Alaska Business April 2017

PAYROLL SUPPORT | BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | START-UP ESSENTIALS | MARKETING | OIL & GAS April 2017 Digital Edition

CORPORATE

100 Celebrating Alaska’s Largest Employers page 8

Powerful together CMI and Atlas Copco – rigs, drill bits and steel to support your lineup.

Construction Machinery Industrial, LLC In the World The best construction equipment technology.

In Alaska The best sales and product support lineup.

In Your Corner The Winning Team.

www.cmiak.com Anchorage 907-563-3822 • 800-478-3822 Juneau 907-780-4030 Deryl Box, Fairbanks Branch Sales Manager

Paul Larson, Southeast Alaska Salesman

Fairbanks 907-455-9600 Ketchikan 907-247-2228

The past 45 years have brought many changes to the Bristol Bay region, but one thing remains the same: BBNC will always be dedicated to the prosperity and wellbeing of its shareholders and to preserving our Native way of life.

Celebrating 45 Years

A pril 2017 Digit al Edition TA BLE OF CONTENTS

DEPARTMENTS

FROM THE EDITOR INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS RIGHT MOVES BUSINESS EVENTS EVENTS CALENDAR EAT, SHOP, PLAY, STAY ALASKA TRENDS ADVERTISERS INDEX

ABOUT THE COVER: For the second year our Corporate 100 is ranked by the number of employees in Alaska. This year, Providence Health & Services Alaska has the most Alaska employees in the Health & Wellness category, which has the most Alaska employees of any category on the list and is the fastest growing industry in the state. The cover celebrates the diversity of the Providence workforce in Alaska; read the story (page 40) by Tasha Anderson in the Corporate 100 special section (begins on page 8).

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ARTICLES FINANCIAL SERVICES

56 | Payroll Support Services

Save Alaska Businesses Time, Money, and Stress

By Tracy Barbour

60 | How Accountable Plans Save Employers When Reimbursing Employees

Basics for tax-favored expenses vs. taxable compensation

By Michelle Barnett, CRRA

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

62 | Alaska Seed Fund Awards Prototyping Grants to Grow Alaskan Products and Companies

SOURCE: Alaska Small Business Development Center | aksbdc.org

REAL ESTATE

64 | Entrepreneur’s Commercial Lease

Cover Photo: © Judy Patrick Photography Cover Design: Art Director David Geiger

CORPORATE 100 Special Section 8 | Corporate 100

Executive Summary

By Susan Harrington

10 | 2017 Corporate 100 Directory

36 | 2017 Corporate 100 Industry Breakdowns

COMPANY PROFILES

40 | Providence Alaska: Care for the Poor and Vulnerable

By Tasha Anderson

44 | Sourdough Express:

Fifth Generation Alaskan Family Business Prospers

By Julie Stricker

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Tips for negotiation

By Jeff Grandfield and Dale Willerton

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Photo courtesy of Crowley

A Crowley driver and fuel truck in Kotzebue, August 2010.

48 | Crowley Maritime 125th Anniversary

64 years of history in Alaska

By Rob Stapleton

52 | Alsco: Alaska’s Linen and Uniform Rental Service

By Tasha Anderson

Some of the Sourdough Express, Inc. historic fleet in Fairbanks.

Photo courtesy of Sourdough Express

CORRECTIONS Lynne Seville, CSP is a principal and account executive with Parker, Smith & Feek Inc., not Conrad-Houston Insurance as was incorrectly noted under her photo in the March 2017 issue.

The headline and captions for an article in the March magazine about the YKHC’s new clinic and hospital expansion and renovation transposed the name of the visionary Yup’ik cultural leader the project is named after. He is Dr. Paul John (October 24, 1928-March 6, 2015) and the corrected headline is “Dr. Paul John Calricaraq Project Underway in Bethel: Combining culture and innovation for the healthiest people.”

“I think it’s human nature to not want to think about the risk. But you need to put some science to it. Put a process to it and think about it.”

—Lynne Seville, CSP Principal and Account Executive Parker, Smith & Feek Inc.

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Rendering courtesy of Bettisworth North

The Paul John Calricaraq Clinic at night.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

ONE BANK SHARED MY VISION

One bank believed in me.

When Dr. Christopher Gay wanted to start his own practice, he looked for a local expert who would go the extra mile to learn about his business and understand his dreams. He found Melissa Reiser, a First National community banker who took time to understand his business and help him succeed.

We believe banking is more than a series of transactions. From business startups and home loans to lines-of-credit and online banking, talk to a First National community banker and discover how you can get the most out of life in the Last Frontier.

For us, banking has always been about people and helping Alaskans succeed.

For the rest of Dr. Gay’s story, visit FNBAlaska.com

NMLS# 640297

Dr. Christopher Gay, owner Alaska Center for Pain Relief

We Believe in Alaska

A p ril 2 017 Digit a l Edition TA B L E

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C O N T E N T S

ARTICLES SMALL BUSINESSES

66 | Business Start-Up Essentials What entrepreneurs need to know and do to succeed

By Tracy Barbour

69 | Entrepreneurial Planning and the Big Four

Questions to ask before starting a business

By Michael A. Branham

MANAGEMENT

70 | Employee Onboarding

Best Practices: A Technology Perspective

By Ari Kopoulos

MARKETING

84 | Graphic Design The face of Alaska businesses

By Tasha Anderson

TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY

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86 | Matching Hardware to Needs in IT Infrastructure Investing in the right hardware is crucial

By Susan Harrington

ENGINEERING

88 | PND Settles with

Municipality over Port Engineering firm stands by its Open Cell Sheet Pile™ design

By Tasha Anderson

UNIONS

90 | Alaska’s Union Workforce Built to weather fiscal storms

By Vince Beltrami

OIL & GAS

92 | Supporters Push for More

Consideration of Valdez LNG Site

By Larry Persily

94 | Alaska Shale Deposits

By Darryl Jordan

98 | Infrastructure Investment

Climate for Oil and Gas Industry

Part of Core No. 13 from Inigok Test Well #1 in the National Petroleum ReserveAlaska from a well that was spudded June 7, 1978 by Nabors for Husky; this portion of the 9.5 foot Core No. 13 sample was obtained at about 12,282 feet on September 19, 1978. This very thin-bedded shaley limestone (laminated, deeper-water) illustrates the barriers to oil flow out of the rock formation. If this formation were at the surface it could be mined and crushed to extract oil but at depth, hydraulic fracturing of the formation is required.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Robert B. Blodgett

104 | State Signs On to Cover Costs of FERC-Approved Contractor for EIS

By Larry Persily

TRANSPORTATION

106 | You Light Up My Life (and Help Me Land Safely)

Runway lighting in Alaska is a critical element

By Tom Anderson

Economics may be a challenge

By Tim Bradner

CONVENTIONS & MEETINGS Special Section

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72 | Destination Alaska:

Travel Industry Faces Setbacks Dire consequences of drastic marketing budget cut

By Sarah Leonard

74 | Trade Show Venues Education and Economy

By Tasha Anderson

80 | Audio/Visual Services

Enhancing events and extending event impact

By Tasha Anderson

82 | Unconventional Catering Photo courtesy of Explore Fairbanks

The Carlson Center in Fairbanks was the site of the Interior Inaugural Reception for Governor Sean Parnell and Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell on January 21, 2011.

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Takes to the Skies

Food and beverage options for private jet travel in Alaska

By Susie Von Willer Linford

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

FROM THE EDITOR VOLUME 33, NUMBER 4 Published by Alaska Business Publishing Co. Anchorage, Alaska EDITORIAL STAFF Managing Editor Susan Harrington 257-2907 editor@akbizmag.com

Associate Editor Tasha Anderson 257-2902 tanderson@akbizmag.com Art Director David Geiger 257-2916 design@akbizmag.com Art Production Linda Shogren 257-2912 production@akbizmag.com Photo Contributor Judy Patrick BUSINESS STAFF President Billie Martin VP & General Manager Jason Martin 257-2905 jason@akbizmag.com VP Sales & Marketing Charles Bell 257-2909 cbell@akbizmag.com Advertising Account Manager Janis J. Plume 257-2917 janis@akbizmag.com Advertising Account Manager Holly Parsons 257-2910 hparsons@akbizmag.com Advertising Account Manager Christine Merki 257-2911 cmerki@akbizmag.com Accounting Manager Ana Lavagnino 257-2901 accounts@akbizmag.com Customer Service Representative Emily Olsen 257-2914 emily@akbizmag.com 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100 Anchorage, Alaska 99503-2577 (907) 276-4373 | Toll Free: 1-800-770-4373 Fax: (907) 279-2900 www.akbizmag.com Editorial email: editor@akbizmag.com

Corporate 100 Shines Again

C

ongratulations to all the companies of the Corporate 100 this year for employing so many people in Alaska—89,329.

That is a huge chunk of the Alaska workforce and close to 40 percent of estimated average monthly private employment.

The diverse range of employers in the 2017 Corporate 100 gives readers an idea of the rich cross-section of companies operating in the state—there are many industries represented.

We’d like to salute the leadership of the Corporate 100 for staying the course of business in Alaska and continuing to fuel the economy. At a time when the economy is a little shaky and a lot of companies are in a wait and see holding pattern, the Corporate 100 are staying active in the pursuit of commerce and the promotion of business. Something we wish the Legislature would do.

These companies continue to play active roles in the communities they do business in with philanthropic efforts and scholarship awards as well as commercial enterprises. Many are actively pursuing diversification measures and growing the economy. Interesting to note is the business longevity of many of the Corporate 100 and the fact that so many of these companies started out as small family businesses. Some have become large family businesses and some have been sold to others but still operate with a family business mindset, keeping the mission, values, and culture of the founders.

We’ve highlighted four of the oldest companies on the list with company profiles: three started out as family businesses and two remain so; all three have grown and seen calendars in three centuries. With such longevity, it’s curious to know what their 22nd century plans might be.

Most probably don’t think long-range planning goes to the next century, but why not? It’s going to be here in another eighty-three years; that’s a lifetime for some. Start planning for it now; after you’ve read the April magazine.

ALASKA BUSINESS PUBLISHING CO., INC. Alaska Business (ISSN 8756-4092) is published monthly by Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc., 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-2577; Telephone: (907) 276-4373; Fax: (907) 279-2900, ©2017, Alaska Business Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Subscription Rates: $39.95 a year. Single issues of the Power List are $15 each. Single issues of Alaska Business are $3.95 each; $4.95 for October, and back issues are $5 each. Send subscription orders and address changes to the Circulation Department, Alaska Business, PO Box 241288, Anchorage, AK 99524. Please supply both old and new addresses and allow six weeks for change, or update online at www.akbizmag.com. Manuscripts: Email query letter to editor@akbizmag.com. Alaska Business is not responsible for unsolicited materials. Photocopies: Where necessary, permission is granted by the copyright owner for libraries and others registered with Copyright Clearance Center to photocopy any article herein for $1.35 per copy. Send payments to CCC, 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970. Copying done for other than personal or internal reference use without the expressed permission of Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc. is prohibited. Email specific requests to editor@akbizmag. com. Online: Alaska Business is available at www.akbizmag.com/Digital-Archives, www.thefreelibrary.com/Alaska+Business+Monthly-p2643 and from Thomson Gale. Microfilm: Alaska Business is available on microfilm from University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106.

facebook.com/AKBusinessMonth

twitter.com/AKBusinessMonth

—Susan Harrington Managing Editor © AlaskaStock.com

www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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SPECIAL SECTION

Corporate 100 Corporate 100 Executive Summary

By Susan Harrington Washington: 3.73% with 6 companies employing 3,334 Alaskans

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Texas: 4.44% with 8 companies employing 3,962 Alaskans Tennessee: 1.79% with 2 companies employing 1,600 Alaskans

France: 0.67% with 1 company employing 600 Alaskans

Illinois: 0.36% with 1 company employing 325 Alaskans

elcome to the 2017 Corporate 100.

Readers responded positively last year when we began ranking the Corporate 100 by the number of Alaska employees, so we’ve adopted that as our criteria going forward. Companies making the list have at least one physical Alaska location and reported the number of employees in Alaska via surveys we sent out earlier this year. The number of employees a company has in Alaska is self-reported and the survey asks for the peak number of Alaska employees. For companies that tied with the number of Alaska employees, we determined the rank by year founded. Because two companies tied for the number 100 rank, we made an exception and included both companies—this year’s Corporate 100 has 101 companies total.

Top Five Employers We had a wave of new respondents to our survey this year and growth in the number of companies in the healthcare, seafood, and travel industries. In all, the 2017 Alaska Business Corporate 100 represents 89,329 jobs spread across fourteen industries. This year’s companies reported 21,803 more jobs than last year’s survey respondents.

Holland America Line is at the top of the list with 8,000 Alaska employees—22 percent of the corporation’s worldwide employees. Overall, Travel & Tourism accounted for 11,250 jobs—12.6 percent of this year’s Corporate 100.

NANA Regional Corporation took the number two spot with 5,296 Alaska employees—37.6 percent of the company’s worldwide employee count. Arctic Slope Regional Corporation ranked fifth with 3,834 Alaska employees—37.3 8

Florida: 11.88% with 4 companies employing 10,610 Alaskans

Canada: 5.30% with 5 companies employing 4,737 Alaskans

England: 2.13% with 2 companies employing 1,904 Alaskans

Pennsylvania: 0.79% with 2 companies employing 705 Alaskans

Alaska: 53.42% with 57 companies employing 47,722 Alaskans

Hawaii: 0.64% with 1 company employing 576 Alaskans

Oregon: 0.27% with 1 company employing 240 Alaskans

Company Headquarters Many of the Corporate 100 businesses are not headquartered in Alaska. That’s one thing that differentiates the Corporate 100 from the Top 49ers: Corporate 100 compa-

Idaho: 3.12% with 1 company employing 2,791 Alaskans

California: 1.96% with 1 company employing 1,750 Alaskans

Colorado: 1.77% with 1 company employing 1,585 Alaskans New York: 1.14% with 1 company employing 1,022 Alaskans

Virginia: 0.22% with 1 company employing 200 Alaskans

percent of total ASRC jobs. Alaska Native organizations accounted for 14,913 Alaska employees—16.7 percent of the 2017 Corporate 100. Alaska Native organizations, through their subsidiaries and various holdings, participate in nearly every sector of the economy.

Trident Seafoods Corporation ranked number three with 4,600 employees—46 percent of their total employees. The Seafood industry reported 12,902 Alaska jobs—14.4 percent of the Corporate 100.

Providence Health & Services Alaska ranked number four with 4,000 employees—4 percent of worldwide Providence employees. Health and Wellness responders reported 17,208 jobs—19.3 percent of the Corporate 100.

It’s no surprise that the business classifications of the top employers are also the top ranking industries, though in a slightly different order. Health & Wellness, Alaska Native Organizations, Seafood, and Travel & Tourism had the most Alaska employees, respectively. The forty companies reporting in these four industries employ 56,273 people in Alaska—63 percent of all Alaska employees represented in the Corporate 100.

Transportation ranked fifth with 7,847 Alaska employees—8.8 percent of the Corporate 100. Alaska Airlines, ranked number eleven, topped Transportation with 1,825 employees in Alaska—9.5 percent of the company’s worldwide employees.

Japan: 6.20% with 5 companies employing 5,540 Alaskans

Utah: 0.14% with 1 company employing 126 Alaskans

nies do not have to be owned and operated by Alaskans, though fifty-seven are.

Readers will notice companies in the listings headquartered in fourteen states besides Alaska: California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. There’s also an international contingent with corporations headquartered in Canada, England, France, and Japan.

Longevity Another interesting factor is the remarkable longevity of many companies on the list.

There are nine companies founded in the 1800s, listed here by parent company name: Wells Fargo & Company, 1852; Alaska Commercial Company, 1867; Carnival Corporation, 1873; AT&T, 1876; Matson, Inc., 1882; Bartlett Regional Hospital, 1885; Sourdough Express, 1898; Alsco, 1889; and Crowley Maritime Corporation 1892. Those are the oldest companies. There are another nine founded in the early years of the 1900s: Safeway/Albertsons, 1901; Providence Health & Services, 1902; Lynden, Inc., 1906; Peter Pan Seafoods, 1907; Alaska Railroad Corporation, 1914; Haliburton, 1919; First National Bank Alaska, 1922; N C Machinery, 1926; and Hilton, Inc., 1927.

This century, only three Corporate 100 companies were founded: Foundation Health Partners, 2016; Hilcorp Energy, 2012; and Guardian Flight, 2000.

Here’s hoping the rest of the companies on the list can match some of that staying power, including the youngest of the Corporate 100. R

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Cool Chain... Logistics for the Seafood Industry!

From Sea to Serve.

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lynden.com | 1-888-596-3361

SPECIAL SECTION

Corporate 100

2017 Corporate 100 Directory

Photo courtesy Holland America Line

Holland America takes the number one slot in the 2017 Corporate 100.

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Holland America Line 455 Ocean Dock Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 1-877-932-4259 Orlando Ashford, President Travel & Tourism

hollandamerica.com | facebook.com/HALCruises Discover Alaska and the Yukon. Vast, wild, beautiful.

The Holland America Line difference is the way we showcase it. Trust Holland America Line to create three perfect journeys that cover everything you need to see. Contact your travel professional today.

Carnival Corp. | Miami, FL | CCL

NANA Regional Corporation, Inc. PO Box 49 Kotzebue, AK 99752 907-442-3301 Wayne Westlake, President/CEO Native Organization

nana.com | news@nana.com Natural resource development, land management, oil and gas sector, commercial sector, federal sector.

Trident Seafoods Corporation 405 E. Fireweed Ln., Suite 203 Anchorage, AK 99503 206-783-3818 Joe Bundrant, CEO Seafood

tridentseafoods.com

Providence Health & Services Alaska 3760 Piper St., Suite 2021 Anchorage, AK 99508 907-212-3145 Bruce Lamoureux, Chief Exec.

Health & Wellness

alaska.providence.org | info.phsa@providence.org Healthcare, serves Alaskans in six communities: A nchorage, Eagle River, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Kodiak Island, Seward and Valdez. State’s largest private employer. PH&SA includes Providence Alaska Medical Center.

Providence Health & Services | Renton, WA

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation PO Box 129 Barrow, AK 99723 907-852-8633 Rex A. Rock Sr., President/CEO Native Organization

asrc.com | twitter.com/ASRC_AK ASRC is the largest Alaskan-owned and operated company and has six major business segments: petroleum refining and marketing, energy support services, construction, government services, industrial services and resource development.

Year Founded: 1873 Established in Alaska: 1947 Alaska Employees: 8 ,000 Worldwide Employees: 3 6,000

Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 5 ,296 Worldwide Employees: 1 4,095

Trident Seafoods owns and operates 12 shore-based seafood processing facilities in Alaska and support facilities for its catcher-processing, catcher vessel and tender fleets. Trident produces seafood products from nearly every commercial fishery off Alaska for retail, food service, and club stores.

Trident Seafoods Corporation | Seattle, WA

Year Founded: 1 973 Established in Alaska: 1973 Alaska Employees: 4 ,600 Worldwide Employees: 1 0,000

Year Founded: 1 902 Established in Alaska: 1902 Alaska Employees: 4 ,000 Worldwide Employees: 100,000 Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 3 ,834 Worldwide Employees: 1 0,272

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Sometimes it’s obvious when you’ve had a breach.

The most likely victims of a cyber-breach are small to mid-size businesses – making up more than half of all attacks. Businesses today — no matter their size — need to help keep their data and electronic devices highly secure. If you don’t, you risk becoming the target of a cyber-attack.

Maximize your productivity and minimize your worry. Let AT&T help.

Speak with an AT&T representative about Network Security solutions today.

907-264-7387 1-800-955-9556

Source: Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 20 © 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. This document is not an offer, commitment, representation or warranty by AT&T and is subject to change.

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | DIRECTORY

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Carrs Safeway 5600 Debarr Rd., Suite 100 Anchorage, AK 99504 907-339-7704 Stephanie Kennedy, District Mgr. Retail/Wholesale Trade

safeway.com Retail food, drug and fuel.

Safeway / Albertsons | Boise, ID

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium 4000 Ambassador Dr. Anchorage, AK 99508 907-729-1900 Andy Teuber, Chairman/President Health & Wellness

anthc.org | marketing@anthc.org ANTHC is a nonprofit Tribal health organization that provides world-class health services, which include comprehensive medical services at the Alaska Native Medical Center, wellness programs, disease research and prevention, rural provider training and rural water and sanitation systems construction.

Icicle Seafoods, Inc. PO Box 1147 Petersburg, AK 99833 206-282-0988 Pal Angell-Hansen, Chairman Seafood

icicleseafoods.com | social@icicleseafoods.com Seafood purchasing and processing.

Cooke Inc. | Saint John, NB | Canada

Southcentral Foundation 4501 Diplomacy Dr. #200 Anchorage, AK 99508 907-729-4955 Katherine Gottlieb, President/CEO Health & Wellness

facebook.com/SouthcentralFoundation/ | southcentralfoundation.com Alaska Native-owned, nonprofit healthcare organization serving nearly 65,000 Alaska Native and American Indian people living in Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and 55 rural villages. SCF is home to the award-winning Nuka System of Care.

Cook Inlet Region, Inc. | Anchorage, AK

GCI 2550 Denali St., Suite 1000 Anchorage, AK 99503 907-265-5600 Ron Duncan, CEO Telecommunications

gci.com | facebook.com/gciak GCI delivers communication and technology services in the consumer and business markets. Headquartered in Alaska with locations in the US, GCI has delivered services for more than 35 years to some of the most remote communities and in some of the most challenging conditions in North America.

GNCMA

Alaska Airlines 4750 Old Int’l Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99502 907-266-7200 Brad Tilden, Chairman/CEO AK Air Group Transportation

alaskaair.com Alaska Airlines, Virgin America, and regional carrier Horizon Air, provide passenger and cargo service to more than 100 destinations in Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and the Lower 48.

Alaska Air Group Inc. | Seattle, WA | ALK

BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc. PO Box 196612 Anchorage, AK 99515-6612 907-561-5111 Janet Weiss, BP AK President Oil & Gas

alaska.bp.com | @BP_Alaska BP operates the Greater Prudhoe Bay area, which consists of the Prudhoe Bay field and a number of smaller fields. This area produces 55 percent of Alaska’s oil and gas production. BP also owns interests in seven other North Slope oil fields and pipelines, including TAPS. BP PLC | London, England | BP

Foundation Health Partners 1650 Cowles St. Fairbanks, AK 99701 907-452-8181 Gregory Johnson, CEO Health & Wellness

foundationhealth.org General medical and surgical facilities that offer comprehensive care for every stage of life, including specialized services in behavioral health, endocrinology, hospice care, cancer treatment, medical imaging, dermatology, rehabilitation, cardiology, sleep medicine, diabetes care, and much more.

Year Founded: 1 901 Established in Alaska: 1950 Alaska Employees: 2 ,791 Worldwide Employees: 287,000 Year Founded: 1 997 Established in Alaska: 1997 Alaska Employees: 2 ,676 Worldwide Employees: 2 ,676

Year Founded: 1 965 Established in Alaska: 1965 Alaska Employees: 2 ,400 Worldwide Employees: 5 ,000

Year Founded: 1 982 Established in Alaska: 1982 Alaska Employees: 2 ,100 Worldwide Employees: 2 ,100

Year Founded: 1 979 Established in Alaska: 1979 Alaska Employees: 2 ,000 Worldwide Employees: 2 ,300

Year Founded: 1 932 Established in Alaska: 1932 Alaska Employees: 1 ,825 Worldwide Employees: 1 9,100

Year Founded: 1 959 Established in Alaska: 1959 Alaska Employees: 1 ,750 Worldwide Employees: 7 9,800

Year Founded: 2 016 Established in Alaska: 2016 Alaska Employees: 1 ,650 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,650

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Now serving the Last Frontier.

Matson has long been one of the leading U.S. shipping companies in the Pacific. We’re expanding our reliable service to Alaska, bringing our unique expertise in transporting a wide range of commodities between the West Coast, Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia and China. If you live in Alaska, rest assured we’ll answer your shipping needs with reliable online tracking, our efficient customer service and over 130 years of experience in keeping commerce moving—day and night.

For more information, call our Alaska Support Center at 1-877-678-SHIP or visit matson.com/Alaska

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | DIRECTORY

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CH2M 949 E. 36th Ave., Suite 500 Anchorage, AK 99508 907-762-1500 Terry Bailey, Sr. VP/AK Reg. Mgr. Industrial Services

ch2m.com/alaska | Terry.Bailey@ch2m.com Premier Alaskan oil & gas contractor with planning, engineering, procurement, logistics, sealift/truckable modules fabrication, piping, construction, program & construction management, operations & maintenance, supporting oil, gas, LNG, transportation, environmental, water, mining, and government.

CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd. | Englewood, CO

North Pacific Seafoods, Inc. 627 Shelikof St. Kodiak, AK 99615 907-486-3234 Kazuo Taguchi, Chairman Seafood

northpacificseafoods.com | info@npsi.us Seafood processing and marketing.

Marubeni Corporation | Tokyo, Japan

Peter Pan Seafoods PO Box 16 King Cove, AK 99612 907-497-2234 Barry Collier, CEO Seafood

Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maruha Nichiro. Peter Pan Seafoods operates four shore based processing facilities in Alaska processing salmon, crab, and groundfish. Peter Pan’s sale’s team markets seafood in the United States and around the world.

Maruha Nichiro | Tokyo, Japan

Bristol Bay Native Corporation 111 W. 16th Ave., Suite 400 Anchorage, AK 99501 907-278-3602 Jason Metrokin, President/CEO Native Organization

bbnc.net | info@bbnc.net Construction, Government Services, Industrial Services, Petroleum Distribution, and Tourism.

Year Founded: 1 946 Established in Alaska: 1962 Alaska Employees: 1 ,585 Worldwide Employees: 1 9,663

Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 1 ,465 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,500

Year Founded: 1 907 Established in Alaska: 1907 Alaska Employees: 1 ,430 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,495

Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 1 ,324 Worldwide Employees: 4 ,482

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation PO Box 528 Bethel, AK 99559 907-543-6000 Dan Winkelman, President/CEO Health & Wellness

ykhc.org The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation operates a 50-bed, 100,000 sq. ft. general acute care hospital in Bethel. The facility is fully accredited by the Joint Commission. A full range of services is available.

YKHC also operates 48 village clinics throughout the YK Delta region, serving 56 tribes.

Unisea, Inc. PO Box 920008 Dutch Harbor, AK 99692 425-881-8181 Tom Enlow, President/CEO Seafood

Unisea.com | info@unisea.com Unisea’s largest Alaska operations are the state of the art processing facilities in Dutch Harbor. Unisea processes surimi and fillets from pollock and processes crab, cod, and halibut.

Nippon Suisan Kaisha | Tokyo, Japan

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union PO Box 196613 Anchorage, AK 99519-6613 907-563-4567 William Eckhardt, President Financial Services

alaskausa.org | facebook.com/alaskausafcu Financial services including: checking, savings, and loans for members and their businesses, as well as mortgage and real estate loans, insurance, investments, and financial planning services.

Doyon, Limited 1 Doyon Pl., Suite 300 Fairbanks, AK 99701-2941 907-459-2000 Aaron Schutt, President/CEO Native Organization

doyon.com | info@doyon.com Doyon Drilling-Oil and Gas Drilling; Doyon Universal Services-Security and Camp Services; Doyon Associated-Construction; Doyon Anvil-Engineering; Doyon Remote Facilities and Services-Camps and Camp Services.

Year Founded: 1 991 Established in Alaska: 1991 Alaska Employees: 1 ,300 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,300

Year Founded: 1 974 Established in Alaska: 1975 Alaska Employees: 1 ,222 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,295

Year Founded: 1 948 Established in Alaska: 1948 Alaska Employees: 1 ,170 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,818

Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 1 ,117 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,545

Our Legacy: Our People Twenty years ago, Fort Knox gold mine began production just outside of Fairbanks. With hard work and a dedicated staff, Fort Knox has become one of Alaska’s most successful mines.

Today, we indirectly support over 1,000 jobs in the local area. We thank our past and present employees for making us the longest producing gold mine in Alaska. We are proud of the legacy they have built for both Fort Knox and for Alaska.

www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | DIRECTORY

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Westward Seafoods, Inc. PO Box 920608 Dutch Harbor, AK 99692-0608 907-581-1660 Mark JoHahnson, President Seafood

westwardseafoods.com | johahnson@wsi.us Seafood Processing and Sales.

Maruha Nichiro Corporation | Tokyo, Japan

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ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. 700 G St., PO Box 100360 Anchorage, AK 99510 907-276-1215 Joe Marushack, President Oil & Gas

conocophillipsalaska.com | twitter.com/COP_Alaska | Year Founded: 1 952 https: //www.facebook.com/conocophillips Established in Alaska: 1952 An independent exploration and production company. We are Alaska’s largest oil producer and have been a leader in Alaska Employees: 1 ,100 oil and gas exploration and development in the state for more than 50 years.

Worldwide Employees: 1 3,300 ConocoPhillips Company | Houston, TX | COP

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Ravn Alaska 4700 Old International Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99502 907-266-8394 Bob Hajdukovich, CEO Transportation

flyravn.com/ | sales@flyravn.com Transportation; scheduled passenger service, scheduled cargo and charter service.

J.F. Lehman and Company | New York, NY

Alaska Commercial Co. 550 W. 64th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518 907-273-4600 Rex Wilhelm, Vice Chairman Retail/Wholesale Trade

alaskacommercial.com | rwilhelm@northwest.ca Rural Alaska’s largest retailer of food, apparel, and general merchandise with continuous service since 1867.

The North West Co. | Winnipeg, MB, Canada | NWF.UN

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Year Founded: 1 989 Established in Alaska: 1989 Alaska Employees: 1 ,103 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,143

Year Founded: 1 948 Established in Alaska: 1948 Alaska Employees: 1 ,022 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,022

Year Founded: 1 867 Established in Alaska: 1867 Alaska Employees: 1 ,005 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,005

40 Years of Fueling the 49th State Since 1977, Alyeska has safely and successfully moved more than 17 billion barrels of oil through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.

It’s an accomplishment that is not only meaningful to our employees, but to all Alaskans.

We look to the future with continued confidence and commitment.

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Princess Alaska Lodges 4477 Pikes Landing Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99709 800-426-0500 Charlie Ball, President Travel & Tourism

facebook.com/princesslodges | aklodges@princesscruises.com Year Founded: 1 972 Princess welcomes the independent traveler with unEstablished in Alaska: 1972 matched comfort in the midst of the grand Alaska wilderness. Awaken your sense of wonder and adventure by Alaska Employees: 1 ,000 booking one of five Princess Lodges or a Rail Tour from Anchorage or Fairbanks to renowned Denali National Park.

