systems and electrical grids to bridges and waterfronts. Its subsidiaries range from expertise in pilings and foundations to hoisting cranes 400 feet high. Lately, STG has become the go-to contractor for a certain type of structure: telecommunications towers, even on mountaintops.

The telecom portion of STG’s business has expanded in the last three years, says company president Brennan Walsh. He believes it will expand further as federal spending to increase broadband availability throughout Alaska begins to flow into the state.

STG isn’t new to tower construction; the company has been building towers for more than twenty years.

STG worked with internet provider GCI over the past several years to help the company execute its GCITERRA network, a 3,300-mile terrestrial broadband network that connects remote communities with Anchorage. Now, Walsh says, STG is called in to help maintain the towers built as part of that and other projects.

The difference is that demand for STG’s telecom work is increasing. The company stands ready to meet the demand.

“We have certified tower climbers and enough technicians. We have enough work to keep a couple of crews busy with tower work throughout the state,” Walsh says.

The work is pretty much yearround; the work slows in the winter, but the tower crews are still called out for emergency repairs. Walsh says moving toward telecom has helped to diversify STG’s business. That is, narrowing its specialty broadened the company’s portfolio of clients.