FINANCE
Breaking Boundaries A celebration of Alaska-grown, top-earning companies By Tracy Barbour
S
ome of Alaska’s most ambitious start-ups are now among the topearning companies in the state. The following are examples of top-producing entities that originated in Alaska and have expanded beyond its borders to serve a broad base of customers.
Alaska USA Alaska USA Federal Credit Union is one of the longest-standing home-grown entities in Alaska. It was established on December 6, 1948, when fifteen civil service personnel gathered in Anchorage’s Alaska Air Depot pooled their savings—and their conviction in one another—to form a member-owned credit union. “This decision was made in order to provide financial services to the personnel who had been recently transferred to Alaska,” says Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations Dan McCue. “Members began extending credit to one another while volunteering their time to operate the credit union.” Today, Alaska USA still builds upon the strength of its members. Now in its seventieth year of business, it continues to bring the not-for-profit, financial service cooperative model to families and businesses in Alaska, Arizona, California, and Washington through seventy-four branches serving roughly 670,000 members, according to McCue. The credit union operates thirty-one branches in Alaska, eight in Arizona, seven in California, and twenty-eight in 38 | October 2019
Washington. It has 1,264 employees in Alaska, 275 in Arizona, 67 in California, and 241 in Washington. As a not-for-profit entity, Alaska USA doesn’t look at revenue as a sustainable operating indicator. McCue says: “Our membership has steadily grown over our seventy-year history... The individual and commercial loan portfolio has also drastically increased, reaching well over $6 billion this year. And the largest indicator of sustainability and positive business practices is our value transfer to members based on higher rates on deposits, decreased loan rates, and decreased fees compared to those of competing banking institutions. In 2018 we provided a $198 per member benefit.” Alaska USA also supports a variety of charitable organizations and nonprofit entities such as the Armed Services YMCA, The Financial Reality Foundation, and Special Olympics Alaska. Through corporate giving and community support programs, Alaska USA contributed nearly $750,000 to nonprofit organizations in more than fifty distinct communities in 2018. And its employees in each of the communities in which it operates volunteered more than 1,500 hours in support of various organizations last year. “A healthy business economy starts with a healthy community,” McCue says.
Carlile Transportation Systems Carlile Transportation Systems has
experienced tremendous growth and expansion beyond Alaska due to its unwavering commitment to safety, reliability, and service, according to Tom Hendrix, vice president of oil and gas for Carlile. Anchorage is home to Carlile’s main terminal and corporate headquarters with additional terminals located in Prudhoe Bay, Fairbanks, Seward, Kenai, and Kodiak. Outside Alaska Carlile operates terminals in Houston, Texas; Lakeville, Minnesota; Tacoma, Washington; and Edmonton, Alberta. Today, the company has approximately 320 employees in Alaska and 120 outside the state. While Alaska is immense geographically, its business community is small, making trusted relationships critical, says Hendrix. He adds: “Being removed from the rest of the country, Alaskans have a well-known cando attitude, and they band together when facing challenges. In the Alaska trucking industry, even the toughest of competitors are often friends when facing tough times or providing support to communities.” Founded in 1980 by brothers Harry and John McDonald, Carlile has evolved significantly over the years. “Because intrastate trucking was regulated at the time, the brothers purchased an operating authority which allowed Carlile to take advantage of fixed rate tariffs,” Hendrix explains. “In 1984,
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