Worldwide Employees: 1 ,000+ Carnival Corp. | Miami, FL | CCL

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The Alaska Club 5201 E. Tudor Rd. Anchorage, AK 99507 907-337-9550 Robert Brewster, CEO Health & Wellness

thealaskaclub.com | facebook.com/TheAlaskaClub/ The Alaska Club has a network of statewide locations offering a variety of classes, amenities, state-of-the-art equipment for adults and children. Providing a variety of fitness options so members stay motivated and engaged, enabling them to achieve their fitness goals.

Partnership Capital Growth | San Francisco, CA

Westmark Hotels 813 Noble St. Fairbanks, AK 99701 800-544-0970 Charlie Ball, President Travel & Tourism

westmarkhotels.com | info@westmarkhotels.com Located throughout Alaska and the Yukon, Westmark Hotels feature comfortable rooms, superior service, and inviting restaurants and lounges.

Carnival Corp. | Miami, FL | CCL

Lynden, Inc. 6441 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 907-245-1544 Jim Jansen, Chairman Transportation

lynden.com | information@lynden.com Lynden is a family of transportation companies with capabilities including truckload and less-thantruckload service, scheduled and charter barges, rail barges, intermodal bulk chemical hauls, scheduled and chartered air freighters, domestic and international air/ ocean forwarding, and multi-modal logistics.

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Year Founded: 1 986 Established in Alaska: 1986 Alaska Employees: 1 ,000 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,000

Year Founded: 1 987 Established in Alaska: 1987 Alaska Employees: 1 ,000 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,000+

Year Founded: 1 906 Established in Alaska: 1954 Alaska Employees: 9 50 Worldwide Employees: 2 ,800

FA M I LY O F C O M PA N I E S UIC Design Plan Build

UIC Government Services

UIC Marine Services

UMIAQ

UIC Oil & Gas Suppoet Services

Born in Alaska.

Thriving everywhere.

At Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) our roots are in Barrow, Alaska, but our reach is worldwide. Our diverse family of companies and unique expertise take us throughout the country and across the globe.

Whether breaking ground on Tribal housing projects in Arizona, supporting multiple federal agencies in the greater D.C. area, or shipping cargo from Seattle to the Arctic - our commitment to excellence remains the same no matter where we’re doing business. It’s what has made us one of the largest businesses in the largest state.

UIC isn’t just a family of companies, it’s a family, and that’s exactly how we treat our customers.

www.akbizmag.com

907.852-4460 I uicalaska.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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Alaska Regional Hospital 2801 DeBarr Rd. Anchorage, AK 99508 907-276-1131 Julie Taylor, CEO Health & Wellness

alaskaregional.com | facebook.com/alaskaregional 24-hour ER department, family birth center, Center for Surgical Robotics, LifeFlight Air Ambulance, cancer center, cath lab, diagnostic imaging, heart center and cardiac rehabilitation, orthopedic and spine center, rehab unit, nurse residency program, surgical services, pet therapy.

HCA | Nashville, TN | HCA

Hope Community Resources 540 W. International Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99518 907-561-5335 Roy Scheller, Exec. Dir. Health & Wellness

hopealaska.org | facebook.com/HopeCommunityResouces Providing services and supports to Alaskans who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health challenges and complex medical conditions.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company PO Box 196660, MS 542 Anchorage, AK 99519-6660 907-787-8700 Thomas Barrett, President Oil & Gas

alyeska-pipe.com | facebook.com/alyeskapipeline Alyeska Pipeline Service Company has operated the Trans Alaska Pipeline System since 1977, and has delivered more than 17 billion barrels of oil. Focused on safe and flawless operations and sustainability, Alyeska’s employees are working to manage the challenges of declining throughput.

Chugach Alaska Corporation 3800 Centerpoint Dr., Suite 1200 Anchorage, AK 99503-4396 907-563-8866 Gabriel Kompkoff, CEO Native Organization

chugach.com | communications@chugach.com The Chugach family of companies provide government contracting, facilities management, and energy services. Chugach also manages a diverse portfolio of investments and land/resource development opportunities.

Year Founded: 1 963 Established in Alaska: 1963 Alaska Employees: 9 00 Worldwide Employees: 9 00

Year Founded: 1 968 Established in Alaska: 1968 Alaska Employees: 8 72 Worldwide Employees: 8 72

Year Founded: 1 970 Established in Alaska: 1970 Alaska Employees: 8 00 Worldwide Employees: 8 00

Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 8 00 Worldwide Employees: 5 ,700

IT’S COMING Alaska Business Hall of Fame Thursday January 25, 2018

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SEARHC 3100 Channel Dr., Suite 300 Juneau, AK 99801 907-463-4000 Charles Clement, President/CEO Health & Wellness

searhc.org | facebook.com/SouthEastAlaskaRegionalHealthConsortium South East Alaska Regional Health Consortium provides the highest quality health services in partnership with Native people to improve their health, prevention, and awareness to the highest possible level.

We serve 18 communities throughout the Southeast Alaska archipelago.

Wells Fargo Bank N.A. 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99503 907-265-2730 Greg Deal, AK Reg. President Financial Services

wellsfargoworks.com | twitter.com/DavidJKennedyWF Diversified financial services company, providing businesses of all sizes with checking and savings products, insurance, retirement planning, payroll services, merchant services, loans, credit cards, and online tips and tools for building a successful business.

Wells Fargo & Company | San Francisco, CA | WFC

Alyeska Resort/Hotel Alyeska PO Box 249 Girdwood, AK 99587 907-754-2111 Mark Weakland, VP/Hotel GM Travel &Tourism

alyeskaresort.com | info@alyeskaresort.com Alyeska Resort is Alaska’s premier year-round destination. Just 40 miles from Anchorage, it’s a great base camp for summer and winter activities. Featuring the 301-room Hotel Alyeska, ski resort served by 7 lifts, 7 restaurants, a full service spa, and banquet and meeting facilities.

Alaska Railroad Corp.

PO Box 107500 Anchorage, AK 99510-7500 907-265-2300 Bill O’Leary, President/CEO Transportation

alaskarailroad.com | corpinfo@akrr.com Freight rail transportation, passenger rail transportation, and real estate land leasing and permitting.

Year-round employees 575-585; Seasonal (summer) employees 125-135; Total employees 700-720.

Alaska Dept. of Commerce, Community & Economic Development | Juneau, AK

Year Founded: 1 975 Established in Alaska: 1975 Alaska Employees: 8 00 Worldwide Employees: 8 00

Year Founded: 1 852 Established in Alaska: 1916 Alaska Employees: 7 50 Worldwide Employees: 269,000 Year Founded: 1 959 Established in Alaska: 1959 Alaska Employees: 7 50 Worldwide Employees: 7 50

Year Founded: 1 914 Established in Alaska: 1914 Alaska Employees: 7 00 Worldwide Employees: 7 00

COMPANIES

HIRING ALASKANS MARINE LLC

ENERGY SERVICES LLC A CIRI COMPANY

A CIRI COMPANY

FOR MORE THAN

36 years

CONTRUCTION, INC Experts in Resource Development and Heavy Civil Construction

Cruz Construction | Alaska Interstate Construction | Alaska Aggregate Products Cruz Energy Services | Cruz Marine Original www.akbizmag.com

A CIRI Company

Option 1

A CIRI Company

Option 2 April 2017 | Alaska Business

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Mat-Su Regional Medical Center PO Box 1687 Palmer, AK 99645 907-861-6000 John Lee, CEO Health & Wellness

matsuregional.com | a.craft@msrmc.com Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is a state-of-the-art healthcare facility; providing advanced surgical service, including robotics, the area’s only birthing center, emergency services, diagnostic imaging, a sleep lab, and a convenient Urgent Care Center in Wasilla.

Community Health Systems | Nashville, TN | CYH

Alaska General Seafoods PO Box 149 Naknek, AK 99633 907-246-4285 Brad Wilkins, GM Seafood

akgen.com | Facebook Alaska General Seafoods is a shore-based seafood processor that acquires, cans, freezes or provides fresh seafood products to wholesale buyers from around the world.

The Jim Pattison Group | Vancouver, BC, Canada

First National Bank Alaska PO Box 100720 Anchorage, AK 99510-0720 907-777-4362 Betsy Lawer, Chair/President Financial Services

FNBAlaska.com | customer.service@FNBAlaska.com Friendly, knowledgeable Alaskans offering the convenience, service and value of a full range of deposit, lending, trust and investment management services, and online and mobile banking. With 30 branches in 18 communities and assets of more than $3.6 billion, we believe in Alaska and have since 1922.

FBAK

Alaska Communications 600 Telephone Ave. Anchorage, AK 99503 907-297-3000 Anand Vadapalli, President/CEO Telecommunications

alaskacommunications.com | facebook.com/AlaskaComm Alaska’s leading provider of managed IT services, Internet, data networking, and voice communications.

ALSK

Year Founded: 1 935 Established in Alaska: 1935 Alaska Employees: 7 00 Worldwide Employees: 7 00

Year Founded: 1 986 Established in Alaska: 1994 Alaska Employees: 6 82 Worldwide Employees: 9 44

Year Founded: 1 922 Established in Alaska: 1922 Alaska Employees: 6 65 Worldwide Employees: 6 65

Year Founded: 1 999 Established in Alaska: 1999 Alaska Employees: 6 15 Worldwide Employees: 6 48

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Crowley Alaska 201 Arctic Slope Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518 907-777-5505 Bob Cox, VP Transportation

crowley.com Statewide fuel transportation, distribution, and fuel sales including propane and LNG. Valdez tanker docking, escort, and spill response services. Offshore engineering and project management services. Offshore infrastructure installation services. Ocean towing and large module transportation services.

Crowley Maritime Corporation | Jacksonville, FL

Bartlett Regional Hospital 3260 Hospital Dr. Juneau, AK 99801 907-796-8900 Chuck Bill, CEO Health & Wellness

bartletthospital.org | facebook.com/BartlettRegionalHospital Emergency services; diagnostic imaging; critical care; cardiac and pulmonary rehab; speech, infusion, respiratory, occupational and physical therapy; behavioral health; birthing center; lab services; inpatient and same day surgery; critical care; comprehensive medical and surgical care.

Spenard Builders Supply, Inc. 300 E. 54th Ave., Suite 201 Anchorage, AK 99518 907-261-9105 Ed Waite, Sr. VP Retail & Wholesale Trade

sbsalaska.com | facebook.com/SpenardBuildersSupply Provides a full line of building materials and homeimprovement products to fill the needs of residential DIYers and commercial contractors.

Builders FirstSource | Dallas, TX | BLDR

Schlumberger Oilfield Services 6411 A St. Anchorage, AK 99518 907-273-1700 Christine Resler, GM Industrial Services

Schlumberger.com | randerson2@slb.com Oilfield Services.

Schlumberger Limited | Paris, France | SLB

Year Founded: 1 892 Established in Alaska: 1953 Alaska Employees: 6 10 Worldwide Employees: 5 ,300

Year Founded: 1 885 Established in Alaska: 1885 Alaska Employees: 6 05 Worldwide Employees: 6 05

Year Founded: 1 952 Established in Alaska: 1952 Alaska Employees: 6 00 Worldwide Employees: 1 4,000

Year Founded: 1 956 Established in Alaska: 1956 Alaska Employees: 6 00 Worldwide Employees: 9 5,000

Anywhere... Anything... Anytime... On Time!

Alaska (907) 562-5588 www.akbizmag.com

ArcticCatering.com April 2017 | Alaska Business

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Matson, Inc. 1717 Tidewater Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501-1036 907-274-2671 Kenny Gill, VP AK Transportation

matson.com Containership service between Tacoma, Washington;, and Anchorage, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Delivery services to the Alaska Railbelt. Connecting carrier service to other water, air, and land carriers.

Matson, Inc. Honolulu, HI | NYSE: MATX

Three Bears Alaska, Inc. 445 N. Pittman Rd., Suite B Wasilla, AK 99623 907-357-4311 David Weisz, President/CEO Retail/Wholesale Trade

threebearsalaska.com | steve@threebearsalaska.com Retail grocery, general merchandise, sporting goods (hunting, fishing, and camping), pharmacy, package stores (beer, wine, and spirits), and fuel.

Halliburton Energy Services 6900 Arctic Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99518 907-275-2600 Scott Odell, AK District Mgr. Oil & Gas

halliburton.com Halliburton offers a broad array of oilfield technologies and services to upstream oil and gas customers worldwide.

Halliburton | Houston, TX | HAL

Hilcorp Alaska PO Box 244027 Anchorage, AK 99524 907-777-8300 David Wilkins, Sr. VP Oil & Gas

hilcorp.com Hilcorp is one of the largest privately-held, independent exploration and production companies in the US. Hilcorp was named to the FORTUNE Top 100 Companies to Work For List the last four years in a row. Protecting the environment and ensuring a safe workplace are priority one for Hilcorp.

Hilcorp Energy | Houston, TX

Year Founded: 1 882 Established in Alaska: 1964 Alaska Employees: 5 76 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,997

Year Founded: 1 980 Established in Alaska: 1980 Alaska Employees: 5 22 Worldwide Employees: 5 82

Year Founded: 1 919 Established in Alaska: 1958 Alaska Employees: 5 15 Worldwide Employees: 5 4,698

Year Founded: 2 012 Established in Alaska: 2012 Alaska Employees: 5 10 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,500

Work Anytime, Anywhere The World’s Only Rough Terrain Reach Stacker

Sling Lift & Forklift Attachment

Tired of concurrent delays at the jobsite? Laydown yard frozen?

Looking for containerized solutions with options to decrease your equipment footprint and enhance your remote logistics?

Proven in Alaska & Canada!

The 56,000 lb. capacity Kalmar RT240 is your logistics enabler with the capability and features to tackle Alaska Industries Served: Oil & Gas — Freight/Shipping Yards Port Operations — Heavy Construction Sites Forestry — Mining— Remote Logistics

For more info contact william.mott@kalmarglobal.com I kalmarrt.com 22

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ESS Support Services Worldwide 201 Post Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-865-9818 Larry Weihs, RVP Industrial Services

essalaska.com | kmadlock@ess-worldwide.com Restaurants, lounges, and espresso operations. Catering services: small to large remote site facilities for short- or long-term projects, including offshore drilling platforms, employee staffing and leasing, in-flight services, governmental agency support services, and Impressions Catering.

Compass Group PLC | London: CPG

Bering Straits Native Corporation 4600 DeBarr Rd., Suite 200 Anchorage, AK 99508 907-563-3788 Gail R. Schubert, President/CEO Native Organization

beringstraits.com | media@beringstraits.com Bering Straits was established by ANCSA in 1972. It is owned by more than 7,600 Alaska Native shareholders and actively pursues responsible development of resources and other business opportunities.

The company serves the federal government and commercial customers.

PenAir 6100 Boeing Ave. Anchorage, AK 99502 800-446-4228 Danny Seybert, CEO Transportation

penair.com | missy.roberts@penair.com Passenger Transportation throughout Southwest Alaska, with hubs in the lower 48 in Portland, Oregon; Boston, Massachusetts; and Denver, Colorado.

Also specializing in charters and freight service throughout the state of Alaska.

Teck AlaskaRed Dog Mine 3105 Lakeshore Dr., Bldg. A, Suite 101 Anchorage, AK 99517 907-754-5116 Henri Letient, GM Mining

reddogalaska.com | reddog.info@teck.com One of the world’s largest producers of zinc concentrates.

Teck Resources Limited | Vancouver, BC, Canada | TCK

Year Founded: 1 986 Established in Alaska: 1986 Alaska Employees: 5 00 Worldwide Employees: 500,000

Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 4 82 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,543

Year Founded: 1 955 Established in Alaska: 1955 Alaska Employees: 4 80 Worldwide Employees: 6 60

Year Founded: 1 989 Established in Alaska: 1989 Alaska Employees: 4 50 Worldwide Employees: 1 0,700

UNDERGROUND

HEROES On the job and at home, Pogo Mine’s underground heroes make Alaska a better place. Trained to protect the environment and each other, they use their skills to serve as volunteer firefighters, community supporters and good Samaritans in our communities.

www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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AT&T 505 E. Bluff Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 800-478-9000 Bob Bass, President AK Telecommunications

att.com, facebook.com/ATT | @ATTCustomerCare AT&T helps millions connect with leading entertainment, pay TV, mobile, high speed Internet, and voice services. We help businesses worldwide with our mobility and secure cloud solutions. AT&T’s US wireless network offers the nation’s strongest LTE signal and the most reliable 4G LTE network.

AT&T | Dallas, TX | T

North Star Behavioral Health 2530 Debarr Rd. Anchorage, AK 99508 907-258-7575 Andrew Mayo, CEO Health & Wellness

northstarbehavioral.com | northstarinfo@unsinc.com North Star is Alaska’s premier behavioral health provider that specializes in helping young people with life challenges. We have served youth through our acute and residential treatment programs since 1984, and now treat service members and veterans at the Chris Kyle Patriots Hospital.

Universal Health Services Inc. | King of Prussia, PA | UHS

Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC) PO Box 890 Barrow, AK 99723 907-852-4460 Anthony Edwardsen, President/CEO Native Organization

uicalaska.com UIC provides services to clients in a variety of industries, including operations in Barrow, construction, architecture and engineering, regulatory consulting, information technology, marine operations, logistics, maintenance, manufacturing, and government contracting.

Northern Air Cargo, Inc. 3900 Old International Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99502 907-243-3331 David Karp, President/CEO Transportation

nac.aero | customercare@nac.aero

Year Founded: 1 876 Established in Alaska: 1971 Alaska Employees: 4 42 Worldwide Employees: 281,000 Year Founded: 1 984 Established in Alaska: 1984 Alaska Employees: 4 05 Worldwide Employees: 4 05

Year Founded: 1 973 Established in Alaska: 1973 Alaska Employees: 4 00 Worldwide Employees: 2 ,800

Year Founded: 1 956

Anchorage based Northern Air Cargo is Alaska’s largest all-cargo airline. From groceries and generators to medical supplies and lumber, customers across Alaska, including a wide array of industries such as oil and gas, mining, construction, and commercial fishing rely on NAC’s services.

Established in Alaska: 1956 Alaska Employees: 3 90 Worldwide Employees: 4 00

Saltchuk Resources, Inc. | Seattle, WA

“We’re bringing in BDO. The partner’s already on it.”

People who know, know BDO.SM

BDO provides assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services to a wide range of publicly traded and privately held companies. We offer a sophisticated array of services and the global capabilities of the world’s fifth largest accounting and consulting network, combined with the personal attention of experienced professionals.

BDO 3601 C Street, Suite 600, Anchorage, AK 99503 907-278-8878 Accountants and Consultants www.bdo.com © 2014 BDO USA, LLP. All rights reserved.

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The Odom Corporation 240 W. First Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-272-8511 William Odom, Vice Chairman/ Exec. VP Retail/Wholesale Trade

odomcorp.com | stephanie.faraci@odomcorp.co Licensed wholesale alcoholic beverage distributor.

Franchised soft drink distributor.

The Odom Corporation | Bellevue, WA

Credit Union 1 1941 Abbott Rd. Anchorage, AK 99507 907-339-9485 Paul Yang, President/CEO Financial Services

cu1.org | service@cu1.org Credit Union 1 values responsible, accessible lending as one of our most vital community services. We’re proud to offer versatile accounts and quality loans to match our members’ unique needs and lifestyle, and our many electronic services represent the cutting edge of personal money management.

Ahtna, Inc. PO Box 649 Glennallen, AK 99588 907-822-3476 Michelle Anderson, President Native Organization

ahtna-inc.com | news@ahtna.net Ahtna participates in diverse industry sectors including construction and environmental, facilities management, engineering, government contracting, professional/support services, real estate, and oil and gas.

Carlile 1800 E. First Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501-1833 907-276-7797 Terry Howard, President Transportation

carlile.biz Transportation and logistics company offering multi-model trucking as well as project logistic services across Alaska and North America.

Saltchuk Resources, Inc. | Seattle, WA

Year Founded: 1 934 Established in Alaska: 1934 Alaska Employees: 3 88 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,485

Year Founded: 1 952 Established in Alaska: 1952 Alaska Employees: 3 85 Worldwide Employees: 3 98

Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 3 74 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,413

Year Founded: 1 980 Established in Alaska: 1980 Alaska Employees: 3 56 Worldwide Employees: 4 84

47 Years...

Thanks to our customers and employees, we’ve been privileged to serve Alaska’s oil industry since 1970.

www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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Calista Corporation 5015 Business Park Blvd., Suite 3000 Anchorage, AK 99503 907-275-2800 Andrew Guy, President/CEO Native Organization

calistacorp.com; facebook.com/calistacorporation | calista@calistacorp.com Calista Corporation is the parent company of more than 35 subsidiaries in the following industries: m ilitary defense contracting, construction, marketing and advertising services, communications, real estate, environmental and natural resource development, and information technology services.

Denali Federal Credit Union 440 E. 36th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99503 907-257-7200 Robert Teachworth, President/CEO Financial Services

denalifcu.org | info@denalifcu.com Complete financial services for individuals and businesses with 19 branches in Alaska and Washington state, more than 40 ATMs, and network access to more than 5,300 branches and 30,000 ATMs make us Alaska’s most convenient financial institution! Check out our website at denalifcu.org or our mobile site.

MTA, Inc. 1740 S. Chugach St. Palmer, AK 99645 907-745-3211 Michael Burke, CEO Telecommunications

mtasolutions.com | facebook.com/MatanuskaTelephone MTA is at the forefront of Alaska’s technology revolution, empowering its member-owners to live a connected life. MTA, an Alaskan owned telecommunications cooperative, provides broadband, business solutions/IT services, DTV, local dial-tone, directory, and TV advertising.

Udelhoven Oilfield System Services 184 E. 53rd Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518-1222 907-344-1577 Jim Udelhoven, CEO Industrial Services

udelhoven.com | rfrontdesk@udelhoven.com Oilfield services, construction management, and electrical and mechanical construction.

Year Founded: 1 972 Established in Alaska: 1972 Alaska Employees: 3 50 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,900

Year Founded: 1 948 Established in Alaska: 1948 Alaska Employees: 3 42 Worldwide Employees: 3 50

Year Founded: 1 953 Established in Alaska: 1953 Alaska Employees: 3 39 Worldwide Employees: 3 39

Year Founded: 1 970 Established in Alaska: 1970 Alaska Employees: 3 38 Worldwide Employees: 3 60

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Coeur Alaska, Inc. 3031 Clinton Dr., Suite 202 Juneau, AK 99801 907-523-3300 Wayne Zigarlick, VP/GM Mining

coeur.com | jtrigg@coeur.com The Kensington underground gold mine and associated milling facilities are located in the Berners Bay Mining District on the east side of Lynn Canal about 45 miles northwest of Juneau, Alaska. The project is owned and operated by Coeur Alaska, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Coeur Mining.

Coeur Mining | Chicago, IL | CDE

Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC PO Box 145 Delta Junction, AK 99737 907-895-2841 Chris Kennedy, GM Mining

pogominealaska.com 2016 marked ten years of safe and efficient gold production at Pogo. In 2017, operations continue for the top producing underground gold mine in Alaska.

The company invests heavily in exploration and is continually working to extend the life of the mine.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. Tokyo, Japan

Chugach Electric Association, Inc. 5601 Electron Dr. Anchorage, AK 99518 907-563-7494 Lee Thibert, CEO Utility

chugachelectric.com | info@chugachelectric.com Electric utility.

Goldbelt, Incorporated 3025 Clinton Dr. Juneau, AK 99801 907-790-4990 Elliott Wimberly, President/CEO Native Organization

goldbelt.com | media@goldbelt.com Tourism, hospitality, transportation, security services, and 8(a) government contracting.

Year Founded: 1 987 Established in Alaska: 1987 Alaska Employees: 3 25 Worldwide Employees: 2 ,000

Year Founded: 2 005 Established in Alaska: 2005 Alaska Employees: 3 20 Worldwide Employees: 3 20

Year Founded: 1 948 Established in Alaska: 1948 Alaska Employees: 3 00 Worldwide Employees: 3 00

Year Founded: 1 974 Established in Alaska: 1974 Alaska Employees: 3 00 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,500

WHERE BUSINESS BECOMES PERSONAL We deliver on personal service combined with the resources and expertise of Alaska’s largest financial institution.

Learn more about our full range of business services! alaskausa.org/business | (877) 646-6670 www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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Price Gregory International 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 907-278-4400 Robert Stinson, Sr. VP Construction

pricegregory.com Pipeline, power, heavy industrial construction, EPC, and consulting services. Infrastructure construction services provider.

Quanta Services | Houston, TX | PWR

SMG of Alaska, Inc. 1600 Gambell St. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-279-0618 Joe Wooden, Reg. GM Travel & Tourism

sullivanarena.com | pontt@sullivanarena.com Sporting events, concerts, family shows, trade shows, and miscellaneous events.

SMG | West Conshohocken, PA

Northrim Bank PO Box 241489 Anchorage, AK 99524 907-562-0062 Joseph Beedle, Chairman Financial Services

northrim.com | marketing@nrim.com Northrim Bank is an Alaskan-based community bank, headquartered in Anchorage with 14 branches statewide and serving 90 percent of Alaska’s population. Northrim is committed to providing customer first service to businesses, professionals, and individual Alaskans.

NRIM

Everts Air Cargo PO Box 61680 Fairbanks, AK 99706 907-450-2300 Robert Everts, President/CEO Transportation

evertsair.com | info@evertsair.com Everts Air Cargo is an Alaskan owned and operated air carrier providing scheduled and charter (domestic and international) air freight service using MD80, DC-9, and DC-6 aircraft.

Tatonduk Outfitters Ltd. | Fairbanks, AK

Year Founded: 1 974 Established in Alaska: 1974 Alaska Employees: 3 00 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,500

Year Founded: 1 977 Established in Alaska: 1999 Alaska Employees: 3 00 Worldwide Employees: 5 ,000+

Year Founded: 1 990 Established in Alaska: 1990 Alaska Employees: 3 00 Worldwide Employees: 3 00

Year Founded: 1 995 Established in Alaska: 1995 Alaska Employees: 2 87 Worldwide Employees: 3 17

Celebrating 45 years in providing healthcare to Alaskan Families #1 Best of Alaska for Medical Clinics

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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Golden Valley Electric Association PO Box 71249 Fairbanks, AK 99707-1249 907-452-1151 Cory Borgeson, President/CEO Utility

gvea.com | info@gvea.com GVEA provides service to more than 44,370 meters in Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Nenana, Healy, and Cantwell. 3,229 miles of power lines; 35 substations, including mobile; 8 generating facilities; 356 megawatts of capacity; 5,973-square-mile service territory.

N C Machinery 6450 Arctic Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99518 907-786-7500 John Harnish, President/CEO Industrial Services

ncmachinery.com | jstubben@ncmachinery.com Cat® machine sales, parts, service, and rental. Cat® engines for marine, power generation, truck, petroleum, and industrial applications. Sales and rental of Cat® and other preferred brands of rental equipment and construction supplies.

Harnish Group Inc. | Tukwilla, WA

CONAM Construction Co. 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 907-278-6600 Dale Kissee, President Construction

conamco.com General construction contractor specializing in design and construction of oil and gas facilities and pipelines, mining facilities, water and sewer facilities, and other remote infrastructure projects.

Quanta Services | Houston, TX | PWR

Tesoro Alaska Co. 1601 Tidewater Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-261-7221 Cameron Hunt, VP Oil & Gas

tsocorp.com Located on the Cook Inlet, 60 miles southwest of Anchorage, the 72,000 (bpd) Kenai Refinery has been producing gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, jet fuel, diesel fuel, heating oil, and heavy fuel oils, propane, and asphalt since 1969.

Tesoro Corp. | San Antonio, TX | NYSE: TSO

Year Founded: 1 946 Established in Alaska: 1946 Alaska Employees: 2 73 Worldwide Employees: 2 73

Year Founded: 1 926 Established in Alaska: 1926 Alaska Employees: 2 50 Worldwide Employees: 1 ,200

Year Founded: 1 984 Established in Alaska: 1984 Alaska Employees: 2 50 Worldwide Employees: 2 50

Year Founded: 1 969 Established in Alaska: 1969 Alaska Employees: 2 45 Worldwide Employees: 6 00

EXTREME RELIABILITY:

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√

For a rate quote, contact us at rate@spanalaska.com • 1.800.257.7726 www.spanalaska.com April 2017 | Alaska Business

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | DIRECTORY

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Vigor Alaska 3801 Tongass Ave. Ketchikan, AK 99901 907-228-5302 Adam Beck, President Industrial Services

vigoralaska | info@akship.com The largest marine industrial service company in the Alaska/ Pacific Northwest region providing ship repair, ship building, and heavy manufacturing services at Ketchikan and Seward shipyards. Vigor’s A-Team (Away Team) provides rapid response, remote location, and marine industrial services.

Vigor | Portland, OR

Municipal Light & Power 1200 E. First Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-279-7671 Mark Johnston, GM Utility

mlandp.com | askmlp@muni.org | @MLandP | facebook.com/mlandp ML&P provides safe, affordable, and reliable electric service to 30,000+ residential and commercial customers in Anchorage, including the downtown and university-medical districts and JBER.

Chenega Corporation 3000 C St., Suite 301 Anchorage, AK 99503-3975 907-277-5706 Charles W. Totemoff, President/CEO Native Organization

chenega.com | info@chenega.com Professional services contracting for the federal government, including technical and installation services, military, intelligence, and operations support, environmental, healthcare and facilities management, information technology and telecommunications.

Alaska Dispatch News 300 W. 31st Ave. Anchorage, AK 99503 907-257-4200 Alice Rogoff, Publisher Media

adn.com | facebook.com/akdispatch Alaska’s largest online news site and newspaper.

Marketing and advertising solutions. Commercial printing.

Year Founded: 1 994 Established in Alaska: 1994 Alaska Employees: 2 40 Worldwide Employees: 2 ,600

Year Founded: 1 932 Established in Alaska: 1932 Alaska Employees: 2 36 Worldwide Employees: 2 36

Year Founded: 1 974 Established in Alaska: 1974 Alaska Employees: 2 30 Worldwide Employees: 5 ,775

Year Founded: 1 946 Established in Alaska: 1946 Alaska Employees: 2 15 Worldwide Employees: 2 20

TO THRIVE HERE YOU HAVE TO BE ALWAYS SAFE. ALWAYS READY. Foss has navigated the waters and extreme conditions of Alaska for nearly a century. We know that to succeed in the far North you need expertise, experience, well-built vessels and trained crews dedicated to safety and ready for anything.

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Janis J. Plume Advertising Account Manager (907) 257-2917 • cell 227-8889 janis@akbizmag.com Ask me to put together an advertising plan that fits your budget and offers high visibility in print and online.

always safe. always ready.

www.foss.com

(907) 276-4373 • Toll Free (800) 770-4373

akbizmag.com

30

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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Colville, Inc. Pouch 340012 Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 907-659-3198 Eric Helzer, President/CEO Industrial Services

colvilleinc.com | info@colvilleinc.com Colville’s group of oilfield companies provide a full complement of Arctic Logistics capabilities. Our services include fuel, aviation, waste management, transport, industrial supply, and camp services.

Sourdough Express, Inc. 600 Driveways St. Fairbanks, AK 99701 907-452-1181 Jeff Gregory, President/CEO Transportation

sourdoughexpress.com | sourdoughtransfer.com Freight-transportation services, moving and storage services. Steel Connex container sales/lease.

Hilton Anchorage 500 W. Third Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-272-7411 Soham Bhattacharyya, GM Travel & Tourism

hiltonanchorage.com In-room safe, 24-hour business center, Starbuck’s coffee kiosk, and complimentary health spa.

Hilton, Inc. | McLean, Virginia | HLT

ENSTAR Natural Gas Co. PO Box 190288 Anchorage, AK 99519 907-277-5551 Jared Green, President Utility

enstarnaturalgas.com | info@enstarnaturalgas.com Alaskans have relied on ENSTAR to serve their homes and businesses with clean burning and efficient natural gas for 55 years. ENSTAR is a regulated public utility that delivers natural gas to over 140,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in and around Southcentral.

AltaGas Ltd. | Calgary, AB, Canada | ALA

www.akbizmag.com

Year Founded: 1 981 Established in Alaska: 1981 Alaska Employees: 2 15 Worldwide Employees: 2 15

Year Founded: 1 898 Established in Alaska: 1902 Alaska Employees: 2 00 Worldwide Employees: 2 00

Year Founded: 1 927 Established in Alaska: 1927 Alaska Employees: 2 00 Worldwide Employees: 2 00

Year Founded: 1 961 Established in Alaska: 1961 Alaska Employees: 2 00 Worldwide Employees: 2 00

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | DIRECTORY

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Grant Aviation 4451 Aircraft Dr. Anchorage, AK 99502 888-359-4726 Bruce McGlasson, President Transportation

flygrant.com | flygrant.com A made-in-Alaska airline known for a strong track record of safety, community involvement and for being one of the friendliest airlines in Alaska. Provides scheduled and charter passenger, mail, freight and air ambulance services in the YK Delta, Bristol Bay, and the Aleutians.

Beacon Occupational Health & Safety Services 800 Cordova St. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-222-7612 Holly Hylen, President/CEO Health & Wellness

beaconohss.com | info@beaconohss.com Beacon provides single-source remote medical, occupational medicine, safety and training solutions to keep your employees safe and healthy, regardless of their location. Our client-specific approach is proactive, preventative and leverages our highly skilled team of professionals and technicians.

Matanuska Electric Association, Inc. PO Box 2929 Palmer, AK 99645 907-761-9300 Tony Izzo, GM Utility

mea.coop | facebook.com/matanuska.electric A member-owned electric cooperative that serves just over 50,000 members across more than 4,300 miles of power lines in the Mat-Su and Eagle River areas. MEA’s mission is to provide safe reliable energy at reasonable rates with exceptional member service and commitment to the community they serve.

Great Northwest, Inc. PO Box 74646 Fairbanks, AK 99707 907-452-5617 John Minder, President/CEO Construction

grtnw.com | info@grtnw.com Heavy highway civil construction, utilities, paving, landscaping.

Year Founded: 1 971 Established in Alaska: 1971 Alaska Employees: 2 00 Worldwide Employees: 2 00

Year Founded: 1 999 Established in Alaska: 1999 Alaska Employees: 2 00 Worldwide Employees: 2 25

Year Founded: 1 941 Established in Alaska: 1941 Alaska Employees: 1 89 Worldwide Employees: 1 89

Year Founded: 1 976 Established in Alaska: 1976 Alaska Employees: 1 76 Worldwide Employees: 1 76

NEVER MAKE ANOTHER COLD CALL Your business ceases without backup Internet

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Make more sales using my marketing expertise. Contact me to get started.

akbizmag.com 32

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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Cruz Companies Alaska 7000 E. Palmer Wasilla Hwy. Palmer, AK 99645 907-746-3144 Dave Cruz, President Industrial Services

cruzconstruct.com | info@cruzconstruct.com Experts in resource development and heavy civil construction.

Pruhs Construction 2193 Viking Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-279-1020 Dana Pruhs, CEO Construction

pruhscorp.com | dana@pruhscorp.com Heavy civil contractor, roads, airports, site work, underground utilities, industrial.

Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. 100 Cushman St., Suite 210 Fairbanks, AK 99701 907-452-2625 Joseph E. Usibelli Jr., President Mining

usibelli.com | lisa@usibelli.com Coal mine and affiliate companies.

Homer Electric Association, Inc. 3977 Lake St. Homer, AK 99603 907-235-8551 Bradley Janorschke, GM Utility

homerelectric.com | contact_us@homerelectric.com Homer Electric Association is a member-owned electric cooperative serving over 22,892 members on the western Kenai Peninsula from Soldotna, Kenai, Homer, and remote communities across Kachemak Bay.

Year Founded: 1 981 Established in Alaska: 1981 Alaska Employees: 1 70 Worldwide Employees: 2 26

Year Founded: 1 958 Established in Alaska: 1958 Alaska Employees: 1 60 Worldwide Employees: 1 60

Year Founded: 1 943 Established in Alaska: 1943 Alaska Employees: 1 48 Worldwide Employees: 1 83

Year Founded: 1 945 Established in Alaska: 1945 Alaska Employees: 1 43 Worldwide Employees: 1 43

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April 2017 | Alaska Business

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | DIRECTORY

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Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union 1020 S. Bailey St. Palmer, AK 99645-6924 907-745-4891 Al Strawn, CEO Financial Services

mvfcu.coop | facebook.com/mvfcu.coop Building better financial futures for people who live, work, or worship in the Mat-Su Borough or Anchorage Municipality. MVFCU offers a full range of financial services to all eligible members.

Afognak Native Corporation 300 Alimaq Dr. Kodiak, AK 99615 907-486-6014 Greg Hambright, President/CEO Native Organization

afognak.com | alisha@afognak.com Afognak Native Corporation, Alutiiq, LLC and their subsidiaries operate government and commercial contracts in the following sectors: leasing, security services, IT, logistics/operations/maintenance, youth services, and timber services.

Bethel Native Corporation PO Box 719 Bethel, AK 99559 907-543-2124 Anastasia Hoffman, President/CEO Native Organization

bethelnativecorp.org | ahoffman@bncak.com Bethel’s companies engage in many diverse lines of business including government contracting, construction, logistical support, environmental remediation, and commercial real estate, with offices in Bethel, Anchorage, and the Lower 48.

Alsco PO Box 240048 Anchorage, AK 99524 907-279-2500 Don Wirth, GM Retail/Wholesale Trade

dwirth@alsco.com Table linen, napkins, towels, aprons, entry mats, dust mops, wet mops, medical linens, scrubs, chef and kitchen apparel, industrial uniforms, coveralls, FR garments, restroom services, janitorial supplies, sales-service-rental.

Alsco, Inc. | Salt Lake City, UT

Year Founded: 1 948 Established in Alaska: 1948 Alaska Employees: 1 41 Worldwide Employees: 1 48

Year Founded: 1 977 Established in Alaska: 1977 Alaska Employees: 1 41 Worldwide Employees: 4 ,346

Year Founded: 1 973 Established in Alaska: 1973 Alaska Employees: 1 39 Worldwide Employees: 1 67

Year Founded: 1 889 Established in Alaska: 1988 Alaska Employees: 1 26 Worldwide Employees: 1 8,000

I offer advertising strategy solutions to reach a statewide business audience

proud to be the employer of choice for nearly 1000 Alaskans Christine Merki Advertising Account Manager

907-257-2911 cmerki@akbizmag.com

| healthy is here.

34

searhc.org

(907) 276-4373 • Toll Free (800) 770-4373

akbizmag.com

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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Weaver Brothers, Inc. 2230 Spar Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 907-278-4526 Jim Doyle, President Transportation

wbialaska.com | info@wbialaska.com Trucking, local drayage, linehaul, dry bulk, liquid bulk, fuel, chemical, hot oil, heavy haul, hazmat and specialty transport as well as oil field support.

Tanadgusix Corp. (TDX) 4300 B St., Suite 402 Anchorage, AK 99502 907-278-2312 Ron Philemonoff, CEO Native Organization

tanadgusix.com/ | info@tanadgusix.com Village Corporation.

guardianflight.com | facebook.com/guardianflight Alaska’s premier air ambulance service. Guardian Flight has a statewide network with bases and aircraft located in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Dutch Harbor, Kotzebue, Ketchikan, Sitka, and Juneau, which allows for the fastest response time in a medical emergency.

ENGINEERED TO ENDURE SERVICES TO BE PROUD OF...

Structural Engineering Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Civil Engineering Corrosion Control Commisioning Project Management Pipeline Integrity Management Fire Protection GUAM SEATTLE

Established in Alaska: 1973

offshoresystemsinc.com Dock facilities in Nikiski, Dutch Harbor, and Adak servicing the oil and fishing industries. Services include dock space, warehousing, cold storage, stevedoring services, heavy equipment, and fuel.

Offshore Systems, Inc. | Kirkland, WA

Guardian Flight, Inc. 3474 Old International Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99502 907-245-6230 Joseph Hunt, Owner Transportation

ANCHORAGE BOZEMAN LOS ANGELES OAKLAND

Year Founded: 1 973

Worldwide Employees: 5 67

Offshore Systems, Inc. PO Box 8505 Nikiski, AK 99635 907-776-5551 Kelly McNeil, VP Industrial Services

        

Alaska Employees: 1 26

Alaska Employees: 1 26

100

#

Established in Alaska: 1953

Worldwide Employees: 1 26

100

#

Year Founded: 1 946

HONOLULU SPOKANE

Year Founded: 1 983 Established in Alaska: 1983 Alaska Employees: 1 25 Worldwide Employees: 1 40

Year Founded: 2 000 Established in Alaska: 2000 Alaska Employees: 1 25 Worldwide Employees: 1 25

Innovative.

Professional.

Experienced.

Customized plans for businesses of all sizes • Workers Compensation • Commercial Auto • Aviation • Bonding • Property • General Liability • Earthquake/Flood

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www.coffman.com LASTING creativity • results • relationships www.akbizmag.com

907-276-7667 www.chialaska.com April 2017 | Alaska Business

35

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | DIRECTORY

98

#

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | INDUSTRY BREAKDOWNS

Corporate 100

2017 Corporate 100 Industry Breakdowns Business Classification

Alaska Employees

Percent of Corporate 100

17,208

19.26%

Health & Wellness

Travel & Tourism Continued SMG of Alaska, Inc.

300

Hilton Anchorage

200

Alaska Native Organization

14,913

16.69%

Seafood

12,902

14.44%

Travel & Tourism

11,250

12.59%

Transportation

7,847

8.78%

Alaska Airlines

1,825

Retail & Wholesale Trade

5,432

6.08%

Ravn Alaska

1,022

5.51%

Lynden, Inc.

950

Total Travel & Tourism

Transportation

11,250

Oil & Gas

4,920

Industrial Services

4,023

4.50%

Alaska Railroad Corp.

700

Financial Services

3,753

4.20%

Crowley Alaska

610

Telecommunications

3,396

3.80%

Matson, Inc.

576

Utility

1,341

1.50%

PenAir

480

Mining

1,243

1.39%

Northern Air Cargo, Inc.

390

Construction

886

0.99%

Carlile

356

Media

215

0.24%

Everts Air Cargo

287

Sourdough Express, Inc.

200

Grant Aviation

200

Weaver Brothers, Inc.

126

Total Alaska Employees

89,329

Health & Wellness

100.00%

Alaska Native Organizations Continued

Providence Health & Services Alaska

4,000

Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC)

400

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

2,676

Ahtna, Inc.

374

Calista Corporation

350

Southcentral Foundation

2,100

Goldbelt, Incorporated

300

Foundation Health Partners

1,650

Chenega Corporation

230

Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation

1,300

Afognak Native Corporation

141

The Alaska Club

1,000

Bethel Native Corporation

139

Tanadgusix Corp. (TDX)

126

Alaska Regional Hospital

900

Hope Community Resources

872

SEARHC

800

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center

700

Trident Seafoods Corp.

4,600

Bartlett Regional Hospital

605

Icicle Seafoods, Inc.

2,400

North Star Behavioral Health

405

North Pacific Seafoods, Inc.

1,465

Peter Pan Seafoods

1,430

Unisea, Inc.

1,222

Westward Seafoods, Inc.

1,103

Alaska General Seafoods

682

Beacon Occupational Health & Safety Services Total Health & Wellness

Alaska Native Organizations

200 17,208

NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.

5,296

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

3,834

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

1,324

Doyon, Limited

1,117

Chugach Alaska Corporation

800

Bering Straits Native Corporation

482

36

Total Alaska Native Organization

Seafood

Total Seafood

Travel & Tourism

14,913

12,902

Holland America Line

8,000

Princess Alaska Lodges

1,000

Westmark Hotels

1,000

Alyeska Resort/Hotel Alyeska

750

Guardian Flight, Inc. Total Transportation

Retail/Wholesale Trade

125 7,847

Carrs Safeway

2,791

Alaska Commercial Co.

1,005

Spenard Builders Supply, Inc.

600

Three Bears Alaska, Inc.

522

The Odom Corporation

388

Alsco Total Retail & Wholesale Trade

Oil & Gas

126 5,432

BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc.

1,750

ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.

1,100

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company

800

Halliburton Energy Services

515

Hilcorp Alaska

510

Tesoro Alaska Co. Total Oil & Gas

Industrial Services CH2M

245 4,920

1,585

Schlumberger Oilfield Services

600

ESS Support Services Worldwide

500

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | INDUSTRY BREAKDOWNS

Industrial Services Continued Udelhoven Oilfield System Services

338

N C Machinery

250

Vigor Alaska

240

Colville, Inc.

215

Cruz Companies Alaska

170

Offshore Systems, Inc. Total Industrial Services

Financial Services Alaska USA Federal Credit Union

125 4,023

1,170

Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

750

First National Bank Alaska

665

Credit Union 1

385

Denali Federal Credit Union

342

Northrim Bank

300

Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union

141

Total Financial Services

Telecommunications GCI

3,753

2,000

Alaska Communications

615

AT&T

442

MTA, Inc. Total Telecommunications

Utility Chugach Electric Association, Inc.

339

300 273

Municipal Light & Power

236

ENSTAR Natural Gas Co.

200

Matanuska Electric Association, Inc.

189

Homer Electric Association, Inc.

143 1,341

Teck Alaska-Red Dog Mine

450

Coeur Alaska, Inc.

325

Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC

320

Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc.

148

Total Mining

Construction

1,243

CORPORATE COUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT THANK YOU to the members of Alaska’s Corporate Council on the Environment.

We are proud to partner with these business leaders who know that investing in Alaska’s natural wealth will pay dividends for future generations.

300

CONAM Construction Co.

250

Great Northwest, Inc.

176

Pruhs Construction

160

Total Construction

Media

886

Alaska Dispatch News

215

Total Media

215

Corporate Catalysts | $50,000+

ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. Spawn Ideas

Corporate Leaders | $25,000+

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air BP Petroleum News

Corporate Partners | $10,000+ The Chariot Group

To join us visit nature.org/alaska natureconservancyalaska

Price Gregory International

www.akbizmag.com

A NATURAL INVESTMENT

3,396

Golden Valley Electric Association

Total Utility

Mining

Alaska:

nature_ak 715 L Street, Suite 100 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 907-865-5700 Photos credits: (top to bottom) Miles Leguineche, Bob Waldrop

Corporate Members | $1,000+

ABR Inc. Alaska Journal of Commerce Alaska Rubber & Supply Inc. Alaska Wildland Adventures Inc. Bristol Bay Native Corp.

Chugach Alaska Corp.

Denali National Park Wilderness Centers Ltd JL Properties Inc. LGL Alaska Research Associates Inc. Northern Air Maintenance Services Inc. Price Gregory International Inc. Stoel Rives LLP Trident Seafoods Corp.

April 2017 | Alaska Business

37

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | INDUSTRY BREAKDOWNS

“Creating tomorrow’s workforce

starts with us. When we support the work of United Way and the 90% by 2020 Partnership to raise graduation rates, we all benefit. I encourage you to get involved.”

2017 Corporate 100 Alphabetical Listing & Rank Business Rank Afognak Native Corporation

95

Ahtna, Inc.

60

Alaska Airlines

11

Alaska Commercial Co.

25

Alaska Communications

41

Alaska Dispatch News

81

Alaska General Seafoods

39

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

Cory Quarles

Alaska Production Manager ExxonMobil

37

Alaska Regional Hospital

30

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union

20

Alsco

97

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company

32

Alyeska Resort/Hotel Alyeska

36

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

Businesses working together, encouraging kids, supporting families, sends the message to students that our community cares and is expecting great things from them.

TRANSFORMATION TAKES A TEAM. JOIN US! AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE. 38

United Way of Anchorage

5

AT&T

54

Bartlett Regional Hospital

43

Beacon Occupational Health & Safety Services

87

Bering Straits Native Corporation

51

Bethel Native Corporation

96

BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc.

12

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

17

Calista Corporation

62

Carlile

61

Carrs Safeway

Graduation is key to a successful start in life and in business.

7

Alaska Railroad Corp.

6

CH2M

14

Chenega Corporation

80

Chugach Alaska Corporation

33

Chugach Electric Association, Inc.

68

Coeur Alaska, Inc.

66

Colville, Inc.

82

CONAM Construction Co.

76

ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.

23

Credit Union 1

59

Crowley Alaska

42

Cruz Companies Alaska

90

Denali Federal Credit Union

63

Doyon, Limited

21

ENSTAR Natural Gas Co.

85

ESS Support Services Worldwide

50

Everts Air Cargo

73

First National Bank Alaska

40

Foundation Health Partners

13

GCI

10

Goldbelt, Incorporated

69

Golden Valley Electric Association

74

Grant Aviation

86

Great Northwest, Inc.

89

Guardian Flight, Inc.*

100

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

48

Hilcorp Alaska

49

Hilton Anchorage

84

Holland America Line

1

Homer Electric Association, Inc.

93

Hope Community Resources

31

Icicle Seafoods, Inc.

8

Lynden, Inc.

29

Matanuska Electric Association, Inc.

88

Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union

94

Matson, Inc.

46

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center

38

MTA, Inc.

64

Municipal Light & Power

79

N C Machinery

75

NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.

15

North Star Behavioral Health

55

Northern Air Cargo, Inc.

57

Offshore Systems, Inc.* PenAir

72 100 52

Peter Pan Seafoods

16

Price Gregory International

70

Princess Alaska Lodges

26

Providence Health & Services Alaska Pruhs Construction

4 91

Ravn Alaska

24

Schlumberger Oilfield Services

45

SEARHC

34

SMG of Alaska, Inc.

71

Sourdough Express, Inc.

83

Southcentral Foundation

9

Spenard Builders Supply, Inc.

44

Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC

67

Tanadgusix Corp. (TDX)

99

Teck Alaska-Red Dog Mine

53

Tesoro Alaska Co.

77

The Alaska Club

27

The Odom Corporation

58

Three Bears Alaska, Inc.

47

Trident Seafoods Corp.

3

Udelhoven Oilfield System Services

65

Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC)

56

Unisea, Inc.

19

Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc.

92

Vigor Alaska

78

Weaver Brothers, Inc.

98

Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

35

Westmark Hotels

28

Westward Seafoods, Inc.

22

Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation

18 *Tied for 100

www.akbizmag.com

EXPERT BUSINESS ADVICE IS PRICELESS. AND FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, IT’S ALSO FREE.

2

North Pacific Seafoods, Inc.

Northrim Bank

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | INDUSTRY BREAKDOWNS

Halliburton Energy Services

We look beyond transactions to find the answers you need.

While other banks might give you a free cooler for opening an account, we give our business customers access to their very own industry expert. Someone who can give you specialized advice and customized solutions to help you reach your business goals. It’s a premium service without the premium. And it’s just one more way Northrim helps you achieve more.

northrim.com April 2017 | Alaska Business

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

Corporate 100

Providence Alaska: Care for the Poor and Vulnerable

By Tasha Anderson

P

rovidence Health & Services Alaska set foot in Alaska in 1902 during the Gold Rush in Nome when the Sisters of Providence first brought healthcare to the Last Frontier. Since then Providence has grown, providing healthcare in six Alaska communities: Anchorage, Eagle River, Kodiak Island, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Seward, and Valdez. In Alaska, Providence has 4,000 employees, led by Bruce Lamoureux, Senior VP/ CEO of the Providence Alaska Region.

For the last nearly eleven years Lamoureux has been with Providence—all of those here in Alaska—after moving here from Los Angeles. He says moving to Alaska has been extremely positive. “I wish I would have come here as a young man. I just find my soul nourished being in Alaska; Alaskans are gracious and welcoming, so it’s been not only an easy transition, but a welcome transition.”

attributes that you may have, and they are more likely to then learn about Providence, consider whether or not employment might be of interest and a fit, and then [are] more likely to apply,” he explains.

He says that in some areas Providence is intentional in their workforce diversity and development. “As an example, our senior executive council is composed of nine people, five of whom are women,” Lamoureux says.

“We have programs to help develop people, develop their familiarity and comfort in leadership and other issues, and we have populated some of those programs intentionally to better mirror the general workforce.”

Intangible Benefits According to Lamoureux, one of the benefits of working at Providence, simply put, is Providence’s mission. “Our work, while in healthcare, ultimately is intended to serve the poor and vulnerable, and we find that people have

“We believe that diversity is an asset for the organization and for us to have a workforce that resembles communities we serve in allows us to better understand the needs of people that entrust their care to us.”

—Bruce Lamoureux, Senior VP/CEO of Providence Alaska Region

Workforce Diversity Lamoureux says that Providence has a diverse workforce and that Providence’s Alaska employees are predominantly women, approximately 73 percent. He continues, “We believe that diversity is an asset for the organization and for us to have a workforce that resembles communities we serve in allows us to better understand the needs of people that entrust their care to us.” When injured, a person’s needs are often not only physical but also cultural or psychosocial issues that may arise from different communities and upbringing.

Providence has intentionally developed diversity in its employee base. Lamoureux says diversity starts with the simplest thing, “and that is that we welcome people from all backgrounds.” He says their diversity development also happens through school programs, career awareness fairs, and education/observation programs where Providence makes opportunities for youths to shadow Providence employees.

“We find our best ambassadors are in fact our own employees,” he says. “If you are someone from a particular sector of Anchorage, chances are you are in conversations with people who share some qualities and 40

great resonance with our mission statement,” he says. Providence administers an annual caregiver/employee survey. One of the questions on the survey is the individual’s resonance with affinity for Providence’s mission.

“Fully 93 percent of [respondents] say they have a high connection to mission,” he says.

“That to us is an intangible benefit for someone working within Providence … when we find meaning in our work, when we feel fulfilled by what we do and serve in an environment that we at least attempt to infuse with respect and compassion, people are much more satisfied and engaged,” Lamoureux says.

Other Employee Care Additionally, Providence provides more tangible opportunities for employees, such as a competitive benefits structure. Providence has policy called “Just Wage,” which is an effort to ensure that those who are in entrylevel positions within the organization make at least a minimum wage above what’s legally required and receive full benefits. Lamoureux says, “By doing that they are better able to care for themselves and whatever their family situation may be.”

Providence also offers educational opportunities for their employees, including tu-

ition reimbursement. “Often times we’ll find that someone who may have completed high school two or three years ago… has become aware of what might be possible,” he says.

For example an aide providing patient care may observe what a therapist, pharmacist, or nurse is doing and feel inspired to pursue education that leads to that kind of work.

Alternatively, much like Lamoureux, who began his career as a respiratory therapist, an employee involved in direct employee care may pursue possibilities in management or other professional areas of development.

“Depending on the individual’s temperament, skills, interests, aptitude, and other variables, they can find themselves, within Providence, in any number of areas,” he says.

“Providence is really like a small city,” Lamoureux continues. “It has food and nutrition services, facility maintenance operation, nursing, medical care, pharmacy, electricians—just all kinds of crafts, trades, professions, business environments—and so you can walk in here and it’s literally like a little city. And people who may walk in with little notion of what they may be capable of suddenly find that there’s something that interests them, and they can grow in the organization over years and decades.”

Community Partner Providence states on its website, “As people of Providence, we reveal God’s love for all, especially the poor and vulnerable, through our compassionate service.” It pursues that mission through a variety of community partnerships and activities.

According to the Providence’s Alaska 2015 Community Benefit Report, in 2015 Providence’s total cost of care and services donated was more than $70 million, including more than $11 million in community health grants and donations, more than $8 million in education and research programs, approximately $4.5 million in subsidized services, and nearly $42 million in free and discounted care for patients in need.

One of Providence’s partners is UAA (University of Alaska Anchorage) through UAA’s nursing program. “Our support of that program includes things like clinical rotations for nurses and also an annual grant,” Lamoureux says. Every year for at least the last eight years Providence has provided UAA a $300,000 grant to support the nursing program. “That is in acknowledgement that UAA is the expert in the delivery of education.”

He says that all hospitals in Alaska receive the benefit of this partnership, as training nurses in-state encourages them to remain in Alaska for work. “Providence’s unique position in the state of Alaska as the largest and

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

“Providence is really like a small city. It has food and nutrition services, facility maintenance operation, nursing, medical care, pharmacy, electricians—just all kinds of crafts, trades, professions, business environments—and so you can walk in here and it’s literally like a little city.

And people who may walk in with little notion of what they may be capable of suddenly find that there’s something that interests them, and they can grow in the organization over years and decades.”

—Bruce Lamoureux Senior VP/CEO of Providence Alaska Region

© Judy Patrick Photography

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April 2017 | Alaska Business

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

a visible healthcare provider and employer also comes with some responsibilities for us.

Those include support of the nursing program,” Lamoureux says.

Providence also partners with the Municipality of Anchorage, United Way, RurAL Cap, and Catholic Social Services, along with other community organizations, to serve Alaska’s homeless. Providence donated more than $1 million dollars in 2016 and plans to donate a similar amount in 2017. Providence’s hope is that, through better coordination, “We can somehow put people back into shelter and baseline environments where they can succeed and become self-sustaining in a more holistic manner,” he says.

He continues that addressing homeless-

ness directly ties to Providence’s mission of care for the poor and vulnerable. “If we can invest with others upstream, before an individual comes to us because they’re looking to escape the cold and other issues, then the costs of healthcare are lower and the demand for healthcare is lower,” Lamoureux says.

“And, in some cases, people avert more serious health conditions because, in the case of homelessness and winter, they might not suffer frostbite and require in-patient hospitalization.”

Economic Builder Providence’s compassionate donations definitely have an impact on the Alaska community, but there’s no doubt the organization is a

significant part of the economy in Anchorage and Alaska. Beyond supplying 4,000 Alaska jobs, Providence’s infrastructure is valued at approximately $750 million in Anchorage, and their facilities statewide are valued at about $1 billion.

For construction projects, their use of Alaska-based contractors is “nearly universal,” the company states. In Anchorage headquarters, a plaque in the lobby recognizes and celebrates the many contractors and sub-contractors that worked on the building to make it a success.

And Providence’s infrastructure and construction needs go beyond what most would imagine as “hospital” facilities. “Our portfolio of services goes well beyond acute and outpatient healthcare; it extends to an assisted living facility, a long-term care facility, and a transitional care facility. We are part owners in the LifeMed Flight Ambulance program.

We co-own that with the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation,” Lamoureux says.

Providence Alaska CARES One project “near and dear” to Providence’s heart is their Alaska CARES (Child Abuse Response & Evaluation Services) Program, which currently occupies a building that will need to be vacated in 2018 or 2019. “We anticipate a replacement building on a parcel of land we own,” Lamoureux says. Design for the new building, which has an estimated cost of $12 million to $14 million, began in February. Design and permitting will continue through this year, with construction anticipated for 2018.

Providence Alaska CARES takes care of children who are the victims of abuse—verbal, sexual, or physical. “It is the only child advocacy center of its type in the state of Alaska,” Lamoureux says, and represents a collaboration between the Municipality of Anchorage, the Anchorage Police Department, the State Troopers, the Department of Health & Social Services, and Southcentral Foundation. Representatives of these organizations are all housed in the same place, and so when a child victim is brought in and interviewed by a counselor, through the use of microphones and one-way mirrors, every agency has access to the child’s information without being in the room. “In so doing we don’t re-traumatize the victim repeatedly over the course of the work that needs to be done,” he says. In 2016, Providence treated nearly 950 children in the program. “There, again, [is our] mission statement of care of the poor and vulnerable. Certainly if children are nothing else, it is that they are vulnerable.”

Alaska CARES is the perfect micro-example of how Providence operates in the state: building the economy through construction and jobs, generous community involvement, and care for those who need it most.

R

Tasha Anderson is an Associate Editor for Alaska Business.

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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The Yukon-Kuskokwim Region is as beautiful as it is remote; as diverse as it is vast. Visit www.novagold.com to see our Alaska Video Series on the challenges and opportunities local residents face – and learn how we’re working together to ensure a brighter future for everyone.

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

Corporate 100

Sourdough Express: Fifth Generation Alaskan Family Business Prospers

By Julie Stricker

Sourdough Transfer Vice President Josh Norum at the Sourdough Express, Inc. company headquarters in Fairbanks. Norum is a fifth-generation member of the Alaska family business.

Photo by JR Ancheta

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Fifth Generation Norum was born and raised in Fairbanks. He says he always knew Sourdough Express was likely to be part of his future. He started working at the company when he was twelve, doing chores in the shop and washing trucks in the summertime. When he was sixteen, he decided he didn’t want to work for someone else and started his own lawn maintenance business. At nineteen, he went back to Sourdough, became a mover, and eventually earned a business management degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, working nights and summers at the family business. He’s been working there full-time since graduation and is vice president of Sourdough Transfer.

“I’m the only member of my generation working here,” he says, although many of his cousins have worked at Sourdough during the summers. His wife, Jayme, works upstairs in the payroll office. They have two children, and Norum hopes at least one of them will be interested in the family business, noting that his sister decided to become an optometrist.

“The third generation, Grandpa Whitey, he comes and gets the mail when he’s in town,” Norum says of Richard “Whitey” Gregory.

Under the leadership of Jeff Gregory and Karen Conover, Sourdough Express, Inc. focused on the northbound freight business. www.akbizmag.com

“They grew it with their watch to be statewide, a bigger presence,” Norum says. “Now that they’re stepping down, I’ve been taking my kind of thought process and doing areas of expansion I think would make sense, which right now seems to be in the moving market—the North Slope is a little bit down, but the military is booming.”

Accountability The Fairbanks headquarters of Sourdough Express, Inc., is located in an industrial area near downtown. The main offices are in a utilitarian metal-sided building with windows facing a large truck yard and shop. Inside, posters with the words accountability, innovation, respect, honesty, courage, balance,

communication, competence, teamwork, responsible, achievement, ownership, and ambition are prominently located in every room.

“We have thirteen culture words that we focus on, but accountability is a big one,” Norum says. “We found that making people accountable for their actions both at work and at home and everywhere in life has changed our culture.”

In 2014 Sourdough Express hired a business coach.

“We kind of outgrew our systems and we felt a lot of, I guess, stress around the edges,” Norum says. “He came in and kind of helped us define our culture, define our mission vision, and focus on those things and it’s a helped a lot of the areas of the company we were being challenged with.”

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

J

osh Norum is a rarity in Alaska. He’s the fifth generation to run his family-owned business, Sourdough Express and Sourdough Transfer, which specializes in moving freight and household goods throughout Alaska and to the Lower 48, with facilities in Fairbanks and Anchorage.

Founder Robert “Sourdough Bob” Ellis established the company in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush in Dawson City, Yukon.

Ellis used sled dogs and horse-drawn wagons to move gold miners’ supplies in Dawson City. When gold was discovered in Interior Alaska in 1902, Ellis followed the stampede to Fairbanks, bringing a reputation for personal, reliable service. He later switched to Model T trucks, but for decades, he still relied on sled dogs and horses to reach remote spots.

In 1923, Ellis sold the business to Ed Hering, which is the start of Norum’s family connection. Hering’s great-grandson Jeff Gregory is the current president of Sourdough Express. Norum is his nephew.

Over the next century, the company grew and changed to meet the needs of the communities it served. It specialized in moving freight for the mining, and later oil and gas, industries as well as household goods for Alaska’s large military population. Today, the company has two distinct divisions: Sourdough Transfer, a full-service moving and storage company; and Sourdough Express, a commercial freight company that operates throughout the state serving the oil and gas industry, construction, grocery and retail, and mining operations.

“We’re trying to strategically change,” Norum says. “Not just do everything for everyone, but do the best things we can for the people we want to work for.”

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

It takes a certain mindset to drive the remote Dalton Highway to Alaska’s North Slope.

Drivers have to contend with extreme conditions, including blizzards, avalanches, and icy roads in a region with sparse amenities.

“Most of those guys are extremely independent,” Norum says. “In the backs of their trucks, they have most of the parts for their trucks that they can fix themselves. They’re self-reliant. Most don’t have sat[ellite] phones or anything. They like to be tuned out. They leave their phones off and don’t want to be found.”

Of course, Sourdough has trackers on all their trucks and can see where the drivers are.

“But most of the time, once they hit a certain hill, there’s a pullout past that hill where they lose service and that’s where everyone goes and sleeps,” he says. “They’re on the road 75 percent of their life. Their truck becomes their home. They come home, they go and see their family, jump right back in their truck and go again. So it’s very much a lifestyle.”

Pioneering truckers Gene Rogge (left) and Leo Schlotfeldt (right) and a heavily loaded Sourdough Express truck in the 1920s.

Photo courtesy of Sourdough Express

Accountability is a word the company likes to use.

“Every meeting we have, we use a word and we talk about what it means to us in a given situation,” Norum says. “Accountability comes up over and over.”

Between its Fairbanks and Anchorage facilities, Sourdough employs about 200 people during its peak summer season. In the winter, the freight side is busy northbound. During the summer, it’s busier to the south, between Fairbanks and Anchorage. The moving side is about twice as busy in the summer as it is in the winter, he says.

Pioneering Truckers With the state’s limited infrastructure, transportation companies face challenges in Alaska they don’t elsewhere. Sourdough Express drivers have delivered cargos to riverboats pulled up to the gravel banks of the Yukon River. The company has a long history of pioneering truckers.

In 1929, Gene Rogge, the son-in-law of thenowner Ed Hering, made one of the first trips on the newly constructed Richardson Highway between Fairbanks and Valdez. After oil was discovered on the North Slope in the mid-1960s, Norum’s grandfather, Leo Schlotfeldt Jr., started the Great Northern Alaska Transportation, Ltd., to pioneer the Haul Road to the North Slope.

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Schlotfeldt, his friends, and relatives took on the project because they saw a need that others had not realized yet, Norum says. “I think that they kind of pushed it and then they got the state on board to back it up and help them out.”

Today, Sourdough Express trucks regularly make the long trip north. It takes a certain type of person to be successful and Norum says the company seeks out motivated and creative people.

“We’re very much against micromanaging and telling people how to do their jobs,” he says. “We want them to know ‘This is the direction we’re going. You guys figure out how to get there,’ with some guidance. We’ll set the boundaries and you guys impress us.”

Encouraging Growth Much of the time, Norum says, they’re looking for younger people who can then work their way up in the company. Those working in the yard often obtain a CDL (commercial driver’s license) and become line drivers.

“Same with movers,” he says. “You start them as helpers and they become crew leaders and then a lot of them get their CDLs on the freight side. It just helps them grow as a person and helps them grow with the company so that we have people who are loyal and they know what the company is about.”

Employee Longevity Sourdough’s longest-serving employee is President Jeff Gregory, who has worked there his whole life, Norum says. The second-longest is a mover in Anchorage who has been with Sourdough for twenty-seven years. Several other people in Anchorage have been there more than fifteen years. In Fairbanks, some line drivers have worked there since the early 2000s.

“It’s a very physical smaller business, to me that’s very impressive,” Norum says.

“The moving industry is definitely hard on the body. If they last ten years, that’s a pretty good moving career before they find something that’s a little bit easier.”

Norum says the biggest challenge he sees in the next decade is the workforce.

“Especially in the last couple of years, we’ve seen a definite shift in mentality for kids coming out of school,” he says. “It’s just ‘I don’t want to do physical labor. I’m here. I showed up. Pay me.’ It’s been a lot more challenging to find guys who want to work the full days, who want to work hard and not be on their phones taking breaks. It is definitely a challenge.”

On the other hand, he says, when you look in the right places you can find amazing people.

“They usually help us weed out the ones who don’t work out pretty quick,” he says.

As a multi-generational Alaskan, Norum says he feels a kind of ownership for the state.

“It’s special,” he says. “I’m not only a fifthgeneration here, but a fifth-generation Alaskan. Our family has really grown up here.

People talk about their family elsewhere, but the people we have elsewhere, they’ve moved from Alaska to there. So, it’s funny just to feel this is our whole world, it’s right here in Fairbanks.”

R Julie Stricker is a journalist living near Fairbanks.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

Corporate 100

Two of Crowley’s high-deck strength barges, 455-3 and Marty J, towed by tugs Warrior and Commander, transported processing and utility modules and other smaller structural components more than 8,000 miles from Gulf Island Fabricators in Houma, Louisiana, to Point Oliktok in Kuparuk. The modules and components, each weighing nearly 4,000 tons, will support Eni’s development of the Nikaitchuq oil field.

Photo courtesy of Crowley

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

64 years of history in Alaska

By Rob Stapleton

C

ontributing to the growth of Alaska over the past sixty-four years, this year Crowley Maritime celebrates its 125th year of successful operations worldwide.

Starting with a Whitehall Rowboat purchased by Thomas Crowley in San Francisco, the company was founded in 1892 as a family- and employee-owned marine service and solution company that now employs 5,300 people worldwide with headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida.

Founder Thomas Crowley is the grandfather of current Chairman, President, and CEO Thomas B. Crowley Jr., who was elected to his leadership. This change marked only the second time in one hundred years that the leadership of the company changed.

Company officials acknowledge that many of the Alaska challenges met by Crowley and its support teams have added to the company’s innovative approaches to provide transportation and support for improving the state’s infrastructure.

“What we have learned in Alaska we have used globally; what we have learned globally we have used in Alaska,” reflects Bob Cox, vice president of Crowley Petroleum Distribution, Inc. “We are innovators; we engineer solutions to meet the challenges.”

Crowley has embraced a team approach, which has led to the company’s portfolio of success, experience, and profitability.

“At Crowley, it’s not what you know, it’s what you share,” says Bruce Harland, vice president, Crowley Maritime. “Known for quality, reliability, with a reputation of environmentally sound services in Alaska, Crowley’s best assets are its people.”

Alaska and Crowley officials note how the company has been key to Alaska’s development.

“Before statehood in 1957 Crowley got its start in Alaska re-supplying the Arctic with fuel, materials, and equipment used to build the Distant Early Warning system,” says Bruce Harland.

But before that in 1953, Crowley pioneered barge use to transport railcars between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan.

Crowley transported cargo in containers from the Lower 48 to Alaska with a tug and barge service in 1958, which expanded to a multimodal transportation line called the

Hydro-Train using barges with rail track to transport rail cars from Seattle to the Alaska Railroad terminal in Whittier.

Crowley grew its Alaska regional services from operations in Puget Sound and Los Angeles and now operates twenty-three offices statewide and employs nearly 600 people.

Today Crowley is positioned to provide energy across platforms to offer different fuel types whichever way the market swings.

Sealift Service to the Arctic Creating a sealift in 1968, Crowley navigated

Doyon operates more than a dozen for-profit companies driving thousands of jobs in Alaska and beyond.

Multiple Lines of Industry Support In addition to its Alaska fuel distribution centers the company operates six lines of business that span from Latin America to Alaska offering diversified transportation, petroleum distribution, and contract and technical services.

The company also offers services as a thirdparty logistics provider with supply chain management and offers materials and shipment tracking technology.

Energy support services are offered with shore-based services, ocean towing, marine engineering, and offshore construction support.

Alaska energy support services also offers specialized cargo transport with CATCO units for transportation across roadless tundra areas of the Arctic and remote crude oil storage, all with environmental safety and quality assurance.

Alaska Beginnings Known as a quality company whose professionalism and innovation has benefited the development of petroleum exploration and distribution in Alaska, Crowley has grown with and from www.akbizmag.com

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2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

Crowley Maritime 125th Anniversary

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

partially frozen sea ice and gnarly cilities. The company has more than seas to deliver construction mate39 million gallons of fuel storage carials and modules to Prudhoe Bay. pacity in Alaska.

Crowley carried more than 1.3 milCrowley also offers “floater” fulion tons of cargo with 343 barge eling barges in Bristol Bay for the loads to the North Slope during commercial herring and salmon construction of the 800 mile transfishing and processing industries.

Alaska oil pipeline.

Crowley obtained Alaska Avgas A testament to the company’s business from Chevron’s Richabilities came during the 1975 mond California refinery in 2012 summer sealift when forty-seven and barges it to Alaska to retail Thomas Thomas Thomas barge loads from Seattle to Prudsellers statewide.

Crowley, Founder Crowley Sr. Crowley Jr. hoe Bay encountered the worst sea ice conditions of the century. ply laborers and materials to drilling operaAlaska’s Future with Crowley The trans-Alaska oil pipeline was under tions on Beaufort Sea islands.

Today Crowley’s fuel distribution is about construction and needed supplies and pre“Crowley is very, very good at passing exper- volume and long-term growth. With the built modules delivered to make its deadline tise across cross functional teams,” adds Harland. purchase of Chevron terminals in Nome and for oil-in. The largest sealift in the project’s “This has been extremely useful for innovation.”

Kotzebue and Yukon Fuels in Bethel, Cox history was held up in sea ice that required Harland says Crowley developed shallow- says the company is poised to offer “one stop extra measures to make the shore. draft fuel delivery equipment and remote shopping” for energy.

Stranded were 179 modules, some as tall as drilling equipment with multiple capabilities “When market prices change over time, or a nine-story building and weighing up 1,300 for Point Thomson to meet the demands of energy types change, Crowley wants to be in a tons each, waiting for almost two months for near-coastal drilling challenges as just a few place to be there, to be ‘the’ energy supplier,” Cox the ice to retreat. Some of the barges rerouted of its innovative accomplishments. says. “We want to adapt and change with it.” to Seward for overland hauls of the cargo on To that point Crowley is the first to develop the Dalton Highway.

Spill Response high capacity trucks for LNG (liquefied natural Ten of the Crowley barges carrying the Crowley was the first to respond with tug boats gas) to demonstrate LNG for use on rail and are largest modules followed a US Coast Guard when the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh the first certified to haul LNG on rail, Cox adds. icebreaker through the sea ice toward Prud- Reef in 1989. After the spill, Alyeska Pipeline But as time ticks on, Crowley sees a bright fuhoe. The ice soon closed again, stranding the Service Company added escort and docking ture with the use of duel fuels. Recently Crowley barges one mile offshore from their destina- services operated by Crowley. Crowley met facilitated a conversion of a power plant in Tok tion. The oil companies then built a gravel the demand with the most powerful techno- to use LNG from traditional petroleum fuel. causeway spit through the ice to retrieve the logically advanced tugboats in the world. CreTo meet Alaska’s future, both Harland and stranded modules from the barges. ated in 1989, Alyeska’s SERVS (Ship Escort Re- Cox are looking North to the future.

“We have a dedicated sealift team who did sponse Vessels Systems) was created to thwart Cox says Crowley is hopeful in terms of rethe engineering to meet the challenge, devel- further spill danger in Prince William Sound. source development and sees Alaska LNG as oping as we go,” says Harland.

To date, Crowley has escorted more than the state’s next big development.

In 2010, Crowley delivered modules for 19,000 tankers and will continue through 2017 Harland looks to the marine and project deENI in a sealift from Louisiana to the Beaufort when it finishes an eight-year contract with velopment side of Crowley’s future in Alaska.

Sea. The largest modules ever made in Alaska, Alyeska.

“There are lots of potential areas to look at: measuring ten stories high and weighing for example deep-draft port infrastructure more than 3,500 tons each, were delivered to Fuel Distribution Centers that may be required if mining opens up,” HarNorthstar Island in 2001 by Crowley.

While the oil fields on the North Slope were un- land says. “Red Dog mine is one of the richest der development, Crowley started service to 130 concentrations of ore bodies in the world. LimInnovations to Meet Challenges villages in Western Alaska with fuel and oil us- ited graphite, high value rare earth metal deDuring pipeline construction in ‘70s the ing special river barges. In the mid-1980s Crow- mand, there is a lot of potential in Alaska and company purchased Mukluk Freight Lines, ley launched service to transport, store, and the Canadian Arctic and at some point, there Oilfield Services, Inc., a construction com- sell petroleum products in all of Alaska’s coast- will be a need for project management and pany, and became the marine contractor for line and major Western Alaska river systems. port infrastructure development when Arctic oil spill response for Alaska Clean Seas.

Crowley currently operates fuel sales from tank marine transportation is more plausible.” R During this era, Crowley was also involved farms in Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, and Anchorin civil construction projects including the age, providing direct delivery of bulk fuels and north-south runway at Ted Stevens Anchor- packaged petroleum products. During summer Rob Stapleton is an Anchorage-based age International Airport, miles of highway, months, line-haul barges are used to replenish journalist and professional photographer. and Duck Island, the first drilling island in tank farms and smaller lighterage barges that He owns Alaska Foto. the Beaufort Sea, making Crowley more than carry fuel to remote villages with no docking faa pipeline support company.

An example of Crowley’s ability to innovate A Crowley tug is the CATCO All Terrain Corporation vehicles. crew.

These heavy lift overland transport units were Photo courtesy acquired by Crowley in 1975 and were deemed of Crowley more suitable for Alaska’s ice, snowfield, and tundra conditions than in the Middle East.

“The CATCOs were developed for Saudi Arabia for use in the sandy oil fields,” says Bruce Harland. “The sand was destroying the bearing on the units, so we modified them for use in Alaska. This allowed moving larger, heavier loads before permitting and making roads—a very costly expense.”

Other innovations by Crowley are the use of hovercraft on the ice and over water to sup50

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

OUR STRENGTH Netiye’ means ‘our strength’ in Ahtna Athabaskan

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

Corporate 100

Alsco: Alaska’s Linen and Uniform Rental Service

Alsco’s Alaska General Manager Don Wirth in the midst of linen and uniform rental services plant in Anchorage. © Judy Patrick Photography

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Workers sorting linens and uniforms at Alsco’s Anchorage plant.

A

lsco is a privately owned, international company that supplies linen and uniform rental services. Alsco was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1889 by two teenage brothers. Today, it’s headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. According to Alsco’s Alaska General Manager Don Wirth, “We’ve been in business for over 125 years. We have over 170 plants similar to this [Anchorage plant] scattered throughout the United States and throughout the world. We have over 350,000 customers in thirteen different countries.”

Alsco came to Alaska in 1988, and services most locations on the road system. As Wirth puts it, “From here to Fairbanks, down to Delta Junction, down through Glennallen and back, down to Valdez, and then up and down all the Peninsula all the way to Homer.”

Wirth was transplanted to Alaska five years ago, moving up from Wyoming to take over the general manager position. “I’ve always wanted to come to Alaska,” he says.

“Other than Wyoming, it’s the only place I’ve ever wanted to live. I came up sight-unseen.”

The gamble worked: “I love it. I got off the plane and fell in love immediately.”

Alsco’s Employees Alsco has 18,000 employees worldwide, 126 of which are here in the Last Frontier. Wirth says that when it comes to taking on new employees, “I try to hire people that have integrity. I try to hire people that have some motivation and drive. I try to hire people that are honest and moral.” After those attributes, the qualifications differ from position to position.

“We want to hire good people, and we want to hire people that would like to do something more than just what we hire them for,” Wirth says. Wirth himself was hired on as a driver in 1975, achieving his goal of becoming a branch manager with his move to Alaska. No matter the position, Alsco performs thorough background checks and tests to ensure potential employees meet all physical requirements of the position.

The company has a diverse workforce, and Wirth says, “We’ve got a very, very hardworking crew here, and there are certain standards that have to be met on the production floor, and we hold [employees] to those standards.”

Wirth says one of the perks of working at Alsco is the convenient schedule. “We don’t work weekends, we don’t work holidays, we work a strict day shift,” he says. While occasional weekend work is performed, it’s on a volunteer basis. In addition, employees are also given health insurance benefits, including dental and eye care. He says that at present Alsco doesn’t hire part-time employees, so all of their employees receive benefits.

Additionally, Wirth says, “We’re real big on promoting from within and hiring from within any time that we can. We’ve taken people from production and put them on routes as drivers. Our office manager started as an accounts receivable clerk, and our production manager started off in the wash alley.” He continues that whenever a position opens, it’s always posted in-house before being opened to the general public. www.akbizmag.com

© Judy Patrick Photography

Providence Cares

Working together to keep our promise

When the Sisters of Providence arrived on Alaska’s shores during the Nome Gold Rush in 1902, they brought a commitment to care for all people, especially the poor and vulnerable. That Mission continues to drive all we do.

Today Providence Health & Services Alaska relies on a diverse range of partners to meet the most pressing health needs of our communities.

Thank you to all the community partners who help us continue our Mission to provide compassionate care for all. It’s our privilege to work side-by-side with you to touch so many lives.

Learn more about the Sisters’ legacy of service to Alaskans in our Community Benefit Report at communitybenefit.providence.org/alaska

April 2017 | Alaska Business

53

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

By Tasha Anderson

2017 CORPORATE 100 SPECIAL SECTION | COMPANY PROFILE

that stuff sit on their shelves and possibly being charged for it all winter long when they’re not needing it.” Wirth says it’s better for the textiles to sit cleaned, shrink wrapped, and in storage at their warehouse than for them to sit dirty or collecting dust and potentially being ruined. Alsco, he says, is happy to adjust pickups and drop-offs to suit their clients’ needs.

The Anchorage facility is the only cleaning facility that Alsco has in Alaska, but they have two depots, one in Fairbanks and the other in Soldotna. Wirth describes them as “basically a warehouse with an office.” He says at those locations shuttles run to and from the depots, and routes are then run out of the depots with soiled textiles being shuttled to Anchorage for cleaning. The Mat-Su is serviced by truck routes from the Anchorage facility.

© Judy Patrick Photography

Alsco’s Alaska General Manager Don Wirth talks with an employee at the plant in Anchorage.

Training and Workforce Development All of Alsco’s initial training is done on site.

No matter the position, the first two days on the job are spent on training, including watching safety videos, education on Alsco’s history and culture, and an introduction to the facility and operations. “We introduce them to their job and we give them a tour of the entire facility and show them what the importance of their position is, and just how what they do affects everything all the way down the line,” Wirth says.

Past that basic information, training becomes job specific. For example, the company’s engineering staff job shadow for the first sixty days, “working hand-in-hand with another engineer that’s been here a while that knows everything he needs to know,” Wirth says. “We do a lot with steam, a lot with hydraulics, a lot with pneumatics, a lot with electrical, so the more you know about all of those things the better off you’re going to be.”

Wirth says their engineers are sent to manufacturer schools two or three times a year. The engineers are rotated to different schools to cover all the different types of machinery. “Eventually, over a period of time, they’ve got all of that training,” he says.

Expert Products and Services All of that employee training promotes competence and safety, and that leads to quality services for Alsco’s clients. Wirth says, “When I was a young driver and a young salesman I always told my customers, ‘If it has anything to do with being clean, we probably carry it.’” In Alaska, Alsco cleans products that they rent out to their clients, including everything from napkins and tablecloths to floor mats and microfiber mops. “If you eat in a restaurant here in Anchorage that provides tablecloths and napkins, chances are they’re our tablecloths and napkins.”

The hospitality industry is a significant industry for Alsco—restaurants and hotels utilize many products, including towels, sheets, napkins, tablecloths, mops, mats, aprons, 54

and uniforms. Also pertinent to this industry, Wirth says, Alsco offers “a full line of restroom supply products: air fresheners, paper towels, toilet tissue, soaps, hand sanitizers, etc.” The healthcare industry is also huge, utilizing Alsco for the supply and cleaning of paper and cloth towels, scrubs, healthcare laundry, sheets, pillowcases, and gowns.

Alsco also offers industrial uniforms, everything from coveralls for mechanics to flameretardant garments with reflective striping.

Clients have ample opportunities to customize their textiles to fit their brand and other goals. Floor mats can be manufactured with customized logos or messages. Uniforms can be embroidered with logos or employee names. “We have most, but not all, of our embroidery done by a local embroidery shop here in town,” Wirth says. Customized mats are manufactured at a facility on the East Coast.

Wirth says that for some textiles there are levels of quality available to meet the needs of the client, as well. For example, Alsco has three levels of cotton sheets, the highest of which is a quality tone-on-tone, 316 thread count cotton material.

Seasonal Laundering How often Alsco picks up and delivers soiled textiles depends entirely on the client’s needs.

“Some customers don’t have a whole lot of clean or dirty storage, so we go there more often,” Wirth says. Other clients are large and they produce a large volume of soiled product for cleaning regularly. “There are a lot of customers that we deliver and pick up daily,” he says.

And those requirements can change seasonally. The hospitality industry in Alaska has significant seasonal swings, with some hotels, visitor industry organizations, and restaurants closing down entirely for the winter.

Many of their textiles are stored at Alsco’s Anchorage facility during the shoulder or off seasons. “Typically what we do in the wintertime is we draw the inventory down to a certain level, because there’s no sense of them having

Alsco Quality According to the company, “Our vision is to become the first choice provider of complete textile service systems to businesses worldwide. To accomplish this goal, we will constantly strive to become the lowest cost and best quality producer in the marketplace, while offering the highest level of customer service. Alsco managers will meet the highest ethical standards in all of their dealings with customers and employees. Our goal is to serve customers with the cleanest, most efficient plant facilities in the industry.”

A part of this dedication to cleanliness is manifested in Alsco’s NSF certification. NSF is a public health and safety organization that has developed public health standards and certification programs to protect the world’s food, water, consumer products, and environment, according to NSF’s website. In order to maintain this certification, Wirth says, Alsco has to supply samples of all of their textiles on a regular basis for testing.

Another part of their quality is a commitment to being a green company. “We’re always looking to be environmentally friendly as best we can,” Wirth says. “All of our chemicals are green chemicals; they’re all DFE compliant.” Additionally, the very nature of reusing textiles again and again is eco-friendly. “We do heat reclamation from our hot water,” he says, to preheat city water as it comes into the facility. “Instead of bringing it up from 48 degrees to 160, we’re bringing it from 80 to 160.”

Looking forward, Wirth would like, if feasible to install a water reuse system. “A water reuse is where you take the last rinse from every load and use that for your first rinse of the next load,” Wirth explains.

Another aspect of Alsco’s quality is their community investment. Wirth says that Alsco often provides linens at no charge to charity groups around town for their events. Recently the company donated the use of chef’s jackets for a food-based fundraising event. Alsco donates outright blankets and durable outer clothing that may have minor stains or damage to homeless shelters whenever possible. R Tasha Anderson is an Associate Editor for Alaska Business.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

FINANCIAL SERVICES

$ T

Payroll Support Services Save Alaska Businesses Time, Money, and Stress

By Tracy Barbour

here’s a diversity of services that companies can capitalize on to support their payroll functions and enhance their business operations. Payroll support options include direct deposit processing and full-service payroll management from banks; payroll and payroll tax preparation from accounting firms; and co-employment solutions from professional employer organizations. Working with payroll support service providers not only saves businesses time and money, but it also helps minimize the challenges and stress of processing their own payroll.

Payroll Direct Deposit Many banks in Alaska offer direct deposit services that can help business owners lessen the cost of producing, distributing, and reconciling checks for each payroll. With this service, a bank can directly deposit payroll funds into employees’ checking or savings account so it’s there on payday morning.

Direct deposit is more convenient and cost-effective for employers because significantly reduces the time and expense of preparing payroll. It eliminates labor-intensive tasks like writing, printing, signing, and folding checks and then stuffing the check inside envelopes and mailing them.

First National Bank Alaska offers direct deposit for payroll funds through ONEPay, its ACH, wire, and electronic payment system.

ONEPay, which is a relatively new offering for the bank, gives customers several options for handling their direct deposit. They can collect the employee’s information from their accounting software and automatically upload it into the system. Or if their accounting software doesn’t have this capability, they can manually enter the employee’s information (account num- Morlan ber, bank routing number, and the effective date of the deposit) into the system. “When you initially enter the employee’s information, it will build a profile that is retained within the system. That profile will be available every time you do direct deposit,” says Diana Morlan, AVP, cash management services manager.

Having multiple options for inputting employees’ information gives customers added flexibility, says First National’s Cash Management and Anchorage Branch Administration Manager Taka 56

Tsukada. “It allows businesses to do their payroll the way they would like to do it,” he says.

First National’s system also allows for dual control that enables customers to verify the payroll for each employee.

This is a very useful feature if one person is uploading or inputting and another person wants to double-check the information. “We want to make sure our customers and business owners are Tsukada protected,” Tsukada says. “If you have one person inputting the information, you have the potential of that person making a mistake. ... There could also be the potential for fraud to go uncheck if dual control is not used.”

As a flexible feature, customers can preschedule their payroll direct deposits and payroll taxes to the IRS. “If you have a business with someone who is taking vacation and wants to get payroll done before they leave, they can schedule payroll up to thirty days before the delivery date,” Morlan says.

However, the value of payroll direct deposit service is not just isolated to employers. It also extends to the employees because it affords them the convenience of getting their pay electronically—no matter where they bank. “They don’t have to worry about their check getting lost in the mail or falling into the wrong hands,” Tsukada says. “Being able to deliver that payroll electronically is not only more convenient, but it’s also safer.”

But if the employees don’t have a checking or savings account, employers can deposit their pay onto a payroll card, and then they can access the funds in various ways. “They can get the full amount off the card at an ATM or use it like a debit or credit card when they’re shopping,” Morlan says.

Direct deposit payroll is a core product that customers are employing more and more. Traditionally, it was larger, more sophisticated companies that regularly used direct deposit. Now due to the affordability, Tsukada says he is seeing growing demand from much smaller customers who are attracted to the value of the service. “It’s about efficiency and flexibility, not just about cost,” he says. “In Alaska, the expectation of the service is increasing, and we’re pleased we are able to provide a robust service.”

Full Payroll Management Wells Fargo provides a full-service payroll management system to support different aspects of customers’ payroll. The system covers a variety of payroll needs for businesses, including col-

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

lecting time and attendance, making direct deposits into employee accounts, paying state and federal taxes, and other ancillary payroll services. “The direct deposit function allows our customers to pay their employees and contractors elec- Thomas tronically, saving time and money,” says Wells Fargo Alaska Payroll Services Specialist Luke Thomas. “Employers also have the peace of mind knowing exactly how much and when funds are debited from their business account. Businesses are able to input their employees’ hours and approve payroll though Wells Fargo Business Online Banking over the phone or via email. After payroll processing is complete, our service provides a general ledger export for their accounting software.”

Wells Fargo’s payroll service makes payroll processing easier and more efficient with the seamless integration of its Business Online Banking for 24/7 control of accounts and reporting. By offering payroll and other business banking services under one roof, customers can make quick transfers to fund payroll and access convenient online tools for easy cash flow management between accounts. “We want to make sure our customers can focus on their business, knowing they have the support of our knowledgeable team dedicated to reliable processing and handling of payroll tax filings and payments on their behalf,” Thomas says. “Customers can rely on a payroll processing system that has the latest payroll requirements and security controls.”

In 2014, Wells Fargo expanded its payroll support offerings by introducing Local Print and Wageview features. These features, which are in high demand, further enhance the value that Wells Fargo brings to its business customers, according to Thomas. Local Print enables businesses to print their own payroll checks in their own office, allowing them to serve both employees on direct deposit and those who prefer a check.

However, Thomas says, most customers are interested in having a paperless payroll with Wells Fargo. “We can set up all employees with direct deposit and provide their paystubs and W-2s electronically,” he says. “Wageview is a feature that allows employees to pull up their paystubs and W-2s securely online or on their smart phones. For the business owner/ manager, all payroll reports are available in the online payroll service.”

Thomas points out that many Alaska businesses are using a self-service payroll management system like QuickBooks by themselves or through an accountant. However, he strongly recommends exploring the option of using a full-service payroll management system. He says, “It is definitely worth the time to investigate how a full-service payroll services provider may create efficiencies, provide more cash control, enhance security and payroll reliability, and potentially save you money.” www.akbizmag.com

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April 2017 | Alaska Business

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Payroll and Payroll Tax Preparation Altman, Rogers & Co. offers a broad mix of services to assist businesses with their payroll needs. A full-service, independent accounting and tax firm, it provides everything from preparing just the W-2 and W-3 forms to full payroll preparation, including quarterly and yearly reports. “Some of our clients prepare their own payroll and have us take on the government reporting for them,” says Accounting Supervisor Nancy Wheeler, EA. “Others want nothing to do with any of the aspects of payroll, so we provide them with everything related to payroll. In addition, we help our clients pay the correct amount of payroll taxes on time and in the Wheeler right manner. Almost all payroll tax deposits must be made through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System website.”

Altman, Rogers & Co. works with businesses to meet their specific payroll and tax needs. The firm offers a host of services, including weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, semimonthly, or annual paycheck processing and the preparation of quarterly and yearly state and federal payroll reports. It also helps clients with setting up the accounts they need for being an employer and paying their taxes, as well as provides services to prevent them from being assessed significant penalties for late payment, underpayment, or improper payment of payroll taxes. In addition, the firm prepares certified payroll reports for Little Davis Bacon jobs and educates clients on payroll rules and regulations to keep them in compliance with state and federal laws.

Dealing with payroll can be stressful for businesses with all of the due dates, forms, different types of employee pay and deductions, and payment of payroll taxes, Wheeler says. And knowing which payroll forms need to be filed when and to which government agency can be confusing. So Altman, Rogers & Co. helps clients take those tasks off their list of responsibilities to ease their burden.

“We take as much of that stress off the business owners as they would like so they can focus on the daily tasks of running their business and making money,” Wheeler says.

Altman, Rogers & Co., which has locations in Soldotna, Anchorage, and Juneau, assists clients statewide. It serves for-profit as well as not-forprofit entities, including commercial fishermen, small sole proprietorships, Native corporations, and nonprofit corporations. “All types and sizes of business can use payroll services to take the burden off their shoulders,” Wheeler says.

“Whether it’s someone to prepare just the quarterly payroll reports or helping them to pay their employees each payday, all businesses can benefit from using a payroll service.”

Co-Employment Solutions Companies are increasingly moving away from the traditional model of hiring employees and handling all of the related human resource functions in house. They’re also going beyond temporary staffing 58

Gore

and employee leasing arrangements to co-employment solutions that make it even easier for business owners to ease their payroll challenges.

For example, Avitus Group—a global company that recently acquired Anchorage’s Swan Employer Services—offers co-employer services that help business owners take care of back-office administrative needs, such as human resources, payroll administration, benefits administration, and safety and risk management. “Our services allow business owners to take back their time spent in the aforementioned areas and put that directly into leading their company and growing their business,” says Alaska Payroll Manager KaSandra Gore.

Avitus handles payroll processing, issues checks, processes direct deposits, and provides pay cards, W-2s, and quarterly and annual reporting. It offers a full menu of benefit support options that includes online benefits enrollments, benefit tracking, and 401K support. Avitus can also supply employees with vision, dental, and 401K benefits if clients do not have these benefits to offer their staff.

With a co-employment arrangement, clients of Avitus maintain full direction and control over the employees in the work environment. They retain all the functions of an employer: hiring, firing, setting wages, and overseeing tasks.

“Business owners will still operate their company as usual, and employees will still report to their normal supervisors and/or management staff,” Gore says. “Our responsibilities to the employees are to pay them in a timely and accurate manner and provide business owners with continued HR support of their staff. Our re- Madlock sponsibility to the employer is to provide full HR support to include assistance with things like job descriptions and handbooks all the way through support during a Human Rights Commission complaint or an EEOC complaint, should those arise.”

On the safety side, Avitus conducts initial safety inspections and assists the client with support in becoming compliant—if it is not already compliant. It also helps create a safety plan for the business to help keep employees safe on the job and reduce the risk of workers’ compensation claims, Gore says.

“Our risk management includes full support for any workers’ compensations claims; we handle everything and work with the claims adjuster, medical facility, and the employee to get everything taken care of and the employee back to work as soon as possible.”

Gore says that owning a business is no easy task, and co-employer relationships can provide many benefits to companies, especially as they grow. Not all businesses are able to directly hire the professionals they require to truly meet their human resources, payroll, benefits administration, and

safety and risk management needs. “Hiring professional staff directly in those areas could be extremely costly when trying to get the high level of professionalism necessary to ensure things are being done correctly,” Gore says. “This is where we can come in and help make getting professional services in each of these areas all together affordable to the business owner.”

Kelli Madlock of ESS Support Services Alaska has similar thoughts. ESS Support Services is a division of Compass Group, the largest food service company in the world.

With 500,000 employees, Compass Group is also the sixth-largest employer in the world, according to Madlock, ESS Alaska’s project manager for employee leasing. “That gives us a lot of buying power, and we can offer health packages that clients could not afford to get on their own,” she says.

Under its core benefits program, ESS Alaska offers, medical, dental and vision insurance, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, short term disability insurance, long term disability insurance, and a 401K plan. Core benefits also include telephonic and online physician consultations as well as life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance.

ESS Alaska has a comprehensive menu of resources that business owners can tap. The company handles payroll, benefits administration, workers’ compensation, health insurance, and retirement accounts for its clients. It has a highly trained staff that includes on-site HR and health and safety managers at its Anchorage location, Madlock says.

Working with small to midsize companies, ESS Alaska essentially rolls clients’ preexisting staff into its system—including remote employees. It takes care of all of the administrative HR and payroll services from paying employees bi-weekly to conducting employment tests. “We free our client to do what they do best, which is running their business,” Madlock says.

For clients, the main responsibility with a co-employment relationship is to manage the work of the employees. This includes ensuring workers have whatever they need to do their job and turning in approved time sheets each week. Clients also pay each employee’s wages and benefits with a slight markup for ESS Alaska’s services.

Madlock says ESS Alaska’s co-employment services allow businesses to bring employees great benefits at great rates. This, in turn, can help them be more competitive and attract top talent. It can also help companies significantly reduce payroll expenses.

Co-employment, Madlock says, is simply a win-win. “It would be beneficial to a lot of small- to medium-sized companies to help bring them to the next level,” she says. R Freelance writer Tracy Barbour is a former Alaskan.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

How Accountable Plans Save Employers When Reimbursing Employees Basics for tax-favored expenses vs. taxable compensation

By Michelle Barnett, CRRA

W

hen an employer pays an expense reimbursement or advance to an employee (regardless of whether the employee incurs or is reasonably expected to incur the expense), the IRS considers the arrangement to be disguised taxable compensation to the employee. In other words, the purported expense reimbursement is treated as additional taxable compensation.

But when the employer makes these payments under a so-called “accountable plan,” they’re free from federal income and employment taxes for recipient employees. Additionally, the employer benefits because the reimbursements aren’t subject to the employer’s portion of federal employment taxes.

Accountable Plan Basics Accountable plans are required to meet four requirements in order for payments to recipient employees to qualify as tax-favored expense reimbursements, rather than taxable compensation: 1. Business Connection: Reimbursements or allowances can be paid only for expenses incurred by employees in connection with performing services for the employer. A common example is business-related travel expenses.

2. Substantiation: Expenses must be substantiated by an expense report or similar record. Receipts should be required for expenses over $75. For lodging expenses, receipts are required regardless of the amount.

Rather than reimbursing employees for actual expenses, an accountable plan can instead pay predetermined mileage or per-diem travel allowances up to the amounts paid to federal employees. Companies that opt for this simplified method don’t need their employees to substantiate actual expense amounts.

3. Return of Excess Payments: Within a reasonable period of time, employees must be required to return reimbursements or advances that exceed actual substantiated expenses. Under an exception, employees aren’t required to return excess mileage or per-diem travel allowances based on the amounts allowed to federal employees.

4. Reasonable Time: Substantiation of expenses and the return of excess payments must occur within a reasonable period of time.

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In a 2009 private letter ruling, the IRS concluded that a company plan that reimbursed employees for the cost of providing their own job-related tools and equipment qualified as an accountable plan. The employer required that managers approve the expenditures and that the tools be kept on company premises and used exclusively for work performed for the company.

Other Reimbursement Arrangements Unless your company’s plan qualifies as an accountable plan, the IRS will treat expense reimbursement or advance payments as additional taxable compensation. Examples of arrangements that won’t qualify include: 1) designating part of an employee’s salary as a travel allowance, and 2) reimbursing expenses out of the employee’s salary by reducing his or her paychecks by the reimbursed amounts.

To illustrate: Suppose ABC Manufacturing Co. operates expense reimbursement plans for its warranty repair technicians and salespersons. On any day a repair technician travels away from home on business, ABC designates $50 of that day’s pay as an allowance for travel expenses. The technician receives the $50, but his or her salary is reduced by that amount. The technicians aren’t required to substantiate actual travel expenses.

ABC also designates $500 of each salesperson’s monthly salary as an allowance for monthly business-related entertainment expenses. The salesperson receives the $500, but his or her monthly salary is reduced by that amount. Salespeople aren’t required to substantiate actual entertainment expenses.

These arrangements do not qualify as accountable plans because the allowances are

paid regardless of whether the recipient employees actually incur business-related expenses and because the allowances are actually just part of the employees’ salaries. Therefore, ABC must report the allowances as taxable wages on the recipient employee’s W-2 forms.

The allowances are subject to federal income and employment taxes. ABC must withhold for federal income tax and the employee’s portion of federal employment taxes on the allowances.

ABC also must pay the employer portion of federal employment taxes on the allowances.

Creating An Accountable Plan Setting up an accountable plan for employees’ business-related expenses can save taxes for both the employees and the employer.

Consult your tax advisor for more details. R Michelle Barnett is a partner with the audit and tax firm Aldrich CPAs + Advisors LLP, formerly AKT LLP. She represents public utilities before the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and submits expert testimony on regulatory matters and return on equity for owners and investors. She has lived in Alaska for more than thirty-five years and is in charge of the Aldrich Anchorage office. Contact her at 907-522-2115 or mbarnett@ aldrichadvisors.com.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

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Alaska Seed Fund Awards Prototyping Grants to Grow Alaskan Products and Companies

n March, the Alaska Seed Fund awarded ten grants to assist Alaskans with prototyping their inventions, launching products, and growing companies in the state.

The Alaska Seed Fund is a collaboration between several nonprofits that assist innovators in Alaska: the Alaska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization, the Alaska Small Business Development Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage Business Enterprise Institute, and the Launch : Alaska startup accelerator.

With $50,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation, the group launched a competition in December to help Alaskan inventors, creators, and developers fund their prototypes. The top applicant received $20,000 while nine other applicants each received more than $3,000.

“Awards from the Alaska Seed Fund might seem small, but for startups, this capital is oxygen,” says Joe Morrison, director of the 49th State Angel Fund. “It’s efficient, no-strings funding that helps innovators prove out concepts.”

The group received more than seventy submissions for projects that focus on solving problems in fields such as energy, healthcare, drug addiction, cybersecurity, tourism, food security, and more.

“For the organizations running the Seed Fund, this competition is a clearinghouse,” explains Adam Krynicki from the Alaska Small Business Development Center. “It gives us the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurs across the state and the obstacles they face. From there, our individual organizations can reach out to them and offer to help.”

The following ten projects will receive awards to further develop their products and services in Alaska:

Grand Prize Winner ($20,000) CognitiveDoc, LLC offers a virtual caregiver service (Carebot) that helps hospital patients improve outcomes after surgery and save money on healthcare. Using mobile phone technology, text messaging, and artificial intelligence algorithms, CognitiveDoc helps patients avoid readmission to the hospital after surgeries like knee and hip replacements, thus improving patient outcomes and potentially saving hospitals millions of dollars in readmission costs.

Kickstart Grant Prize Winners Here and Now Systems, LLC will provide StepAway, an empirically supported mobile ap62

plication that helps people “Step Away” from alcohol addiction. The mobile application helps users set a goal and monitor progress through a daily check-in with the app. The app uses algorithms to provide users with notifications at high-risk times when cravings are most likely. Additionally, StepAway teaches users how to manage cravings or when to seek support from a loved one, physician, or other professional.

Activate Alaska, LLC reduces the cost of water purification, air purification, and carbon sequestration worldwide by replacing coconut-based water filters with carbon filters made from Alaska Birch trees. The company plans to manufacture and sell activated carbon filters to help municipalities, industries, and consumers filter water by using an inexpensive, proprietary, and chemical-free process. Because the company is using waste birch to make the filters, the company will be competitive internationally even with all shipping costs considered.

Pinga, Inc. provides software for utilities that makes it easy to maintain microgrid infrastructure in rural communities in Alaska and around the world. The solution also includes an Uber-like crowdsourcing platform connecting local microgrid operators with maintenance professionals in remote communities.

Pandere Shoes, Inc. makes shoes for people with medical conditions that affect their ability to find shoes that fit. Millions of people worldwide suffer from medical conditions like diabetes, lymphedema, and a host of other illnesses that cause lower limb swelling. Because certain conditions can make it nearly impossible to find shoes that fit, Pandere plans to sell fashionable yet customizable shoes for the wearer.

Attently, Inc. addresses the problem that Americans fear more than death—public speaking. Using webcams and the company’s online software, Attently analyzes the attention and emotion of audiences, tells the speaker how engaging their presentation is, and points out areas for improvement. Attently will target the software at public speaking coaches and communications professionals initially but will expand the capabilities of the software for pollsters, politicians, and mass media.

Heather’s Choice, LLC will advance their line of nutritious but delicious dehydrated meals for adventurers worldwide. The company currently has a menu of eighteen options, including wild caught Alaska sockeye salmon, and will expand their menu by offer-

ing lightweight snack packs for long distance cyclists, runners, backpackers, hunters, fishermen, or yoga enthusiasts.

North Arrow Enterprises, LLC provides highly insulated, pre-manufactured buildings designed for the harsh Arctic environment. With their proprietary wall panel system, the company plans to increase the energy efficiency of Alaska buildings while reducing the upfront cost of a building. The company has sold products to the North Slope and is currently providing products for a twenty-four-unit apartment building.

Coastview, LLC will continue to develop their mobile app that turns an ordinary commercial flight into a flight-seeing experience and a cruise liner into a kayak tour. Along with stunning photos, CoastView features information about local ecology, history, and culture, bringing to life the striking beauty of the coasts of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon as visitors fly over, cruise past, or explore from the comfort of home.

Culture Story, LLC is a unique online marketplace for carefully curated, high-quality goods from Alaska Native cultures. Culture Story adds monetary and emotional value to the goods by connecting customers with the artists’ and products’ stories and cultural significance through multimedia. The company plans to expand their service offering to other native cultures around the United States.

Honorable Mentions Fifteen companies received honorable mentions: Avant Medical Systems, Inc.; Bambino’s Baby Food, LLC; Best Practices Packaging LLC; BhaisaPi Tech, LLC; Coppa; Coupi, Inc.; Devil’s Club Brewing, LLC; Fairbanks Fodar; Fairbikes; Gwen Holdmann; The Mini Shinny; Clint Ragan; SnowHydro, LLC; VADAPT, Inc.; and Vertical Hydroponics.

About the Fund The Alaska Seed Fund (alaskaseedfund.com) is a collaboration between the University of Alaska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization, the Alaska Small Business Development Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and the Launch : Alaska startup accelerator. Contact Adam Krynicki at adam. krynicki@aksbdc.org for more information about the Alaska Seed Fund.

R SOURCE: Alaska Small Business Development Center | aksbdc.org

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

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REAL ESTATE

Entrepreneur’s Commercial Lease Tips for negotiation

By Jeff Grandfield and Dale Willerton

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mall business owners typically pay a great deal of attention to marketing and managing their own companies; however, they often overlook the importance of their own commercial lease. The commercial lease, provided by the landlord, states the specifics of the agreed-upon lease (e.g. lease term, tenant inducements, monthly rent, etc.) and includes many additional clauses, many of which can—and should— be negotiated before the lease is signed.

By successful negotiation, the commercial tenant can often benefit in a good number of ways. Granted, the lease can often be dry reading; however, it can dictate the success or failure of a business so a tenant needs to pay close attention to this document. We have outlined a number of tips for first-time (and existing) tenants to consider before signing their first lease (or their lease renewal) in our book, Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals FOR DUMMIES) and summarized several of these below:  Allow Sufficient Time: For a new location lease agreement, get started six to nine months in advance to avoid unexpected situations and delays. Lease renewal negotiations should begin between nine and twelve months before the lease term expires. As an existing tenant, if you can’t get a decent renewal rate, would you rather find out you need to move with three weeks or six months left?  Never Just Accept the First Offer: Even if an offer seems reasonable or you have no idea what to negotiate for, never accept the leasing agent’s first offer. More often than not, this first offer is inflated. Many agents use a strategy of starting negotiations at a higher rate that allows them to give in slightly. The Lease Coach frequently completes lease agreements at 15 to 25 percent less that the agent’s opening offer (in one case, we negotiated the asking rate down from $8 per square foot to less than $3 per square foot).  Select the Best Lease Length: While a five-year lease term is still standard for many businesses (seven or ten years in some cases), it may not necessarily be the best term for you and your company. Three years, or even one year, for some tenants may be better if the cost for leasehold improvements is low enough since these are generally amortized over the 64

life of a lease term. The agent—motivated by a greater commission paid by the landlord—will want you to sign the longest term possible; however, the landlord may be more flexible.

Take the lease term that is best for your business.

and so on. Shrewd tenants never pick up the restaurant bill after having lunch out with the agent or landlord. You must never put yourself in the position of seller; instead, you must always appear to be the buyer—and the customer never pays for lunch.

 Who Should Be the Tenant? Don’t enter into a lease agreement (or an offer to lease) under your personal name. This will make you personally liable for everything. Instead, form a corporation or a holding company that will become the tenant. If you are negotiating for various locations but don’t intend to incorporate until a later date, then your offer to lease should state that the tenant is Your Name on behalf of a company to be incorporated (or Nominee). If you are opening multiple locations, it is often wise to form a new company for each lease agreement as further protection. Furthermore, corporations also have more tax benefits than sole proprietorships.

Being prepared, persistent, and knowledgeable will, ultimately, benefit any commercial tenant looking at a first-time lease or a lease renewal. Furthermore, having all of your ducks in a row can help better ensure your own business success.

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 You Are the Customer: Far too often, tenants act as if they are applying for a lease. Remember, you are the customer. If you want to be in the driver’s seat for the lease negotiations, you must remember who is serving whom. The tenant sets the meeting time. The landlord’s agent drops off and picks up documents to/from you

Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield - The Lease Coach are Commercial Lease Consultants who work exclusively for tenants. Willerton and Grandfield are professional speakers and coauthors of Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals FOR DUMMIES (Wiley, 2013). Got a leasing question?

Need help with your new lease or renewal? Call 1-800-738-9202, e-mail DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com or visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com. For a copy of our free CD, Leasing Do’s & Don’ts for Commercial Tenants, please e-mail your request to JeffGrandfield@ TheLeaseCoach.com.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

SMALL BUSINESS

Business Start-Up Essentials What entrepreneurs need to know and do to succeed

By Tracy Barbour

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hen Debra Lindsay-Hudgins, fiftyeight, decided to purchase Artworks Gallery & Glass Studio in 2015, it was a bold move. She had been a parttime employee of the downtown Eagle River shop for about eight years and loved working there. But she had never operated a business before and would need help taking the leap into business ownership.

The transition went smoothly, thanks to the assistance provided by the Alaska Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The center coached Lindsay-Hudgins through the process of developing a marketing strategy, preparing a business plan, and even building a new website. “They have a wonderful staff,” she says.

“They’re super helpful and are so willing to share their expertise.”

Because of the hands-on guidance and resources of the Alaska SBDC, Lindsay-Hudgins is doing well in her role as a business owner. Her “funky” art gallery—which features the work of about thirty different artists and offers a variety of handcrafted items, supplies, and even classes—is thriving. And Lindsay-Hudgins is steadily adding new offerings to appeal to customers and further enhance the business.

Becoming a business owner like LindsayHudgins is a basic element of the American dream. But there are numerous aspects of operating a business that entrepreneurs need to know to be successful in Alaska’s economy.

There are also many pitfalls and problems that would-be business owners can avoid with the right knowledge and preplanning. This article covers some of the most common information entrepreneurs should have before they start or purchase a business.

Research and Planning Essential Unfortunately, starting a new business is a challenge that a significant number of entrepreneurs fail to overcome. Statistically, from 2010 to 2015, Alaska had between 75 to 80 percent one-year survival rates for new businesses, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national average for the same time period was around 79 percent.

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“Entrepreneurs should have developed a strong business plan and be comfortable discussing their proposal. They need to understand their market, including current market share, advantages of the product/service over competition, demand for the product/service, and potential market disruptions. An analysis of assets, including management skills, should be performed.”

—Britteny Cioni-Haywood, Director, Alaska Division of Economic Development

That’s why Britteny Cioni-Haywood, the director of the Alaska Division of Economic Development, urges prospective business owners to take the steps to do proper due diligence and preplanning before launching a new venture.

There are five basic steps that entrepreneurs should take—before they start a business—to increase their chance for success, according to Cioni-Haywood. The steps are: examine ones motivation for business ownership, select a suitable business, evaluate the feasibility of the chosen business, consider start-up requirements, and develop a business plan.

The five steps are the building blocks for success. And skipping basic steps, such as creating a business and marketing plan, increases the risk of failure, Cioni-Haywood says. “Entrepreneurs should have developed a strong business plan and be comfortable discussing their proposal,” she says. “They need to understand their market, including current market share, advantages of the product/service over competition, demand for the product/service, and potential market disruptions.

An analysis of assets, including management skills, should be performed.”

For business expert Bill Popp, one of the most critical things entrepreneurs can do to improve their chances of succeeding in Alaska’s economy is research, research, and more research. Popp, president and CEO of Anchorage Economic Development Corpora-

tion (AEDC), says entrepreneurs must have a good understanding of the marketplace, the need that they are trying to meet, the competition, and the cost of the service (or goods) being delivered.

Another fundamental element for success is networking. “Too often great ideas go undeveloped due to a lack of networking to find the resources and investments you will need to get your idea off the ground,” Popp says. “More often than not the person with a great idea is not a great CEO or accountant. You need to find that talent to be able to come up with the resources you need to develop your business.”

There is also some specific information people should be aware of before they start a business in the Anchorage market. One of the things they have to realize, Popp says, is that the Anchorage Bowl is the hub of the state. It’s where all the goods and services flow through to support the state, and that offers significant opportunities to business people in terms of being able to provide new products and services. They also need to know that Alaska and Anchorage are high-cost markets to do business in, and this factor should be taken into account when entrepreneurs create their business plan.

Popp also emphasizes that there is no free pot of money to help individuals start a business. “What there is are opportunities for attracting investment through a good business plan,” he says. “It’s critical to do your full

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

homework and go through the evolution of an idea to have a successfully launched business.”

Avoiding Pitfalls and Problems There are manifold challenges and inherent risks with starting a new business. According to the Alaska Division of Economic Development, the most common pitfalls that cause businesses to fail are insufficient start-up capital, poor business planning, poor business performance, lack of management skills, cash flow problems, and inadequate cost controls.

More specifically, Cioni-Haywood says that one of the more common mistakes relates to long-range visioning and planning, which happens at all stages of business. “In startups, people get so bogged down with operations that they can forget to look up at the horizon sometimes,” she says. “When they’ve obtained their most immediate goal, they can easily not have the time to strategize about where they are headed to next. For more mature businesses, the same can be said about succession planning, where an entrepreneur can be so wrapped up in the day-to-day operation that they don’t have a solid vision for the next step.”

This is why having a business plan is so critical, Cioni-Haywood adds. “Think big, look forward, and be strategic about planning and implementing the steps that you outline for yourself and your business,” she says.

Expert Advice Cioni-Haywood’s best suggestion to new business owners or those planning on start-

“Too often great ideas go undeveloped due to a lack of networking to find the resources and investments you will need to get your idea off the ground. You need to find that talent to be able to come up with the resources you need to develop your business.”

—Bill Popp, President and CEO, AEDC

ing a business in Alaska is don’t go it alone.

She says: “There is an incredible support system for entrepreneurs here in Alaska, everything from marketing assistance, business plan writing, and feasibility studies to financing. Reach out to those who make it their mission to help new businesses succeed. The resources are there—and are usually low-cost or no-cost. Utilize them and increase your chance for success.”

She also advocates tapping into the considerable resources that are available to entrepreneurs and new businesses. “There are more than you know, and chances are you’re likely not the only one to have ever faced the challenges that you do,” she says. “There are professional-level folks involved with these programs who have seen it all and can provide you with sound, proven information about how to make your business successful.”

Popp advises potential entrepreneurs to do a reality check before venturing into the

realm of business ownership. If entrepreneurs require outside investments, they need to be willing to give up some ownership of their idea—or risk the possibility of not realizing their dream. “One hundred percent of nothing is nothing,” Popp says. “The landscape is littered with hundreds of thousands of great ideas because the person didn’t want to share a part of that idea to make it happen.”

Entrepreneurs also must be willing to tolerate failure, which is common in business. Business owners often fail four, five, or even eight times before they are successful, Popp says.

Failure is not always a negative event, according to Popp. In some places in the country, failure is celebrated and valued as a learning experience. But that’s generally not the case in Alaska. “In Alaska, we tend not to give as much breathing room to those who fail in business,” he says. “If you fail once, you tend to be looked down upon. I think that’s a mistake. Entrepreneurs have to go through

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several different attempts. It’s failure that teaches value lessons.”

“But you can’t be disheartened by failure,” Popp adds. “You have to have that passion and willingness to overcome it.”

Helpful Resources In an effort to help entrepreneurs achieve success in Alaska’s business landscape, AEDC offers a range of resources to support potential businesses. AEDC is a private nonprofit corporation that exists to encourage growth and diversity in the Anchorage economy, promote a favorable business climate, and improve the standard of living of Anchorage residents. Funding sources for AEDC, which has been operating since 1987, include private contributions, municipal and state grants, and contracts.

One of the key resources that AEDC offers is research. The organization has tools to help individuals research everything from the available commercial land for sale to demographic data to market research about consumer spending trends.

In addition to assisting with general business intelligence, AEDC can offer preliminary review of business plans and business plan concepts. It can also connect start-up business to resources they may not be aware of as well as promote new businesses to the market place through its social media following and E-News newsletter. “We have several thousand people who follow us through our social medical platform and E-News subscription

service,” Popp says. “We have a very well vetted list of contacts that we send out news to.”

Recently, AEDC launched a Where to Startup video series at Aedcweb.com. The series, which includes about twenty videos that are accessible through the Business section of the website, cover various topics about entrepreneurship. The videos address what entrepreneurs need to know to start a business anywhere in Alaska, from how to conduct market research and how to legally structure a business to how to build a website. “These videos are germane no matter where you are from it the state,” Popp says.

In the videos, seasoned business owners and other experts speak on a personal level and share the lessons they have learned. “It’s a great primer for would-be entrepreneurs,” Popp says.

Aside from AEDC’s resources, Popp also highly recommends the Alaska SBDC as an essential resource for start-up businesses.

The center is also a helpful resource for individuals who are buying existing enterprises like Lindsay-Hudgins, who purchased Artworks Gallery & Glass Studio.

The Alaska SBDC provides no-cost advising services and low-cost educational programs to entrepreneurs who are looking to start or grow their small business. SBDC business advisors work with entrepreneurs in confidential, oneto-one sessions in the areas of management, marketing, sales, finance, accounting, and other disciplines required for small business growth, expansion, and innovation.

The Alaska SBDC is a statewide program hosted by UAA and partially funded by the US Small Business Administration, matching funds from the state, and contributions from various partners.

Staff members of SBDC are highly qualified, experienced business professionals, many of whom have business ownership experience, and/or advanced degrees in business. All of the center’s business advisors are certified through the Alaska SBDC’s Professional Certification program.

Another valuable source of information for entrepreneurs is the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development (UACED).

The center, which leverages the resources of the university system to support economic growth, provides technical assistance in the form of information and data. UACED’s workshops, advising, and tools can take entrepreneurs from developing their initial project idea all the way through project implementation. Specific services of UACED include local and regional plans, strategic planning (organizational and community), feasibility analysis, business planning, market and economic research, and financial analysis.

UACED is a program of the UAA Business Enterprise Institute, and it is one of fifty-two University Centers designated by the US Economic Development Administration.

Popp also recommends The Boardroom as a “tremendous” resource for entrepreneurs to meet each other. The Boardroom is a coworking space with an open floor plan, dedicated desks, private offices, and meeting rooms.

The flexible space in downtown Anchorage provides a hub for a growing number of entrepreneurs, independent workers, small businesses, freelancers, and consultants.

But The Boardroom is more than just a workspace. According to its website, “members enjoy a constantly expanding network of contacts and potential clients, the synergy of being super-connected to a powerful community, and all the advantages of working in an environment that supports mutual growth and collaboration.”

The Alaska Division of Economic Development also offers a variety of resources to help budding entrepreneurs get their new business off to a good start. A helpful option is the division’s web-based Small Business Assistance Center, which contains helpful information on everything from financing to marketing. The division also manages a revolving loan program that provides business loans to specialized areas of new or existing small business.

In addition, the division maintains close working relationships with various organizations around the state that provide small business assistance. In fact, many of these resources are featured on its website. “We have the tools and the contacts to point entrepreneurs in the right direction for success,” Cioni-Haywood says.

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Freelance writer Tracy Barbour is a former Alaskan.

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

SMALL BUSINESS

Entrepreneurial Planning and the Big Four Questions to ask before starting a business

By Michael A. Branham

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ntrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the American economy and the generating force behind small business start-ups from Anchorage to Miami and Boston to Honolulu. Small businesses, defined as a business with less than 500 employees, account for 99.9 percent of all US businesses and employ 48 percent of all private sector employees within the United States, according to US Small Business Administration, June 2016; Statistics of US Businesses, US Census Bureau, US Department of Commerce; Nonemployer Statistics, US Census Bureau, US Department of Commerce; and International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce.

On average, over the last ten years, almost 80 percent of small businesses last at least one year, with about 50 percent of new businesses lasting five years and roughly 33 percent able to survive for a decade, according to US Small Business Administration. Of course, every entrepreneur believes they can beat the odds or they likely wouldn’t take the risk in the first place. What steps can a potential small business owner take to ensure the best chance at entrepreneurial survival? There are four questions every small business owner should ask prior to taking that leap.

Owner Skillset Is the role of “business owner” in my set of core competencies? This self-reflective question is often answered “yes” without much thought, but the skillset needed to run a business differs greatly from being a baker or a financial planner or a computer programmer. We’ve sat with many a client who confesses (after the fact) that the hardest part of what they do is to “run the business,” even if they’re an expert in the vocation in which their business resides. Of course, you can hire someone who IS an expert in running a business, or take on a partner with that skillset, but those two decisions usually require the revenue to support two employees from the beginning.

Financial Readiness Am I financially prepared to take the risk?

While few start-up entrepreneurs are entirely financially independent, having a solid financial foundation from which to build is critical, especially when families are involved. Given that 57 percent of small businesses are started with personal savings, and another 25 percent with “no startup capital,” according to the www.akbizmag.com

On average, over the last ten years, almost 80 percent of small businesses last at least one year, with about 50 percent of new businesses lasting five years and roughly 33 percent able to survive for a decade.

—US Small Business Administration.

Survey of Business Owners 2012 conducted by the SBA Office of Advocacy, a vast majority of entrepreneurs take personal financial risk to start their business. Knowing that you can pay your personal bills, and maintain a viable lifestyle, while you put blood, sweat, and tears into your small business can be as important mentally and emotionally as it is practical. If entrepreneurship may be in your future, begin building that foundation today!

Business Plan Do I have a plan in place for how my business will start, and grow? While it sounds cliché, having a roadmap for your business from the beginning is an integral step to your businesses success. Taking time to develop a thoughtful, realistic business plan is an important first step, but it takes more than having a plan to succeed! You’ll actually need to review and work that plan on a regular basis.

Some questions to answer in your business plan (though not an exhaustive list):  What will your business do? Who are your customers? How are you different from the competition?  Have you done an analysis on the market you’re entering? Results?  What type of business structure will you use today, and how might that change in the future?  How will you fund your business initially? What if you need additional capital?  What’s your marketing plan? How will you meet your marketing objectives?  What are your baseline financial projections?

How long before you become profitable? Are you building a business you’ll continue to operate, or are planning to build a business for eventual sale?

 What is your human capital plan? When will you hire? In what positions? What benefits will you provide? What are the associated costs?

Accessible Mentors Who are my business mentors … those to which I actually have access? Watching CNBC’s The Profit is great, and you may pick up some useful tips and hacks for running a business through similar TV shows. But having relationships with successful business mentors, with whom you can review your business plan, can help take the personal emotion out of the process and often offers an unbiased perspective every business owner should take seriously.

Prepare to Succeed The decision to become an entrepreneur can be daunting, but owning your own business can provide the personal and financial freedom most people seek in their lives. Given that the goal for every small business is success, taking the time to prepare and plan from the beginning is of critical importance. If you’re looking to take the leap, don’t be intimidated by what it takes—take the challenge head-on and prepare yourself for an incredible experience.

R Michael A. Branham, CFP® is a Senior Financial Planner with The Planning Center, Inc. in Anchorage and the Twin Cities, Minnesota.

Branham provides comprehensive planning services for young professionals and clients in transition and does extensive work with retiring clients on retirement income solutions. Contact him at mike@theplanningcenter.com or by calling 907-276-1400.

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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MANAGEMENT

Employee Onboarding Best Practices: A Technology Perspective

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By Ari Kopoulos

he employee onboarding process is no longer used just for administrative issues. It’s true that advanced software and automated technologies eliminate duplicate entries and streamline employee onboarding, but that’s just the beginning of the array of business and employee benefits that onboarding technology can deliver for your business or HR department.

Benefits of an Organized Employee Onboarding Process Research shows that new hires are more likely to leave companies within the first eighteen months of their employment. The costs of finding, attracting, hiring, onboarding, and training new employees can prove prohibitive, so it makes sound financial sense to develop an employee onboarding process that makes the best possible impression on new hires. A smooth procedure provides the following business benefits:           

Increases employee retention Heightens employee engagement Enables a self-service onboarding process Fosters brand advocacy among current and former employees Accelerates administrative processing Identifies new hires for training, promotion, and other actions Improves employee efficiency Shorts the learning curve Promotes inter-office communication Attracts top talent from word-of-mouth promotions and referrals Builds trust and strengthens alignment with company goals

The Importance of Employee Onboarding A smooth and organized onboarding process (and offboarding process) can prevent bad hires, make favorable impressions on new hires, and expose people early to the company’s culture. The costs of bad hires are truly shocking—a Career Builder survey found that two-thirds of employers experienced problems due to bad hires. Out of 2,700 employers, 41 percent reported that each bad hire cost an average of $25,000. Of those surveyed, 25 percent of respondents reported average costs of bad hires to be $50,000 or more. Employee onboarding presents some technological chal70

lenges, but overcoming these issues can ensure a smooth and effective onboarding process.

First Impressions Drive the Employee Experience A new employee checklist reassures new hires by identifying critical employee issues. Astute employees can quickly spot whether anything is missing or seems inappropriate for their positions. Strong employee self-service programs help to retain top talent by making a favorable first impression and engaging new hires immediately in the company’s culture. In fact, statistics show that employee onboarding programs can increase retention rates by as much as 25 percent while improving productivity by 11 percent. The onboarding process doesn’t just enter a new employee in the system; it introduces new hires to the technology tools that the company uses, familiarizes people with office practices, facilitates preparation before the start of work, and acquaints new hires with managers, team members, and the company’s core culture.

Using Preboarding Time to Best Advantage There are many ways that software technology can deliver HR and business benefits while making the most out of the time between preboarding processes and the actual starting dates of new hires. Lawyers from multiple jurisdictions suggest that clearly identified paperwork for new hires—as conditions of employment—don’t require employee payment, so companies should make the most of the preboarding process. Designing a new employee checklist not only streamlines employee onboarding but also reassures new hires in multiple ways. A new employee checklist might include the following items:  Welcoming and orientation materials  Instructions for obtaining an employee security pass  Automated processes for entering all payroll information and completing any applicable employment eligibility verification processes  TFN declaration  Authorizing criminal background or financial checks  Information about the company’s culture, conflicts of interest policies, outside employment regulations, acceptable extracurricular activities, and noncompeting agreements

 Information on insurance coverage, benefits packages, salary, etc.  Any compliance training requirements  Cross-training and advancement policies

The Power of Rules Driven Workflow Rules driven workflows ensure that the onboarding process follows a predefined sequence of events for approvals, notifications, escalations, reminders, and exports. You can ensure that your process fulfils the needs of your organization with custom-designed workflows.

You can automate many tasks through selfservice processes and assign someone from HR to monitor each new hire and shepherd him or her through the onboarding process.

Eliminate Unnecessary Paperwork and Processes Automation can eliminate the need to reenter critical information. If your employee onboarding software is fully integrated, each action automatically updates to the next step.

Everyone who needs to sign off on the approval receives an alert. When all processes have been approved, a new hire candidate automatically transitions to “employed” status.

Non-Negotiable Processes The onboarding process can consist of nonnegotiable and optional processes. These apply to both employers and employees, and organizations that only focus on their own demands will encounter difficulties in trying to engage, retain, and nurture talent. Your company’s culture is non-negotiable, but it might be amenable to evolutionary changes over time. Employees might be required to work a minimum number of hours each week, but when and how they work could be flexible. It’s important to determine what exactly is non-negotiable and what is more flexible.

Say Hello to New Employees It’s important to take some time just to say “hello” to new hires before they get processed into the treadmill of daily work activities.

Many organizations concentrate on the essential administrative tasks without making new hires feel appreciated and welcomed.

Best practices for greeting new employees during employee onboarding include:  Enlisting as many staff members as possible to meet and greet new hires

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

 Implementing a mentoring, coaching, or buddy program to facilitate orientation  Expressing holistic interest in each employee as a person  Explaining company culture and enlisting new hires in community projects, team competitions, and social activities  Providing an employee onboarding agenda  Making new hires feel comfortable in their environment  Walking people through critical “dos and don’ts”  Inviting new staff to lunch

The Video CEO CEOs can greet new hires with strong messages of support. The CEO can establish the company’s culture with a few key remarks while fostering a better sense of engagement in new hires.

Process by Exception Modern workflow technology enables management by exception, which is a process of monitoring financial costs that relate to recruiting, hiring, and onboarding. It’s only necessary to bring matters to management’s attention when costs exceed budgeted amounts by substantial margins. This technology—a direct benefit of onboarding automation—reduces the administrative burden on your HR staff and financial managers.  Smart Onboarding: Smart technology facilitates seamless integration with core company operations such as ERP and CRM software. You can monitor the entire onboarding process through custom alerts, dashboards, and reports. Compliance issues can be fully integrated with the onboarding process so that compliance is automatic. Smart onboarding enhances the user experience and simplifies filling out forms, collaborating on projects, conducting background checks, and managing document integration.  Alert Reminders: Switching from spreadsheets to integrated onboarding software offers many signature benefits that include setting up automatic alert reminders. These can alert new hires to essential onboarding processes that need completion, but they also prove invaluable for reminding staff members to approve different aspects of the employment process. You can also set reminders for self-service onboarding processes such as requesting time off, scheduling vacation time, and reminding people about birthdays and other special milestones. You can tailor automated alerts for almost any purpose and not just onboarding tasks.

Compliance in the Workplace Global business complicates all HR processes from hiring and onboarding employees to complying with local and industry regulations. Automated onboarding software and tools make it easier to manage employee benefits, comply with government regulations from multiple jurisdictions, manage time and attendance, view benefit plan options, and review job candidates’ compliance profiles.

Contracts, Visa, Statutory Forms, and Certifications: You need to ensure that each www.akbizmag.com

new hire’s profile complies with the latest applicable regulations. These compliance issues might involve equality and diversity, health and safety regulations, certifications, data protection, employment contacts and physical compliance to empower employees who have disabilities. The onboarding process might require providing accessibility assistance to disabled job candidates. Onboarding software can help your company stay compliant throughout the recruiting, hiring, onboarding and training processes.

Building Your Own Compliance Requirements: You can design and build your own compliance programs based on fiduciary responsibility, legal and regulatory requirements, reporting guidelines, Standard and Poor’s credit ratings, and other companyspecific compliance issues. The right onboarding technology can monitor personnel intelligence from third-party resources and certifying authorities to deliver automated updates that impact compliance issues. Your compliance requirements might include fostering an ethical business culture, identifying and managing risks, or integrating compliance standards into the company’s ERM framework.

business benchmarks that relate to recruiting and employee retention.  Manage: Managing your onboarding program is an ongoing process that depends on monitoring and adjusting your techniques.

Checklists can help you stay more organized, but it’s just not possible to let new hires know everything about the company in just a few days or weeks. Metrics can help you determine the optimal times for broaching new subjects or offering customized employee development programs.  Return on Investment: Calculating return on investment, or ROI, is one of the major benefits of onboarding technology. You can cross-relate performance, development costs, attrition rates, retention rates, and talent management to determine more precise costs related to hiring and development than were ever possible to calculate before advanced technology.  Optimize Employee Onboarding: The right technology allows you to monitor each employee’s progress at thirty, sixty, and ninety days and beyond. You can generate custom reports, compare individual and team performances, assess manager success rates, and estimate new hires times to employee proficiency.

Digital Training You can increase employee engagement through onboarding programs for earning certifications, cross-training in new work skills, and moving laterally and vertically throughout the organization.

Onboarding Outgrows Simple Orientation Your company’s onboarding strategy depends heavily on technology. If you implement the right software tools, self-service processes, and educational programs, your new hires get the critical information they need immediately to become productive and satisfied employees. About 59 percent of employers anticipate major challenges in attracting and retaining top talent over the next decade. Your employee onboarding program—with the right technology partner—can make the difference between a confusing orientation and an engaged user experience. You can build a strong foundation before employees start work to develop a thriving company culture and an engaged workforce.

R

Employee Engagement Self-service capabilities and clearer expectations foster greater employee engagement.

The more engaged your employees are, the more likely they’ll stay. Your software can make it easier for employees to get answers to questions and ask for time off and other considerations. Employees can also view the requirements for advancing in the company.

User Experience The user experience no longer applies just to your company’s customers; competitive recruiting and retention means that the employee experience is equally critical to business success and retaining top talent.  Gamify: Your employee onboarding strategy can take advantage of game theory to engage new hires. You can offer rewards, tokens, prizes, and special considerations to engage employees in the onboarding process.  Socialize: Social activities can be posted and organized through employee self-service applications. These in-house and outside events can indoctrinate new hires immediately into the company’s culture and social activities.

Employee Onboarding Metrics Advanced onboarding technology allows you to configure reports and third-party intelligence into manager consoles for greater visibility, more interactive formats, and customized summaries.  Measure: You can measure your onboarding costs, engagement rates, training costs, succession management successes, and other

Ari Kopoulos is the CEO of EmployeeConnect, based in Sydney, Australia. With nearly three decades of experience across sales, marketing, and leadership roles, Kopoulos drives the EmployeeConnect global vision and mission of setting the standard for workflow driven HRMS, giving business owners and managers the solutions and tools to connect, engage, and transform their workforce beyond the traditional boundaries of HR, with complete flexibility and control. Contact him at ari@employeeconnect.com.

This article first appeared online at employeeconnect. com. It is published here with permission.

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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Conventions & Meetings

Destination Alaska: Travel Industry Faces Setbacks Dire consequences of drastic marketing budget cut

By Sarah Leonard

A

laska’s tourism industry saw both highs and lows in 2016. Our industry has been named a “bright light” in a turbulent economy. However, the brightness of that light may dim in the face of funding challenges.

As the leading statewide membership trade association for Alaska’s tourism businesses, the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) saw successes in transferring the management of Alaska’s tourism marketing program back to industry, in celebrating a record number of cruise ship visitors and in hosting our annual industry convention with over 640 delegates in Anchorage.

In the same year, we also experienced a dramatic cut to tourism marketing funding as the State of Alaska faced another budget year without a sustainable funding plan.

Alaska’s state destination marketing program for 2017 is $1.5 million. This is a 90 percent decrease from past government funding in tourism promotion, where industry saw $10 million to $16 million in state investments.

It is concerning that Alaska’s tourism marketing investment has continued to decline to a funding level which makes it impossible for Alaska to compete on a domestic and international scale with other traveler destinations. For the first time in forty years, Alaska’s marketing program will not include a printed travel planner with Alaska business advertising, television advertising has been eliminated, and international offices are closed. With the current level of funding, many businesses and communities who rely on the broad outreach only a statewide program can facilitate are now significantly worried about their own future.

ATIA believes travel and tourism is one of our nation’s largest industries and a healthy industry in Alaska today. Alaska is seeing the results of multi-year tourism marketing investments. Even in a time where there is a need for balanced budget cuts, travel promotion and marketing is one of the best investments a state government can make toward continued positive economic returns.

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Alaska’s visitor industry generates more than 46,000 jobs and more than $4 billion in economic activity in our state, according to the Economic Impact of Alaska’s Visitor Industry 2014-2015 Update by the McDowell Group. Past reinvestment in tourism marketing dollars by government has resulted in $100 million in state revenues and $83 million to local and borough budgets, generated by a record number 2 million visitors. As this investment declines, so too will Alaska’s ability to attract those visitors. As Alaska becomes less competitive as a destination, we fear we won’t be able to attract record numbers of visitors and benefit from their spending and economic activity. This will result in less revenue to the state, decline in business growth, and fewer jobs for Alaskans.

The Alaska Legislature included in this year’s budget language a requirement for our industry to come back to Juneau with a more sustainable plan to fund tourism promotion. ATIA, working in concert with many industry leaders, met numerous times to address the challenge of sustainable funding for Alaska tourism marketing. ATIA is reaching out to our diverse industry across the state to share a funding concept for tourism promotion based on national tourism improvement district models. This model provides a selfassessment framework, a mix of current and new revenue, and is inclusive of various tourism industry sectors.

Alaska can learn from other states and destinations that have faced fiscal challenges and declining tourism marketing dollars. Six years ago, Connecticut’s visitors spent $8.9 billion, supporting 60,400 jobs and generating $774 million in state and local tax revenues. In 2010 the state eliminated its entire tourism budget and they saw travel-related tax revenue growth slowed to half the pace it achieved even during the slow economy of 2009-2010. A newly-elected Governor in that state invested $15 million into travel promotion at a time when other state programs were being cut; and in 2013 Connecticut saw a rebound in their economy.

Take another example in Washington State, where in 2011 the state completely shut down its tourism office. At that same time, neighboring Montana increased its promotion budget by 30 percent and traveler spending in Montana grew 70 percent faster than in Washington. Washington is also going through an industry process to sustain tourism marketing dollars, much like the Alaska tourism industry is tasked

with today. However, with a budget of well under $1 million, Washington has fallen behind its competitors with tourism budgets ranging from $10 million to $80 million, according to Power of Travel published by the US Travel Association. Alaska is at risk of falling behind as well, with a marketing budget lower than forty-eight other competing states; only Washington has a smaller budget.

States that don’t prioritize tourism marketing have lost market share to competitors that can take years to recover. Destinations continuing to invest in travel promotion see those returns in tax revenue, jobs, and business growth.

As ATIA works to unite our industry around a solution for statewide destination marketing, we look to the legislature and administration as important partners in investing in Alaska’s tourism marketing program.

Alaska’s visitor industry can play a critical role in continuing to fuel our economy with stable jobs, capital investments, and revenue supporting local and state governments.

Alaska’s travel industry recognizes our state is facing a new economic reality. We believe Alaska needs a competitive tourism marketing budget to keep visitors choosing our destination. A healthy visitor industry is good for business, good for the State, and good for Alaska’s economy.

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Sarah Leonard is the President and CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association—the state’s leading membership trade association for the travel industry in Alaska. Leonard has an extensive educational and professional background in tourism management with a Master’s of Science degree in recreation management and tourism from Arizona State University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Journalism with a special emphasis in public relations.

Leonard has been involved in promoting Alaska’s wildlife, cultural, and natural resources for almost twenty years in Alaska.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

SPECIAL SECTION

Conventions & Meetings

Trade Show Venues Education and Economy

By Tasha Anderson

A

n important aspect of business is education; it’s in the best interest of business owners and operators to keep informed on industry technology, service providers, new competitors, and other developments. Business conventions, conferences, and trade shows provide ample opportunities for education and networking.

While conventions and trade shows are beneficial for the organizer, the vendors, and the attendees, they’re also a significant investment on the part of all of those parties. Everyone invests their time—additionally, vendors purchase booth space, the organizer pays for venue space, and attendees often pay registration fees.

It’s important for all parties for the trade show to be successful, and a large contributor to any event’s success is the venue in which it’s held.

In Anchorage “Anchorage has got a lot of venues for meetings,” says Visit Anchorage Director of Convention Sales Julie Dodds. “The five major convention hotels—Alyeska Resort, Hotel Captain Cook, Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa, Hilton Anchorage, and the Anchor74

age Marriott Downtown— all have meeting space in them, and depending on the size of the meeting and what their needs are, [a trade show] could fit in a hotel.” Additionally Anchorage has two convention centers, the Egan Center and the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, which Dodds says is unusual for most cities Anchorage’s size.

She continues, “The Egan Center, back in the early 2000s, we realized was at capacity. … A lot of state groups were being pushed to different times, a lot of civic events weren’t able to go on, and it doesn’t have a trade show hall, so there were a lot of conventions that we didn’t go after because there was no trade show space.”

Thus in 2005 a ballot initiative was passed to build the Dena’ina Center, which opened its doors in 2008 with 50,000 square feet of trade show halls, a large banquet hall (with capacity for 390 booths), and breakout space— in total, the new center offers nearly 200,000 square feet of event space. Which venue is “right” depends entirely on the event. “Sometimes meetings fit better in the Egan Center,” Dodds says. “Downstairs in the Summit Hall is probably the most flexible meeting space in the whole city; it can be reconfigured in a lot of different ways.” Summit Hall is comprised of up to fourteen contiguous rooms and Explorers Hall can fit banquet seating for up to

The buffet line at a Fairbanks trade show venue, circa February 2014.

Photo by Sherman Hogue / Courtesy of Explore Fairbanks

1,400; all told the Egan Center boasts more than 85,000 square feet of space.

As far as the Anchorage area’s convention hotels, the Sheraton Anchorage has thirteen meeting rooms and 25,000 total square feet of meeting space; The Anchorage Marriott Downtown has 22,851 total square feet of event space, twelve rooms in total; The Hotel Captain Cook has fourteen meeting and conference rooms, ranging from a 288-squarefoot library to a large, 9,000-square-foot ballroom; the Alyeska Resort has more than 9,000 square feet of dedicated meeting space and an additional 15,000 square feet of special event space; and the Hilton Anchorage has nineteen meeting rooms with more than 23,000 square feet of event space.

Dodds says Anchorage has other meeting spaces which can be configured for various events, such as the Anchorage Museum and the Alaska Native Heritage Center. The Alaska Native Heritage Center features the Athabascan Ceremonial House, made of log with a sod roof, that represents a site found in the Kenai Peninsula and can accommodate up to eighty people. Dodds says it’s popular as a unique, Alaska breakout space.

Who’s Coming to Town?

One of the significant benefits of having convention centers is that they attract conference and convention organizers from outside of the state. That means Outside money paying for transportation, hotel beds, convention center services, and additional tourism industry activities that individual members will take advantage of while in the Last Frontier.

Dodds says, when it comes to attract-

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Schedule Ahead Dodds says, “If you’re an Alaskan wanting to plan an event in Anchorage, the first thing I say is ‘You need to plan far out.’” It’s never too early, she says, to begin planning. “We’ve got meetings booked in 2021; we are working on RFPs as far out as 2022 and 2023,” Dodds continues. She says in very general terms that conventions with less than1,000 attendees generally book three to four years in advance, while those with 2,500 or more attendees schedule six or seven years out.

She refers to very large conferences and trade shows as “city-wides,” meaning that attendees stay in multiple hotels and may utilize several convention spaces. “AFN [Alaska Federation of Natives] is our largest convention that we have, there’s between 3,500 and 5,000 people that attend.” Dodds says meetings and conventions bring an average of $94 million of estimated economic impact each year to the municipality.

Visit Anchorage works diligently to keep Anchorage’s convention centers and hotels busy. “It takes years and years of work to get a convention to come,” Dodds says. “The process is long, but the benefits, once they’re here, are great, and it’s not just a benefit in revenue, it’s also really a social and cultural experience to have these attendees in our city.”

CONVENTIONS & MEETINGS SPECIAL SECTION

ing events to Anchorage, “We basically go after everything.” There are industries that are naturally attracted to an Alaska setting.

“We’re pretty popular with natural resources, with environmental meetings, and with IEEE [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers], the largest association in the world.”

IEEE has more than 400,000 members and conducts around 1,800 meetings a year.

“We’re popular because we’re equidistant between Asia, Europe, and the Lower 48,” Dodds explains. Additionally, Dena’ina is relatively new as convention centers go, and so its connectivity and internet access capabilities are more up to date than other centers in competitive locations in the Lower 48, and the Egan center was updated when Dena’ina was built.

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Fairbanks Venues Helen Renfrew is the director of Meetings and Conventions for Explore Fairbanks. She says, “For standard flat-floor trade show setups, the Carlson Center is probably the most popular for that type of event.” The Carlson Center has three meeting rooms: the North Star Room (2,370 square feet), the Arthur Buswell Pioneer Room (3,850 square feet), and the Prow Room (3,000 square feet). The North Star and Pioneer rooms can be combined into one space.

The Carlson Center also has a large arena space, approximately 34,000 square feet, suitable for a trade show set up; all told, Renfrew says, the Carlson has about 47,000 square feet available.

She says another venue commonly used in the Fairbanks area is the Centennial Center for the Arts at Pioneer Park. “There’s a fair amount of square footage in that building itself, with a couple of different levels; there’s a mezzanine level that vendors can set up on, attendees can walk around, or a combination of those, while other events take place on the www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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CONVENTIONS & MEETINGS SPECIAL SECTION

first floor,” making it another venue suitable for trade shows, Renfrew says.

She says a significant difference between the two venues is that the Carlson Center provides staff and equipment and onsite catering, while at Pioneer Park organizers can bring in their own food and are responsible for all the set up and take down.

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Flexible Options Renfrew says Fairbanks also has several hotels with space appropriate for a convention or tradeshow. She says the Westmark Hotel has four hundred guest rooms and just over 17,000 square feet of meeting and event space, all under one roof. “Often what organizations choose to do is use their standard event space for general sessions, meals, and breakouts, and set up tables and chairs in public spaces—in the hallways and in the lobby—and that allows larger groups to take advantage of multiple breakout spaces,” Renfrew says.

The location of vendors in a public space can actually be beneficial, as vendors are also visible to other hotel guests and passers-by.

Other hotels in Fairbanks with meeting space and lodging include Chena Hot Springs Resort (can accommodate groups of 15-250), Grande Denali Lodge (1,176 square feet of meeting space), Hotel North Pole (1,200 square feet of meeting space), LaQuinta Inns & Suites (groups up to 300), Pike’s Waterfront Lodge (five meeting rooms), River’s Edge Resort (four meeting spaces, 320 to 1,995 square feet), Sophie Station Suites (two meeting rooms), Wedgewood Resort (seven meeting spaces), and SpringHill Suites by Marriott (three rooms, approximately 1,300 square feet total).

“Fairbanks hotels and other venues are pretty darn flexible, so I’ve seen some people do very interesting things with the space they have,” she says.

Renfrew says that Fairbanks conventions and trade shows are a combination of Alaska and Outside organizers. “It’s definitely a mix,” she says. A few local trade shows are geared towards local consumers, including the Holiday Marketplace, the Interior Alaska Builders Association Home Show, and the Outdoor Show.

“But then we have the ones that are attached to association or organization meetings and conferences, and quite a lot of conferences and conventions sell exhibit space to help offset the cost of meetings. We have a fair number of those.”

Bringing Conventions to Fairbanks Renfew explains Explore Fairbanks’ mission: “We are an economic driver in the Fairbanks region by marketing to potential visitors and optimizing their visitor experience.” She says meeting attendees, delegates, and sporting events spectators are all visitors to the Fairbanks community. “I’m the director of Meetings and Conventions, and [bringing guests to Fairbanks] is specifically my job; that is exactly what I do.”

She says for the time being marketing efforts are mostly contained within the state of Alaska. “One of the things that we really utilize are our internal local resources, those people who live in Fairbanks and belong to associations or organizations … who invite their association or organization to meet or have an

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

CONVENTIONS & MEETINGS SPECIAL SECTION

Photo by Sherman Hogue / Courtesy of Explore Fairbanks

The Golden Heart Gala in Fairbanks, circa February 2014.

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April 2017 | Alaska Business

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CONVENTIONS & MEETINGS SPECIAL SECTION

Upcoming Anchorage Events

T

hough not a comprehensive list, this selection of upcoming events in Anchorage between May and October this year includes the number of attendees and an estimate of the amount of money each will contribute, courtesy of and compiled by Visit Anchorage. It is estimated that these fifteen events will host 13,030 attendees and provide an economic impact of $13.6 million to the Anchorage economy.

Attendees

Dates

Scope

Estimated Economic Impact

National Board of Boiler & Pressure Vessel Manufacturers International Neural Network Society

500 700

May 6-14 May 13-19

National International

$575,728 $1,042,636

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

300

May 16-19

National

American Association of Petroleum Geologists International Right of Way Association G&T Accounting and Finance Association International Engineering Alliance (IEA) Jack and Jill of America, Inc. States Organization for Boating Access

200 1,200 300 200 350 200

National Association of Development Organizations National Association of Career Travel Agents IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society

700 400 1,500

Sept. 9-13 Sept. 13-15 Sept. 18-21

National National International

$919,322 $415,496 $2,066,586

Western Interstate Child Support Enforcement Council First Alaskans Institute Alaska Federation of Natives

580 1,400 4,500

Sept. 24-28 Oct. 16-18 Oct. 18-21

National Regional Regional

$762,069 $1,062,728 $3,576,043

Association

May 21-26 National June 11-14 International June 17-22 National June 18-23 International June 23-25 National Aug. 25-Sept. 1 National

$334,271 $348,875 $1,327,252 $282,827 $196,832 $340,956 $361,952

event in Fairbanks,” Renfrew says. She calls them Golden Heart Meeting Ambassadors, and she says one of Explore Fairbanks objectives is to support them in their efforts.

Marketing the Interior Renfrew says Fairbanks is marketed as a small, friendly community that has all the necessary resources to support an event. “We have the guest rooms, taxis, meeting spaces, optional excursions, team building exercises, and event venues, and at the same time we go above and beyond on services.”

She says Fairbanks also has the allure of being the farthest north community in the United States that’s served by airports, roads, and a railroad. “So we’re right there on the frontier of the Arctic. [We have] all of the mystique, wonder, and adventure of meeting in Alaska, but all of the support you need to be able to pull off a multi-day event with general sessions and concurrent breakout space.”

Renfrew says that for those considering an event in the Interior, Explore Fairbanks has a meeting planner guide that’s available online at meetfairbanks.com. “There’s a digital version of our meeting planner guide which lists information on all of the meeting and event venues, as well as a number of the accommodations providers in town and a form to request RFPs,” she says.

R Tasha Anderson is an Associate Editor for Alaska Business.

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Conventions & Meetings

Audio/Visual Services Enhancing events and extending event impact

By Tasha Anderson

B

usinesses don’t generally have events just on a whim. Business events are purposeful: celebrating clients, fundraising, education, networking, and a myriad of other goals. No matter the purpose of a business event, it’s vital for the event to meet that goal.

One way to improve the quality of any event as well as build long lasting returns on time and money investments is to make sure to properly utilize local audio/visual (AV) services. There are various AV vendors that provide a range of services from setting up, taking down, and operating presentation equipment; filming at event venues and other locations; editing footage; and preparing materials for promotion after the event.

E Street Audio Visual E Street Audio Visual started business in Alaska in the mid-90s according to Marketing Director Erica Thomas. “There weren’t a lot of [A/V] companies up here yet, at the time, and [the owner’s] clients were in need of services like that,” she says. It’s a small business of approximately ten employees, though she says that AV services in Alaska are incredibly seasonal and their number of employees increases in the busy spring and fall shoulder seasons.

“We provide services for any industry that’s looking for services at an event,” Thomas says. “Whether that’s a corporate event or not—we’ve done receptions, we’ve done seminars, we’ve done board meetings.”

E Street provides various options to their clients. “We can rent out equipment for a small, 80

10-person meeting or run and rent the equipment out for a weeklong, 2,000 person event.”

It just depends on the customer’s needs. She says they also do live feeds, either for live events or in a crisis management situation.

Beyond recording services, E Street has a production arm. “That’s where our production company and our AV arm work together: we can not only put the cameras out there for your event, but we can also put the video together for your event,” Thomas says. “It makes us a little bit all inclusive.”

As with all corporate events, it’s always beneficial to schedule services far in advance.

Thomas says whether or not the company can respond to a last minute request depends on the situation, “How much equipment they need and when they need us,” she says. “We will always try to make it work.” She says in one case she received an email in the morning for a quick turnaround and was able to accommodate the request by the next day.

E Street has provided services in the Hotel Captain Cook, the Hilton Anchorage, the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, the Egan Center, and the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel and Spa, to name a few, so they’re familiar with Alaska’s convention venues. “Pretty much anywhere and everywhere, if there’s a conference room, if there’s a hotel room, if there’s a ballroom, we’ve been there,” Thomas says.

E Street is a preferred provider for the Hotel Captain Cook, and she says they also work very closely with the Anchorage Hilton. “Our goal for our AV company is to support clients and make them look as good as possible,” she says. Thomas continues, “We want our customers to look wonderful—whether they’re trying to look really fun, whether they’re trying to look very professional—whatever their goal is, we want to broadcast that to the people that they’re having come in for their event.”

Imig Audio/Video Imig Audio/Video has had roots in Alaska since 1968. According to Imig AV General Manager Eric Imig, his father, Dr. Charles Imig, came to the Last Frontier to videotape the land claims meetings taking place in preparation for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. According to Imig, his father was “in and out of small planes and villages videotaping not only the forty regional meetings but also the land claims meetings after that about how to parcel up and how the corporations would be started.” At the time, the company was called Community Development Associates.

It was in 1993 that Imig AV was officially incorporated, and now the company provides a range of AV services, including media production, AV installation services, AV equipment rentals, and other general AV services.

As with many of Alaska’s cyclical businesses, Imig AV increases staff seasonally to meet demand, primarily ramping up in the spring and fall for the corporate convention and event season. “We do rental and staging of events in Anchorage for a variety of people—for conferences, meeting, presentations, and events.” Imig says.

Imig AV provides services at venues statewide and is a preferred provider for the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center and the Egan Center, Imig says, as well as the Sheraton Anchorage.

In addition to renting out and setting up their own AV equipment for a meeting or conference, they also provide tech personnel to groups and other venue properties that have their own equipment but want someone to set it up or run it. “There’s a lot of people own projectors, but getting then to connect to the computer and look good on a screen is a little more of a challenge, and we understand that. We’re not the type of business that says we have to do 100 percent or nothing. We want to help everybody out,” Imig says.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Upper One Studios AV services don’t just include setting up microphones or lighting solutions. AV compa-

nies can be utilized during and after an event as a part of a branding or marketing strategy.

Upper One Studios was founded by Rick Mallars and Tom Karpow, both of whom were probation officers; on a work trip back from the Kenai, the two conceptualized Upper One, a video production studio. At the time the two had been hired by their supervisors to create a video for probation orientation using “little handy-cams,” according to Mallars.

The name came from the common Alaskan nickname for the contiguous United States—the Lower 48. If the other forty-eight states are lower, that makes Alaska the “Upper One.” Mallars and Karpow officially started the studio in 2008, though the idea had been stewing for years.

“What sets us apart from a lot of other businesses is our ability to write,” Karpow says.

Upper One’s primary work is in video production, which includes video recording and editing of industry conferences, trade shows, and events. Mallars says Upper One has performed video recording services for Junior Achievement Alaska for the last six years, recording Business Hall of Fame inductees and editing the footage for the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame dinner in January.

Upper One also has the equipment and expertise to provide live event filming. “We have the capability of producing images on screens while we’re mobile, so we can put those cameras on our shoulders and run around with a transmitter that hooks to a unit that puts the image up on the screen, so

we can be completely mobile,” Mallars explains.

While Upper One doesn’t brand itself as a marketing company, their products and services may certainly have those aspects. Mallars says, “They’re synergistic—marketing, advertising, consulting—it all goes together. There are elements in the video production world that co-align with the elements of marketing, and of course your advertising side of that, your video content, your blogs, or whatever, all of that can be on the advertising side of things.”

Karpow continues, “We’ve kind of become these consulting people that, if you want analytics, we have options to come and help them decipher the data. We’re kind of a good middle ground: we’re not just video production, we’re not a marketing agency, but we’re kind of that middle consulting.”

Upper One, with their different emphasis of services, says they’re busy spring through fall with a little bit of lull in winter months.

Business picks up for the convention and trade show season but continues for Upper One through the summer, as they film state-wide and often take advantage of the brilliant Alaska summers. “In my opinion there’s no better venue than outside, especially in Alaska,” Mallars says. “We find nine times out of ten the clients want to be outside. We’re in Alaska; it’s the greatest venue for filming the world.”

R Tasha Anderson is an Associate Editor for Alaska Business.

“In every job that must be done

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Just 35 miles north of Anchorage. www.alaskavisit.com www.akbizmag.com

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In the trade show and convention arena, he says, he has noticed in the last few years there’s been a trend for organizers utilizing more creative lighting and just more lighting in general. Another trend, and one Imig is proud to have introduced, is LED wall panels. Essentially, they’re 2-foot by 2-foot LED panel that can be assembled to form a large monitor or a stage backdrop that can be programmed with an image or video.

Imig can provide a valuable service after the conference or presentation through their media production arm: “After an event we can edit a video, put titling, make adjustments, and then make copies for everyone.” But Imig AV provides many services beyond live event filming. Imig says, “We try to give the whole gamut of services,” Imig says, including video used a live event, corporate videos, marketing materials, or court recordings.

While Imig is comfortable working in offices and conference centers, they’re happy to provide services wherever they’re needed.

“We’ve worked in gyms in Dillingham, we have done office buildings in Nome, we did City Council chambers in Unalaska, and we’ve done city parks,” Imig explains.

Imig says succinctly: “A business that’s thinking about using AV should call us because we know the nuances of setups and equipment to accomplish their goal.”

SPECIAL SECTION

Conventions & Meetings

Unconventional Catering Takes to the Skies Food and beverage options for private jet travel in Alaska

By Susie Von Willer Linford

A

nchorage is a major hub for private jets going out of country and coming into the United States. A large number of corporate jets from New York, Boston, and Los Angeles stop in Anchorage to refuel, change flight crews, clean the cabin, and load catered meals onto the jet for the duration of the journey. The majority of corporate jet travel is to Beijing and Shanghai, China. A few corporate jets head to or from Dubai.

A typical corporate jet will have three crew members (two pilots and one flight attendant) and three passengers. These jets and passengers may be on the ground for as little as three hours or for days.

Anchorage is home to three ground flight service companies: Great Circle Flight Services, Landmark Aviation (formerly MillionAir), and Signature Flight Support. All of the ground service companies offer comfortable lounges, ground transportation, and concierge services.

Catering for Private Jets Speaking of catering, Alaska is world famous for our wild caught seafood. The number one request from passengers and flight crew on a pri82

vate jet is fresh Alaska salmon and halibut, followed closely by Alaska king crab. And when the Copper River Salmon are running—the flight crew and passengers are in wild salmon heaven!

They also appreciate Alaska’s growing fresh, organic produce offerings, including root vegetables, heirloom tomatoes, lettuces, and herbs.

A typical private jet catering will consist of two complete meals per individual, breakfast and lunch. Meals need to be packaged securely to avoid leakage and kept at the safe food temperature range.

Catering for a private jet may sound glamorous, but it is a lot of hard work. Each meal is a special order that requires searching local markets and specialty stores for the ingredients then preparing the meal and cooling it down prior to refrigeration.

Meals need to be attractive with color and garnish, and everything is required to be labeled with the meal contents, the private aircraft’s tail number, and date.

Unconventional Conditions It is not uncommon to deliver a meal at 3 a.m. for a 6 a.m. flight.

Unusual requests happen all the time. An incoming flight may radio the ground sup-

port company that fresh sushi is requested at 3 a.m. Needless to say, there are no Japanese restaurants or sushi providers at 3 a.m. Typically the ground support company will make a run to a local grocery store and purchase pre-made sushi. Not great, but the only option available in the middle of the night.

Alcohol can also be tricky. By Alaska law, ground support personnel and/or the catering company are forbidden to provide packaged alcohol. This presents an issue with the flight crew who may need to find ground transportation to a local liquor package store to purchase the flight’s alcoholic beverages.

Celebrity Passengers We see and hear of national and international celebrities all the time. They are just like the rest of us—wanting privacy and rest while travelling. Our company refrains from photographing or posting social media comments about the celebrities we have had the privilege of serving.

One local celebrity who used to fly into Anchorage frequently was Cal Worthington.

Worthington would pilot his own private jet with his adult son, a certified commercial pilot, in the right seat. Worthington was an aviation

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

CONVENTIONS & MEETINGS SPECIAL SECTION

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hero during World War II. He was an extremeLE ABM Third Horiz2.indd ly nice gentleman with a fun sense of humor.

Another sector of private aircraft is the government aircraft that transport the Secretary of State and other high ranking government officials. The catering services for these aircraft are handled by Airline Support Services, located on the commercial side of Anchorage International Airport.

Commercial airlines also often have inflight catering options that can vary by airline and the flight’s destination. Food services for commercial flights are handled by LGS Sky Chef, located on the commercial side of Anchorage International Airport.

Both Airline Support Services and LGS Sky Chef are high security facilities which produce large volumes of in-flight catering services.

No matters the size of the plane, the number of passengers, or the final destination, make sure to enjoy your flight and keep your wings level!

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1

11/18/16 10:55 AM

Susie Von Willer Linford is Corporate Chef and Managing Member of Alaska Coastal Catering LLC. She’s been catering for more than forty years and brings to her Alaska corporate clients the organizational skills to create a stress free event that is not only elegant but deliciously served.

With a staff of more than twenty-five Culinary Artists, Alaska Coastal Catering can serve up to five hundred guests.

AlaskaCoastalCatering.com www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

83

MARKETING

Graphic Design The face of Alaska businesses

By Tasha Anderson Note: This is part one of a three part series exploring the graphic design industry in Alaska.

I

t was in college during a senior seminar that it first occurred to me that someone wrote the text on a bleach bottle. Not only was it written—instead of, say, spontaneously manifesting—it was written, vetted, edited, reviewed, approved, and then probably tweaked again.

And what I really understood in that moment was not that there was too much investment into a simple label, but that the label of a bottle sold worldwide to who knows how many billions of people each year is no simple thing.

Alaska businesses take their message to the Alaska, national, and international business communities just as seriously. For most companies, the most basic symbol of what they are and what they do is a name and a graphic: a logo. Simple, right?

Visual Conduit In terms of logo design, “I feel designers are the visual conduit between [a company’s] mission statement and the visual voice or message that they want to convey to their audience,” says Annie Brace, owner of Corso Graphics.

And that can be difficult since clients don’t always know what they want their logo to say or perhaps don’t know how to articulate that message in a visual form. Brace continues, “Sometimes a client gives you the kitchen sink in terms of what they want in their logo … and it’s your job to take that information and meld Annie Brace of Corso Graphics designed this logo for Arctic Moon Bakery located in Anchorage.

Courtesy of Corso Graphics

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Courtesy of Mad Dog Graphx

Mad Dog Graphx created a series of holiday-themed cards with punch-out ornaments for The Salmon Project.

it together to create a mark that captures the personality and message of that company in a clear and concise way.”

She says the process isn’t always easy, but her job is to pare it down and deliver a product that her client will love and recognize as representing their goals.

On the other hand, Mike Kirkpatrick, owner of Screamin’ Yeti Designs, says sometimes clients don’t provide any guidance at all, and while the freedom to be totally creative can be positive, it also has its risks. “Sometimes I get creative ideas, but I’m headed south and their ideas are headed north,” Kirkpatrick says.

“Even a little inkling of a direction or an idea— it can be a sketch on a bar napkin or a stick figure or just the logo of another business” can keep the creative process on track. “I just need a baseline, and then I can go from there.”

It’s very possible for a good design to not be the right design for a given company, and sometimes a great idea isn’t the right idea for a proj-

ect, which can be frustrating, Kirkpatrick says.

“Sometimes you can be working on an awesome project and the creativity’s just not clicking, the mind’s just blank. … And then you’re working on forms and you’ll get all kinds of great ideas.”

Michael Ardaiz, owner of Mad Dog Graphx, says no matter the deliverable, it could probably benefit from a little professional design.

“I think that graphic design is an integral part of any business. Whether you realize it or not, every communication that your company releases is designed. It’s a matter of, is it designed by you in [Microsoft] Word or is it going to be designed by somebody with expertise in design?” Depending on the piece, a template downloaded online and populated with clip art may be entirely appropriate; for most materials leaving a business, it’s probably better to consult an in-house professional if available or consult with an outside resource.

Alaska Centric When it comes to developing new logos, Alaskans love Alaska, and Ardaiz says sometimes he finds it necessary to steer clients away from a logo awash with iconic Alaska images. “You don’t have to Alaska it up; we already know where we are. … Instead, [use] something that differentiates you in the market, rather than makes you look like a part of somebody else’s team.”

In particular, he often guides clients away from using the outline of the state of Alaska.

“You don’t want to look like you’re a paid state agency,” he says. “Every state agency has that: do you want to look like you need paying clients or do you want to look like your bills are paid by Juneau?” The problem with the state of Alaska outline is further compounded by how complicated the shape is. “As beautiful as it is, and as distinctive as it is, it’s really hard to work into a standard shape. God help you if you want to

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

make it into a lapel pin or a square sign for your building. You’re going to have to chop Southeast or the Aleutians or simplify something, and then you have offended entire groups of people.

There’s no way around that,” Ardaiz says.

Brand Development David Taylor is the Creative Director for Element Agency, and he says he started his graphic design career with a knack in logo design. “That’s what I loved to do; I loved to create these very simple symbols that represented these ideas.” Taylor says Element is a brand development company, an extension of that passion. Brand development starts with name and logo design, what he calls the brand identity, and then “bleed[s] out from there to color palettes, typefaces, and graphic elements to create essentially a personality.”

Taylor says that often when Element presents a new logo to clients, their first reaction is: What does it mean? “It’s so fascinating.” But, he says, “a new symbol doesn’t mean anything,” explaining that as people have experiences with a symbol it takes on meaning, and that process—bringing meaning to a symbol—is brand development.

The danger, of course, is that negative meaning can be attached to a logo or brand.

“If that happens on a scale large enough, a company needs to rebrand because their symbol has become toxic,” Taylor says.

Of course many companies refresh their brand not because it’s become toxic but to keep the company modern and up to date. Spawn Ideas Associate Creative Director Amanda Strickland gives the example of Pepsi. “If you look at their logo over the past forty years, it has morphed probably at least ten, twelve times.

And I would bet you most consumers never even noticed the difference, so they’re just tweaking it to be a little more fresh, a little more now.”

Strickland also gives a more local example in GCI, which has been a Spawn client for the last three years, presenting Strickland with the challenge of designing for a client that already has a history of company branding. “That is the fun part to me,” Strickland says, speaking of the need to think creatively within guidelines. “I love that there’s something set already, and how do we move around within that box, so to speak.”

She continues, “So it’s our job as an agency to keep pushing them forward to doing something a little different.” One such change was introducing a new color, glacier blue, into GCI’s brand. In Taylor’s example of a toxic brand, it may be best to dump old branding and start anew, but Strickland says that for many companies starting brand new www.akbizmag.com

may not be the best approach. “It’s a little bit harsh when [companies] go from one logo to something completely different, so evolution is exactly what we do,” she says. Another perk of gradual changes is that it gives a company time to determine if a new campaign is successful, what’s successful about it, and how to use that success to move forward positively.

Ardaiz of Mad Dog Graphx says that he’s noticed a trend in logo design of designing with an eye toward longevity, which he sees as positive. While it works occasionally for a company to use a logo developed in the ‘60s or ‘70s, often “it looks like someone drew a building in 1963 and nobody has thought about it since,” he says.

Vital Design Strickland says, “Why I love this business is the fact that there is strategy behind what we do.”

While graphic design can certainly be art, there’s a difference, she says, between what an artist and

a graphic designer do and their purpose in doing it. “How do you make someone react to what you’re doing, and not just in an emotional way, but to actually have a call to action?” she says.

A business’s personality is established through a logo and branding, and Strickland loves how graphic design gives business a face and a personality.

“Graphic design is the foundational skill, it’s the foundational language of everything we do,” says Element’s Taylor. A logo, a brand, a media campaign, isn’t much without art and design. “It’s nothing, in fact,” Taylor says.

Ardaiz says, “There’s a segment of business that doesn’t address graphic design as a resource—they’re not interested or they feel it’s not important—and I would take the position that they are missing the boat.”

R Tasha Anderson is an Associate Editor for Alaska Business.

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Courtesy of Screamin’ Yeti

Mike Kirkpatrick of Screamin’ Yeti designed these logos, from left to right, for TapRoot, Hearth Artisan Pizza, and Uptown Athletic in Anchorage and DeBorde Agri-Management in Oregon.

TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY

Matching Hardware to Needs in IT Infrastructure

Investing in the right hardware is crucial

By Susan Harrington

W

hen does a business know it’s time to upgrade hardware components of IT infrastructure? Sometimes, upgrading can help increase productivity and decrease downtime. First though, it’s essential to find out what hardware needs actually exist. The next steps lead to getting the right hardware.

First Make a List Start with an inventory assessment of existing hardware and the job duties, tasks, and software it is used for. Then list any inadequacies and limitations hoped to be overcome by new hardware solutions. Finally, list any hardware needs that are completely unmet.

Next assess the current software being used and correlate that to the hardware in terms of speed, storage space, server needs (cloud or onsite), and amount of time the software is typically used. Include email, cloud-based software, applications, and interactions, as well as software utilized and housed on each individual workstation or device, plus share drives and server-based software.

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Also list monitors, screens, video-conferencing equipment, cameras, back-up devices, printers, 3D printers, telephony, routers, the keyboard and mouse used for each workstation, and any other peripherals connected (wired or wireless) to the company IT infrastructure.

Don’t Forget For retail and wholesale components, include point of sale hardware. For companies that are ingrained in social media, don’t forget cameras, phones, tablets, pads, and other devices used to create and share. Drones and GoPro are other hardware options that are growing in business use.

The cloud is another consideration once the assessment is complete. Would it be more advantageous for the server to be in the cloud than in the back room? Internet speed, need, and availability will play into this decision, along with costs.

Get Professional Help Consult with IT specialists to determine best solutions once hardware needs have been assessed and the information is compiled.

Some companies may be able to address this with inhouse IT staff, others may benefit from partnering with an IT support company that offers implementation and consulting services.

Whether developing a cloud or a path to a cloud, some semblance of a network, server, and data storage is required to make it all work smoothly. The more multi-faceted, complex, or graphics intensive the work being done, the more robust the hardware needed. For example, workstations for architecture, engineering, construction, publishing, media, gaming, and other mega data task mastering will need different systems than most accounting or administrative workstations.

We asked for expert advice on how to match hardware to needs to IT infrastructure and found a wealth of information by contacting Resource Data, Inc., (resourcedata. com) a local IT consulting company providing software development, GIS, and system engineering services.

Most Qualified Who is most qualified to determine the best hardware to meet needs? Resource Data’s Lead Systems Architect Bear Remien says, “Depending on the complexity revealed during the process of gathering requirements, selecting the best hardware might require little skill because cost or the market narrows the options down fast or could be a lengthy process of evaluating vendors and products. In complex situations, the orga-

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

nization needs to bring the right people to the table—those who understand the short-, medium-, and long-term needs, and those who best understand the current landscape of vendors and products. An important point is to make sure that the people involved in selecting hardware truly are qualified, not just the most qualified people available. The wrong IT hardware can haunt organizations for years, but getting the selection right is often challenging.”

Significant Factors What are the most significant factors when meeting hardware needs? “Knowing the business needs thoroughly and knowing the products available. Product selection is usually easier than it initially looks—where many competing products look the same at first glance, when a thorough set of requirements is applied to the product selection process, often only a few emerge as contenders,” Remien says.

Best Value Where will companies find the best value in hardware for commercial use? “Among standard IT equipment, the most commoditized areas are workstations and servers, and commoditization means value. When vendors seem to have little room to bargain, it tends to mean that the products are mature and profits are lean,” Remien says. “In terms of choosing where to spend money on a computer network to get the most value, the an-

swer is anywhere capital dollars reduce labor costs. Automation in the form of mature and reliable technology always provides the highest value. So spending on hardware is smartest where it buys technology that is powerful enough to meet the business needs over its planned lifetime and mature enough to work for months or years with little IT engineer intervention. A good example is network hardware: high-quality, fully-featured switches, routers, and firewalls will run for years with little work beyond routine maintenance, but cheaper equipment can produce extremely hard-to-track-down problems. Yet, the savings between good and bad network gear within a medium organization’s IT budget is no more than a few percent.”

Hardware Lifespan When does a business need to change-out or upgrade hardware? Every three years? Every five years? If there isn’t a typical time-frame, when do companies know it’s time?

“The lifespan of a given piece of network hardware is usually driven by three characteristics: the quality of its components, planned obsolescence, and the rate of change in the market. At one extreme, a well-made network switch in a SCADA environment like a power plant might still be in use twenty years after its installation; at the other extreme, a low-end laptop stands a good chance of failing after just a couple of years.

Most equipment falls into a lifecycle between three and seven years, but within that range,

changing out equipment is really a question of needs and costs. Every business will need to take a good look at what it needs from its hardware, establish a tolerance for risk, and plan ahead for spending. Getting the formula wrong can result in overspend, losses due to unplanned downtime, or frustrated employees using slow equipment,” Remien says.

The Right Hardware How big of a role does having the right hardware play in IT infrastructure? “Essential, and foundational,” Remien says. “All businesses have mapped some portion of their processes to IT hardware and software by this point, and for many, virtually no work is possible without smoothly-running IT systems. Bad hardware affects everything downstream: a malfunctioning server can’t get data to workstations, and the employees on those workstations can’t do their jobs without data. Beyond simple it-works-or-itdoesn’t problems, the quality of hardware directly affects efficiency as well: bad performance means less work gets done, which means less revenue. In some businesses the link is strong and easy to see, like the movie theater that can’t fill a screening in time because every credit card takes thirty seconds to swipe; in others it’s more subtle, like the manager who’s fifteen minutes late to a virtual meeting because her laptop can’t connect. In the end the organization pays for good hardware in the IT budget or pays for bad hardware everywhere else.”

R

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87

ENGINEERING

PND Settles with Municipality over Port

Port of Anchorage in July 2013. © Jeff Schultz / Alaska.Stock.com

Engineering firm stands by its Open Cell Sheet Pile™ design

By Tasha Anderson

A

t the end of January PND Engineers, Inc. announced that it had settled a lawsuit initiated by the Municipality of Anchorage over the failed Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion. The Municipality had sought more than $100 million and settled for $750,000. To grossly oversimplify the suit: the city asserted PND’s Open Cell Sheet Pile™ (OCSP) design was flawed and PND says it was not.

PND President and Senior Engineer Jim Campbell, PE, says PND maintains the strength and quality of their design. “Of course we want to defend ourselves, but we certainly have no interest in continuing to fight the case.” A part of that is due to the cost of litigation, which is unpredictable and could cost in the millions. Additionally, lawsuits, especially those determined by juries, are inherently unpredictable. With those significant risks, “It really is better for us to settle,” Campbell says.

To be clear, PND settled with the city on a payment amount: the engineering firm maintains the assertion that their design was in no way flawed and legally did not admit fault. The 88

fact that the city sued for $100 million and settled for $750,000 indicates that “they probably knew that we were right, that the design was fine,” Campbell says. “The damage that the Municipality suffered, in terms of the cost, was really caused by the failed construction.”

A Difficult Project There’s no doubt it was a difficult project. According to the July 2016 deposition of Brad West, president of West Construction, the Port of Anchorage is a difficult site for construction: “The tides, the currents, the deep fills, the hard driving, all of those things make this [sheet pile installation] a difficult project.” When asked if this made the project impossible, West replied, “No. Difficult means it’s hard. You just have to put forth the appropriate effort and planning.”

West was deposed in conjunction with the Municipality’s lawsuit.

West considered the project difficult from the perspective of West Construction, which has decades of experience installing OCSP. In fact, West provided a spreadsheet of OCSP bulkhead projects, the majority in Alaska, ranging back to 1981, both constructed and under construction. Of those listed, West Construction completed the work for twenty-eight projects, a total of approximately 20,500 sheets of OCSP in various soil and weather conditions. In that same time, the contractor originally selected to install PND’s OCSP design at the Port of Anchorage had installed two projects, a total of ap-

proximately 1,600 sheets of OCSP, according to West’s spreadsheet.

Experience vs. Cost Experience isn’t everything. Sometimes cost is more of a factor, and sometimes it’s more of a factor than is appropriate. Alaska Interstate Construction (AIC) and West Construction, which had bid together on the project, jointly submitted a Bid Protest to ICRC (Integrated Concepts and Research Corporation), the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion project manager, regarding the original construction contract award.

In it they asserted that the awarded contractor was “not a responsible bidder” and that their bid “should be disregarded and the Subcontract should be awarded to the next lowest bidder,” which was in fact AIC/West.

Perhaps it sounds like sour grapes, but their argument is convincing.

ICRC received three bids, two approximately the same at $48 million and $50 million and one significantly lower at $36 million. All three bidders received the same quote for supply of the sheet metal pile, which was about $30 million; the two losing bidders estimated the cost of installation at about $20 million, while the winning bidder estimated it at $6 million. “This amount is simply insufficient,” according to the bid protest, which continues to say that the $36 million bid “reflects the [winning bidder’s] lack of experience with this type of work.”

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

West says in the 2016 deposition that, to his memory, they received no reply to this protest except that it was rejected. And so in 2008 the winning bidder moved forward with construction. However, in 2010, West Construction bid on and was awarded a contract to be a follow-on contractor for the project since the original scope of work installing the sheet piles had not been completed. The scope of work for West Construction was to complete sheet pile installation, place the remainder of fill, and some drainage work.

It was at this time that suspected damage to the open cell sheet pile was confirmed and new damage was identified, including sheet pile that were found “bent or twisted or somehow damaged to an extent they couldn’t be used without pulling them and going back to a competent sheet at some location. … [Sheet pile] were curled. They were driven out of interlocks. They had been driven into boulders where they’d been driven on so hard that they had blown the interlocks apart,” West said in the 2016 deposition.

Still Standing By 2011 the approximately $439 million appropriated for the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion project had run out and there was almost nothing to show for it except pointed fingers.

And one of those got pointed at PND for their design. But was that the problem? In the 2016 deposition, West said, “I have no doubt we [AIC/West] could have completed the project successfully.”

PND is in fact the expert on OCSP design; it is proprietary, they created it. Campbell says, “Over the thirty-five years or so of open cell structures [being constructed], we’ve kind of proven to a lot of people that this is a good structure.” He says construction and management were the downfall of the Port of Anchorage Intermodal project. “You could probably write a book on the construction management and construction contracting issues that went on at the Port of Anchorage,” Campbell says. “Suffice it to say, there was damage that occurred during construction, so that stopped the project.”

Campbell says that after the failed construction was stopped, there was an assertion that the design was flawed and that the OCSP wall was not adequate to withstand the intensity of earthquakes that Alaska experiences even had the construction gone perfectly.

Based on the February 2013 Suitability Study performed for the Municipality of Anchorage, Campbell says, “If you took the analysis they did at that time—and we did this in-house—took their inputs and their soil strengths and their assumptions and applied that to the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit near Cook Inlet in January 2016, about 160 miles from Anchorage, it would show that that whole thing should have failed. It should have fallen over; but it didn’t fall over.” R

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Tasha Anderson is the Associate Editor for Alaska Business. www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

89

UNIONS

Alaska’s Union Workforce Built to weather fiscal storms

By Vince Beltrami

A

laska’s union members are working all over Alaska, some in jobs you’d expect and others in places you might not. In fact, about one in five workers in Alaska belongs to a union. While the economy is hemorrhaging jobs at present, Alaska still has the third highest union density of any state in the union. The Alaska AFL-CIO is Alaska’s largest labor organization, with a little more than 50,000 workers holding membership in our fifty-five affiliated unions.

Public Safety, Transportation & Tourism: State troopers, firefighters, and workers for the Alaska Railroad—the folks running heavy equipment to move snow and clear roads— all are union members. Hopping on Alaska airlines? Ticket agents, baggage handlers, flight attendants, and the pilots you entrust your life to when you step into the fuselage: all are members of unions. And so are Alaska Marine Highway workers, bus drivers at Denali, and many hotel and restaurant workers.

Customer Service: Step into a city or state office building. Whether you are getting your license or registration renewed, need help with your permanent fund dividend application, or are in need of many other important and essential services, it is likely those state and municipal workers helping you are union members. And of course, our nurses and other healthcare workers offer the ultimate in customer service when you need it most.

Education: Teachers, professors, and support staff at our schools, universities, and voc-ed facilities are entrusted to prepare our children for successful futures at one end and for guiding our best and brightest through advanced degrees within our university system.

And they belong.

Utilities: Gas, electric, water, and telecommunications workers make sure their systems 90

keep you comfortable, clean, and warm and keep you connected with family, work, and a vast digital world.

Construction and More: Alaska’s building trades union members have been building Alaska from the beginning, including buildings, roads, bridges, pipelines, mines, and more.

There are many more union workers than listed above, but you get the point. In nearly every aspect of work that goes on in Alaska, private or public sector, Alaska’s union members are on the front lines.

The Impact of Fiscal Instability on the Workforce In the past twenty-four months, Alaska’s union workers and non-union workers alike have taken a bit of a beating. Our membership rolls are down a little over 10 percent.

But Alaska’s union workforce has been built to weather fiscal storms like the one we’re being battered by now. They did so in the mid-1980s. And now, inarguably, we are smack dab in the middle of another significant recession. Alaska’s unemployment rate is currently the highest in the fifty states, somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 percent.

We’ve lost 9,000 jobs statewide, union and non-union, and hopefully won’t lose many more.

The state currently faces a $3 billion deficit. But it is very solvable. Alaska is still full of resources and promises. The only thing holding us back is willpower. More specifically, it is the willpower necessary to generate eleven votes in the Alaska Senate and twentyone votes in the Alaska House of Representatives to have hard conversations and come to agreement on some of the solutions currently in front of them. There are plenty of plans that include some sort of new or increased revenues, use of a portion of Permanent

Fund earnings, and continued vigilance to make efficiencies in government. And it can be done without killing the economy, eliminating more jobs, and generally throwing our government and its citizens over a cliff.

Implementation of a funded and responsible budget backs us away from the cliff, will restore faith in private and public infrastructure investment, and put us back on the right track. Because of our huge budget deficit, the first place the state budget took a big haircut was in the capital budget. Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of deferred maintenance projects are backlogged. Scores of shovel ready projects are also on the back burner. The Anchorage Port dock is in danger of collapsing, and not getting this $300 million project started imperils the 85 percent of the goods that flow throughout the state through that port.

Investment in infrastructure creates its own positive storms of economic activity, with every dollar having a multiplier effect when workers earning a decent wage spend that money at Alaska businesses.

Some Bright Spots However, there are a few bright spots on the construction horizon with projects that are either ongoing or just ramping up. Some private sector investment is visible in Anchorage with projects like the Odom warehouse, Ship Creek housing development, and Alaska Airlines new maintenance facility, to name a few. But it’s the federal dollars flowing in to the state that are likely to keep us afloat until the legislature has the wherewithal to fix the deficit and as we wait … and wait … for oil prices to rebound.

The large, multi-billion dollar capital budgets of just a few years ago had driven a vibrant construction economy. But with $2 billion to $3 billion annual capital budgets a thing of the past, and the first budgets to get slashed, many union construction workers are doing

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

what they do: hitting the road, heading for plentiful work opportunities Outside until our economy in Alaska recovers.

Capital budgets now are in the neighborhood of $100 million to $300 million a year, a small fraction of those big years, and just the minimum necessary to match the federal funds flowing in to the state.

Fortunately federal spending has kept construction churning, albeit at a much slower pace. Many of the bright spots are in the military spending arena. The Long-range radar project at Clear Air Force Station and the F-35 buildup at Eielson Air Force Base will spend in the neighborhood of $2 billion over the next few years. Other federally funded projects will keep union members working on highways, roads, and harbor improvements, as well as hundreds of millions over the next few years on upgrading telecommunications infrastructure. So, it’s not all bleak.

Training—A Hallmark of Alaska’s Unions Another bright spot has been in the healthcare field. It is the only sector which is still projecting job growth. Unions, working with the Alaska Department of Labor and several union and non-union employers, got together and formed the Alaska Healthcare Apprenticeship Consortium in 2016 to provide a pathway for healthcare employers to recruit and train in several occupations which traditionally had not had any such pathways in place.

But it is the traditional construction apprenticeship programs that unions are better known for and those programs are still hard at work. Many would suspect this recession would cause our apprenticeship programs to cut back on our training. That is not the case.

Due to the cyclical nature of construction we’ve figured out pretty well how to maintain flexibility.

Training is where union-based apprenticeship shines. The traditional building trades apprenticeship programs, partnerships with our unions and our employer counterparts, are called Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees (JATCs) and have been putting out top-notch skilled workers in Alaska for more than seventy-five years. The unions and their employers negotiate hourly training contributions, made on behalf of every manhour worked, to the various building trades JATCs to fund their training programs. This means several millions of voluntary private sector dollars a year going to apprentices and other trainees to attend classes tuition free.

Funds pay for expert instructors, staffing of schools, and training infrastructure and curriculum.

Because these training programs are the gold standard, most of the programs have waiting lists to get in. This allows the JATCs to take in a large number of apprentices when the construction economy is booming and similarly to take in fewer apprentices during leaner times. Apprentice numbers can be ramped up or down relatively easily, provid-

ing the industry with tremendous flexibility.

So union membership, just like employment in the non-union sector, is predictably down, but not out. And we are always positioned for a rebound. In the meantime, unions are partnering with private sector businesses and government, working together on efforts like the Alaska Workforce Investment Board initiatives to prepare Alaska’s future workforce for the jobs of tomorrow.

And next time you have a chance, take a moment to thank one of the tens of thousands of Alaska union workers who work every day to make Alaska a better, safer, stronger place to work and raise a family while doing their level best to make the businesses and other entities they work for successful.

R

Vince Beltrami has served as President of the Alaska AFL-CIO for the past ten years. He served previously as statewide executive director of the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship & Training Trust and as president of the Anchorage Building Trades Council.

Proudly providing highly skilled manpower to mechanical contractors and bringing projects in ahead of schedule and under budget, since 1938.

©Ken Graham Photography

United Association Plumbers & Steamfitters Union Local 367 www.akbizmag.com

Learn more about UA Local 367 and the mechanical contractors we work with by visiting www.ualocal367.org and www.amcaanc.com April 2017 | Alaska Business

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OIL & GAS

Supporters Push for More Consideration of Valdez LNG Site

By Larry Persily This update, provided by the Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor’s office, is part of an ongoing effort to help keep the public informed about the Alaska LNG project.

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ong-time proponents of building a natural gas liquefaction plant and marine terminal at Valdez have filed 210 pages of comments and backup material with federal regulators, calling for a “more robust analysis” of environmental, cost, and construction factors that they say favor Valdez over the Alaska LNG project’s preferred site in Nikiski.

In their filing with FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), advocates for building the LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant at Valdez called on regulators to closely follow federal environmental law and require the project developer “to produce sufficient data and analysis to objectively compare the Valdez alternative and the Nikiski alternative.”

The Alaska Gasline Port Authority, a seventeen-year-old municipal government partnership between the city of Valdez and the Fairbanks North Star Borough, has long promoted a North Slope natural gas pipeline to Valdez, with an LNG plant and marine terminal to serve Asian export markets. Joining the port authority in signing the FERC filing were the City of Valdez and the mayors of the Fairbanks Borough, City of Fairbanks, and City of North Pole.

“The Valdez alternative offers several advantages over the Nikiski alternative, none of which have been acknowledged or analyzed” by the Alaska LNG team, including following the trans-Alaska oil pipeline rightof-way from the Prudhoe Bay fields to Valdez, the February 1 filing said.

Federal Law Requires Review of Alternatives Support for Valdez instead of Nikiski is not a new development. The City of Valdez and Fairbanks North Star Borough in fall 2015 each submitted separate comments to FERC, touting the benefits of building the LNG plant in Valdez, site of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline terminus and marine terminal.

Nikiski is about 60 air miles southwest of Anchorage, on Cook Inlet. Valdez is about 120 air miles due east of Anchorage, at the end of Valdez Arm in Prince William Sound.

The gas pipeline route to Valdez would follow the oil pipeline right-of-way, while the route to Nikiski would veer away from the oil line north of Fairbanks, about halfway on its 800mile run to tidewater.

Just as support for putting the LNG terminal in Valdez is not new, neither is the work to include the alternative in the project’s EIS (environmental impact statement). Federal law requires the EIS to consider all reason92

able alternatives for pipeline routing and construction, the LNG plant site, and most every other aspect of the $45 billion proposed North Slope gas project.

In the fall of 2013, after about eighteen months of “project concept” work, the Alaska LNG team-comprised of North Slope oil and gas producers ExxonMobil, BP, and ConocoPhillips and the state of Alaska-reported it had determined that Nikiski was preferable to Valdez, and twenty-three other sites, for the proposed multibillion-dollar LNG plant.

The Alaska LNG team in 2016 submitted its second draft of the Alternatives Reportone of a dozen “resource reports” that FERC would use in preparing the project’s EIS. That June 2016 report discussed the twenty-four potential sites for the LNG terminal, including Anderson Bay at Valdez, the location promoted in the latest FERC filing by Valdez and Fairbanks municipal officials.

In an October response to Alaska LNG’s June report, FERC requested more detailed information on the Valdez option-a standard request for the comparative analysis work of an EIS.

Alaska LNG Considered Valdez Site Alaska LNG, in its draft resource report filed with FERC, detailed several considerations that weighed against the Valdez alternative: The $2.75 billion estimated cost of removing approximately 39 million cubic yards of overburden and rock at the Anderson Bay site, almost eight times the volume of material that would be removed to prepare the site in Nikiski. Alaska LNG acknowledged that its number was four times the volume of rock and overburden estimated by a different project sponsor in a 1995 federal environmental analysis of the Valdez site.

Oil tanker and LNG carrier traffic congestion through the mile-wide Valdez Narrows, possibly disrupting LNG deliveries to overseas customers.

Designation of two National Park Service Wild and Scenic Rivers along the Valdez pipeline route in the years after a federal EIS selected the route as the preferred alternative for an earlier LNG plant proposal.

“Significant challenges” with air quality permitting in the Valdez area, which is surrounded by more mountainous terrain than Nikiski.

Significantly steeper terrain through Thompson Pass into Valdez than along the pipeline route to Nikiski. Though the transAlaska oil line was successfully built through Thompson Pass, the oil line and the Richardson Highway limit the buildable right-of-way still available for a gas line, Alaska LNG said.

The high-pressure gas pipeline “could not be within the TAPS [oil pipeline] right

of way” due to the oil line’s safety considerations.

Although the Valdez route would bring the gas line closer to Fairbanks, it would carry the gas farther away from the state’s population center in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and Anchorage.

In response to a February 13 news media inquiry, Alaska Governor Bill Walker’s office said he supports the route to Nikiski.

In addition to challenging all of Alaska LNG’s assertions, the Valdez proponents in their February 1 filing listed multiple environmental, permitting, and operational risks of the Nikiski alternative, including:  Sinking the pipeline across almost thirty miles of Cook Inlet, through Beluga whale critical habitat area.  Nearshore dredging for pipeline installation.  Nearshore ice that could interfere with operations at the marine terminal.  The economic loss to salmon setnetters displaced in the area of the marine terminal.  Routing the pipeline through Denali State Park, Denali National Park, and the Minto Flats and Susitna Flats state game refuges.

State Responsibility to Reply The state is now in charge of responding to FERC’s requests for more information-and addressing the Valdez/Fairbanks filingalong with finishing the environmental and engineering work necessary to prepare a complete project application. After spending about half-a-billion dollars over several years, the North Slope producers a year ago declined to move ahead with spending hundreds of millions of dollars more on environmental, engineering, and permitting work amid a global oversupply of LNG and weak prices in oil and gas markets.

The state, however, through the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, wants to keep moving ahead, and is negotiating with the companies to fully take over development of the project.

The state corporation has said it wants to fill in all the data gaps and answer FERC’s questions, which total 420 pages, in time to submit a complete project application by June.

The corporation board at its February 9 meeting approved more than $30 million in spending for the remainder of fiscal year 2017, which ends June 30, to complete work for the FERC application and to pursue marketing and financing opportunities for the state-led venture. The board-approved budget calls for spending more than $50 million in state funds in fiscal year 2018, assuming the project continues through the permitting process and attracts market interest.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Proponents List Benefits of Valdez Site Much of the Valdez/Fairbanks filing with FERC focuses on purported cost savings and economic benefits of routing the gas pipeline to the Prince William Sound port instead of Nikiski. The Valdez routing would direct the gas line closer to Fairbanks, greatly reducing the miles of a spur pipeline into the community.

“The Valdez alternative’s proximity to Fairbanks and communities along the Richardson Highway provides superior socioeconomic benefit to the Nikiski alternative by providing access to inexpensive natural gas for communities facing exceptionally high energy prices and poor air quality,” the filing said.

The route also would increase the mainline miles subject to Fairbanks borough property taxes.

Points in favor of Valdez, the advocates told FERC, include the ability to co-locate the gas line along the trans-Alaska oil pipeline right-of-way, allowing cost-saving “utilization of existing infrastructure.” However, the filing alleged, the Alaska LNG partners “have not included these advantages in its analysis of the Valdez alternative.”

The advocates also cited twenty-two- and twenty-nine-year-old federal EISs that determined Valdez was the preferred site for the proposed Yukon Pacific Co. LNG project.

The Bureau of Land Management in 1988 issued a final EIS for the project, followed by FERC in 1995. However, Yukon Pacific in 2011 relinquished its unused BLM right-ofway authorization.

“Absent strong countervailing evidence provided by the project applicants,” the proponents said in their filing, “FERC should not allow the project applicants to deviate from the FERC-approved Valdez alternative.”

The filing also cited environmental justice considerations in support of the Valdez alternative. “The Valdez alternative will have lesser impacts on minority and low-income populations. For example, by avoiding impacts on traditional subsistence hunting and fishing areas such as Minto Flats, the Valdez alternative will avoid any disproportionate impacts on Native populations who rely on such resources for their livelihood.”

“Moreover,” the proponents said, “the Nikiski alternative deprives minority and lowincome residents of the Fairbanks area access to low-cost natural gas, which would provide relief from health impacts caused by the extremely poor air quality there.”

The Valdez proponents also cited the Alaska Constitution’s provision that the state legislature provide for development of Alaska natural resources “for the maximum benefit of its people.” The purported cost savings and potentially higher state revenues, they said, “weighs heavily in favor of selecting the Valdez alternative in order to comply” with the state constitution.

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••• Please visit our website at http://abrinc.com/ or call us Fairbanks: 907-455-6777 • Anchorage: 907-344-6777

Larry Persily is the Oil and Gas Special Assistant to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor’s Office. www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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OIL & GAS

Alaska Shale Deposits A

By Darryl Jordan

laskans know the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) as an important asset. The Greater Moose’s Tooth (GMT) development, operated by ConocoPhillips, is estimated to add 30,000 to 40,000 barrels per day into the Trans Alaska Pipeline System(TAPS). NPR-A was set aside

by President Warren Harding in 1923. The increase is an important change to declining TAPS throughput, roughly a half million barrels of oil per day last year to an average 520,000 barrels per day today. A second project, GMT-2, further into the fringe of NPR-A, is still progressing and in the permitting stages. A third project, Willow, was announced in January as a light oil discovery with a possible 100,000 barrels per day.

Compared to the crude oil production reported in the US Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2017, these new developments in NPR-A are small; 10 million barrels per day are expected to be produced in the United States in 2017— half from unconventional sources. In 2010, Alaska crude oil production equaled the unconventional oil produced in the United States and six years later the unconventional resource is out-producing Alaska by a factor of 10. The percentage is even more lopsided if discussing gas from unconventional sources.

The amount of oil or gas developed from unconventional sources in Alaska is nearly zero. It is as if Alaska was totally caught by surprise that oil could be produced in a manner other than drilling a conventional oil well.

In Alaska history this is not true. Oil shale, one of the unconventional sources for crude oil, actually led to the formation of NPR-A. 94

Creation of Reserves In 1910, the Pickett Act was passed and allowed the president to withdraw land in California and Wyoming for possible oil production for the US Navy. While President Harding set aside NPR-A in 1923, it is William Howard Taft, Harding’s predecessor, who both initiated the US government railroad in Alaska and created through executive order the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves (NPOSR). Over a century ago, oil shale was being sheltered for the protection of the United States and projection of power through the US Navy warships.

By 1923, petroleum and oil shale reserves in California, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Alaska had been set aside under NPOSR. Prior to becoming president, Taft was the 42nd Secretary of War, and later Harding nominated Taft to be the 10th Chief Justice (the only person to have led both the Executive and Judicial branches of the US government). The Secretary of War was third in line for succession to the presidency, if necessary, at a time when the president’s Cabinet would retain control of the Executive Branch of the US government, rather than pass to politicians of the Legislative Branch. Taft was also part of the Sherman Antitrust lawsuit that would break up Standard Oil into as many as thirty-two companies, including companies that later became Standard Oil of California, Standard Oil of Ohio (bought by BP), Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips—all familiar names in Alaska.

It would be Standard Oil of California that would set the record for drilling to 5,034 feet, the then-deepest and most expensive well in Alaska in the years 1923-1926. Alaskans understand conventional oil development. Drill a hole down to a reservoir that has geologi-

cally trapped crude oil and deliver that pool of crude oil to the market.

Oil Shale Is Different Oil shale and its history are different. To understand how, one only needs to imagine an Alaska Native burning whale, seal, or fish oil, as well as other tallow for heat and light. In the 18th century, Alaska Natives were not the only ones using this oil for domestic use. Whale oil in particular was the fuel of choice for the 18th century households around the world due to its cleaner burning nature. That was until kerosene was derived from crude oil in 1849 and the world demanded more crude oil to make kerosene. While drilling for crude oil is traced back to the 4th century using bamboo rods with cutting bits, production drilling did not make an appearance until there was a commercial demand created by kerosene. The use of oil shale is 3,000 years older.

Before being reserved for US Navy ships by the Taft administration, oil shale was used for road construction, adhesives, medicine, and decoration back in the time of the Greeks and Romans. Oil shale could be found on the surface and then crushed and heated, with something that looked like crude oil eventually extracted. Using heat to speed the extraction process was called “retorting.” Oil shale was crushed and placed in a device to heat the rock and organic matter, and then the resulting emitted gasses were allowed to cool to form a liquid, which could be used to make kerosene.

Retorting went the way of the buggy whip when automobiles exceeded buggies, about the same time that Taft was creating NPOSR. The estimated entire US oil shale reserve was at more than 2 trillion barrels of oil at the time the NPOSR was created.

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Franklin Bluffs overlooking the Sagavanirktok River in northern Alaska about thirty miles south of Deadhorse is the site of a shale deposit being explored for possible development. © Jim Barr / AlaskaStock.com

Modern estimates put US oil shale reserves at 6 trillion barrels. Oil shale is known to occur in at least twenty-seven countries in the world and collectively adds more than 10 trillion barrels of crude oil to the world’s oil reserve. The United States has a majority of the resource.

According to the Institute for Energy Research, “Depending on technology and economics, as much as 1 trillion barrels of oil equivalent could be recoverable from oil shale resources yielding greater than 25 gallons per ton. For reference, 1 trillion barrels is nearly 4 times the amount of proven oil reserves in Saudi Arabia.”

Of the 6 trillion barrels estimated in the United States, 4 trillion are concentrated in the Western states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. In geologic history, these states were at several times at the ocean bottom for millions of years and in those periods would capture oil producing plankton and other organic matter amongst layers of fine particles of silt and clay.

Oil Formation In geology, a boulder or cobble sized rocks might be in the composition of the depositional ocean sediments. As these rocks were massive in comparison to their volume and that volume was used to displace water, these rocks fell swiftly as soon as the river or tidal current velocity dropped from miles per hour to yards per day. Sand sized particles also dropped quickly but could be carried further than a boulder.

Particles smaller than sand are classified as silt www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

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and clay particles and may be carried far out into an ocean, sea, or lake before these particles come to rest. It is easy to visualize how oil bearing plankton and silt mixed with clay particles tend to settle in the same waters.

Through geologic time, the silt and clay with plankton were buried and sank into the earth’s crust. The silt and clay became shale, and the layers of dead plankton became an organic compound named kerogen. Kerogen then may possibly transition into crude oil or gas. To transition, the formation must sink the layers of silt and clay deep enough for heat and pressure to have an effect, and then the kerogen either changes to crude oil or becomes a gas. Depending on depth, a geologic deposit either formed a gas shale, oil shale, or combinations thereof. Oil shales have more value than gas shales as crude oil contains more energy per volume than gas.

When Taft reserved federal oil shale lands, he probably did not make any distinction between oil shale, shale oil, or tight oil. In all likelihood, Taft was reserving federal property that might supply the Navy with oil. Modern distinctions are similar in that oil shale technically refers to rocks that need to be retorted to convert kerogen to crude oil, while shale oil is associated with crude oil trapped in shale, and tight oil is any crude oil trapped in a rock of low permeability such that the crude oil cannot flow.

Alaska is looking for oil to fill TAPS just as the Navy was looking for oil to fill the ship’s hold.

Oil shale probably means the same to Alaskans as it did to Taft. So the definition is changing and

there are distinctions between various names, but most high level discussions focus on unconventional, tight, or continuous oil.

Alaska Shale If 4 trillion of the 6 trillion barrels of the nation’s oil shale reserve is in the Western United States, is there an oil shale reserve in Alaska?

Robert B. Blodgett, PhD, of Blodgett & Associates LLC, Geological & Paleontological Consultants, believes that there are significant potential sites. Blodgett says, “Other significant oil/gas shale plays that come to mind are the Devonian-Mississippian Ford Lake Shale of eastcentral Alaska, the Kamishak Formation [Upper Triassic] and Shelikof [Middle Jurassic] of the upper Alaska Peninsula, and the Shublik Formation [Upper Triassic] of the North Slope.” The Shelikof play is perhaps the source rock that produced the oil seeps that attracted Standard Oil of California to Alaska. Great Bear Petroleum has been investigating the Shublik Formation.

A rich deposit of oil shale would be considered commercial if it contained forty to forty-five barrels of crude oil per ton of ore.

This thinking is now old-school as it assumes the ore is near the surface and can be mined.

The mined ore is crushed, retorted, and the return on investment is the resulting liquid. This method is employed around the world; but not in the United States. The United States instead is capturing oil shale liquids using fracking.

Water pressure is used to fracture the formation and proppant is left to hold the fractures open. This mixture of water and proppant is

injected into an oil-rich shale formation and allows the oil to be released to flow back to the surface. Fracking has eliminated the on surface crushing and retorting. Alaska is well acquainted with this fracking.

Almost 1,900 wells, about one fourth of the wells drilled in Alaska, have been fracked, according to Cathy Foerster, chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. This is the game changer for the United States oil supply as this process has produced significant oil in other states.

The federal Energy Information Administration in November of 2016 reported United States tight oil production at approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day—a large percentage when compared to the its report in the same month of 8.681 million barrels of total production in the United States.

Exploiting Oil Shale Alaska’s tight oil, shale oil, or oil shale production is virtually non-existent. Blodgett believes there are significant oil shale plays and has a theory why they are not exploited.

“Petroleum exploration has come to rely more heavily upon seismic [geophysical] data in recent years; however, for successful results in the hunt for oil shale deposits, traditional data such as biostratigraphy [paleontological], sedimentology, and stratigraphy are also absolutely necessary. I have seen some major pitfalls in Alaska, notably in Cook Inlet, where serious errors have been made when one relies wholly upon seismic interpretation.”

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

The Department of Energy would agree with this statement, listing subsurface science as one of its six foci for research and development. Their list includes subsurface science, footprint reduction, induced seismicity, methane emissions, transportation and storage, and water quality and availability. Footprint reduction is necessary as fractured oil wells must be spread over the width and breadth of the formation. A conventional well may collect oil from a central point.

In North Dakota, for example, there are roads spread over many pasture lands, but Alaska does not possess that kind of infrastructure. Induced seismicity is a consideration in an area without reinjection of produced fluids; but on the North Slope, produced water is not only reinjected but supplemented with millions of barrels of seawater. Methane emissions, transportation, and storage are Alaska sized problems, but not unique to oil shale. Hydraulically fracturing an oil shale formation does have both a water quality and availability problem.

Much of the national attention on oil shale hydrocarbon production focuses on water quality, but in Alaska the problem is water availability.

In a shallow formation, like the Marcellus Shale in the Eastern United States, the oil shale is close to the reservoirs that provide water resources to the surface environment. Fracturing the shale may provide a vector for pollutants. In Alaska, we do not currently have any shallow formations. Case in point, BlueCrest is fracturing a long horizontal well near Anchor Point, in Southcentral, and the fractures going several hundred feet from the well will not be able to penetrate the more than 7,000 feet the formation is under the Cook Inlet.

ness is simply a measure of how much oil can be extracted from a ton of ore. A rich ore may contain more than forty gallons of oil per ton of oil shale. Less than twenty gallons of oil per ton of rock is considered poor. Converting to Btu’s per pound of oil shale allows the comparison to coal. At twenty gallons of high quality crude oil in the ore, a poor ore of high quality might have 1,380 Btu per pound and a rich ore of high quality would be double.

This is no match for coal by a factor of 5 to 15.

So why would Taft create an oil shale reserve?

Navy ships displace water to stay afloat and the weight of the fuel controls both the ship tonnage and effective range. A ton of coal, depending on quality, may deliver 12 million to 24 million Btu but a similar ton of heavy fuel oil would

provide 35 million Btu. The Navy ship could range farther or could use tonnage for other important factors such as armor or firepower.

A century ago, the nation reserved oil shale, the ancient rock that produced promise of crude oil to power Navy ships and the United States should the need exist. Oil shale and the NPOSR did not survive as conventional oil drilling methods produced cheaper means of providing large quantities of crude oil. At the same time, Alaska is missing from the future power curve driving America’s oil production: that which might be derived from Alaska’s oil shale reserve.

R Darryl Jordan writes from Anchorage.

Water Is a Problem Water availability is a real problem. The Department of Energy has completed a number of studies that recognize that water is an essential component of the North Slope environment, which influences natural life cycles, essential habitat, and is meeting a variety of human needs. A single fracking processing may require as much as 500,000 gallons per fracture. By contrast, the Bureau of Land Management has estimated that a single mile of ice road requires 1 million to 1.5 million gallons of water per mile. In the frozen Arctic, the water from area lakes to supply the ice roads alone has become a central regulatory management problem. There may be a reason Alaska does not contribute to the national production of tight oil production—economics.

Coal looks like a rock but depending upon the richness of the carbon content may yield between 8,000 Btu per pound and 17,000 Btu per pound. Lignite coal is generally a low grade coal and anthracite coal, the metamorphic rock that has been condensed through heat and earth pressure. Anthracite is the higher end of the valued fuels and is rare.

There is already a grading system for coal, from lowest to highest; peat, lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite. It is based upon the amount of energy derived per pound. Oil shale has a similar value system.

Oil shale rankings are based upon the richness and quality of the ore body. Richwww.akbizmag.com

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OIL & GAS

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Infrastructure Investment Climate for Oil and Gas Industry Economics may be a challenge

W Filling the trans-Alaska oil pipeline with more oil depends on the investment climate and new discoveries. © Chris Arend / AlaskaStock.com

www.akbizmag.com

By Tim Bradner

hat we’ve learned in recent times, from recent oil discoveries, is that there is a lot of oil on the North Slope. The rocks are good, as geologists like to say. There’s enough new production possible, in fact, that “throughput,” or the volume of oil flowing, in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System might be stabilized at rates high enough to keep TAPS economically viable and operating. With luck, throughput might actually be increased.

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The new discoveries are by Caelus Energy at Smith Bay, northwest of the Alpine field at on offshore location; Armstrong Oil and Gas and Repsol, its partner, onshore near the Colville River; and most recently by ConocoPhillips in NPR-A (National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska) west of the producing Alpine field.

It’s also true that more oil can also be squeezed out of the big producing fields on the slope, mainly the Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk, and Alpine fields. After decades of production they are still the major producers on the slope. The operating companies, BP at Prudhoe Bay and ConocoPhillips at Kuparuk and Alpine, believe that several billion barrels of oil can still be produced from the three fields.

This is all good news but there’s a catch, of course. The geologic potential is good, but the oil is scattered across a lot of real estate. The costs of moving that oil to the established infrastructure, the pipelines around the established fields, will be high. While the potential is there, the economics may be a challenge.

Distance and Technology Caelus Energy’s offshore discovery at Smith Bay, for example, could be big, although there’s a lot we don’t yet know about it. The main problem is that it is off in the middle of nowhere, more than 100 miles west of the nearest pipeline connection at the Alpine field.

Other new discoveries, like those by Armstrong Oil and Gas and Repsol, are more

favorably situated because they are onshore, near the Colville River and nearer infrastructure. But they may be technically challenging to produce, meaning the oil may be high-cost. Armstrong and Repsol have never published estimated production rates, but the production facilities being planned are to be capable of handling 120,000 barrels daily.

There are also two smaller projects awaiting development, both onshore and near infrastructure. One is Mustang, a small deposit west of the Kuparuk field that is planned for construction by Brooks Range Petroleum Co., an Alaska-based independent. Mustang would produce about 10,000 barrels daily.

The second is Nuna, another small deposit larger than Mustang, near the producing Oooguruk field. Caelus Energy, which also owns and operates Oooguruk, is the owner and developer of Nuna. It is expected to produce between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels daily.

Then there’s Willow, ConocoPhillips’ new discovery in the NPR-A, which could also be big. ConocoPhillips has estimated its potential at 100,000 barrels per day. It is further to the west in the petroleum reserve from ConocoPhillips’ recent discoveries at GMT1 and GMT-2, and its oil will have to travel farther to get to processing facilities at the Alpine field.

If all of these projects are developed, they could collectively add about 400,000 barrels per day to TAPS throughput, nearly doubling what the pipeline is now carrying, by 2025.

The timing of that would be good. Absent oil from new discoveries flowing into the pipeline, even small improvements in performance in the big “legacy” fields won’t be enough to stem a steady decline in production. In that scenario, by 2025 TAPS could be approaching its economic lower limit, which is thought to be about 300,000 barrels daily of throughput.

Incremental Strategy On its NPR-A play, ConocoPhillips and its minority partner, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., are following an incremental strategy of stepping west into the reserve from the established infrastructure in the Alpine field, which is on state-owned lands near the eastern boundary of NPR-A. The first step west from Alpine was to CD-5, a discovery just across Colville River and just within the petroleum reserve.

CD-5 sparked a long fight over permits for a bridge crossing the Colville, but the issues were eventually resolved. The bridge, of course, was more than infrastructure for CD-5, because it was also essential to serve developments further out in the petroleum reserve. Without the bridge and year-round gravel road access from Alpine, the only access for smaller projects to the west would be with winter ice roads and air in summer. They would probably not have been economic.

With the bridge and CD-5 road in place, development proceeded first to GMT-1, an eight-mile distance from CD-5, and subsequently to GMT-2, an additional eight miles west. GMT-1 is expected to produce 30,000 100

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barrels per day at peak and GMT-2 is expected to deliver 25,000 to 30,000 barrels per day.

If Willow proves to be big enough to produce at the upper range of expectations, at 100,000 barrels per day, it may be enough to justify construction of a process plant at the site, ConocoPhillips has said. This would be very important, because without a process plant to separate water and natural gas from the crude oil, the produced fluids are shipped raw as “three-phase,” or with the oil, gas, and water mixed. This can be done for relatively short distances, for example the twenty-odd miles from GMT-2 to the Alpine processing plants, and it might be possible for the additional eight miles from Willow, if that turns out to be small.

Shipping oil, gas, and water mixed in three-phase presents problems if attempted over long distances. The water is corrosive on metal in the pipelines, so the mixture would create the potential for more corrosion. That will increase maintenance costs and increase the potential for small leaks and oil spills.

Another problem is that the pipeline capacity is being taken up by shipping fluids that do not bring revenue, such as the water and gas. If the water and gas can be removed near the producing wells, in a processing plant, the water can be injected back underground and also the gas, although that could also be used in production operations as fuel.

What is shipped through the pipeline is the crude oil, posing less of a corrosion danger and using the pipeline capacity to ship only fluids that produce revenue.

However, a processing plant built in the northeast NPR-A, twenty miles or so west of Alpine, would make it more efficient to develop other deposits found nearby. Thus the step-by-step process could repeat, a process plant centrally located and smaller deposits ten to fifteen miles in any direction shipping fluids in three-phase.

Caelus’ Smith Bay discovery presents a similar opportunity along the shallow, state-owned Beaufort Sea submerged lands offshore the NPR-A or even onshore in the reserve if regulatory issues can be dealt with (development in certain coastal areas of the reserve is now prohibited). In this case, the 125-mile offshore pipeline that would be built to move oil from Smith Bay to the Alpine field area would make it possible to develop other discoveries along the route of the pipeline, near Smith Bay or further west toward Point Barrow and Utqiaġvik.

Extensive Advantage All of the new discoveries have the advantage of the extensive infrastructure built on the North Slope over the years. Just as building TAPS in the 1970s enabled the development of Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk River, and other larger fields in the central North Slope, the gradual expansion of pipelines to the west allowed development of Alpine in the Colville River delta area. The larger inter-field pipelines are common carriers, which mean they are open to new explorers who find oil.

The same is true of the Badami pipeline, which was built east from Prudhoe Bay about twenty-five miles to reach the small Badami www.akbizmag.com

field, and which has been extended farther east to Point Thomson, a large gas and condensate field sixty miles east of Prudhoe.

The existence of this infrastructure makes the development of small and medium-sized discoveries east and west of Prudhoe possible. There are issues with access to other infrastructure, however, such as roads and airfields and processing facilities that are privately-owned by field operators. A newcomer has to negotiate agreements to use these, and this can present challenges.

Low Oil Prices A big problem, however, is the low price of crude oil, which crashed in late 2015 is showing some recovery, but whether prices can increase

enough to make the planned new projects viable is unknown. Caelus, for example, has indicated that a price of $65 per barrel might be needed to allow it to develop Nuna, its smaller new project that can be developed quickly once decisions are made, but Smith Bay is several years out in the future and faces regulatory hurdles as well as the price uncertainty. All of these uncertainties—oil prices, geologic conditions, technical and regulatory issues, and high costs—weigh over these developments.

Things are more certain for new projects in the big “legacy” producing fields, mainly Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River. The infrastructure is largely in place, geologic risks are better understood, and the regulatory framework is set in place. Also, producers

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have been able to reduce per-barrel production costs after vigorous cost-cutting in 2016.

One estimate of those, by the state Department of Revenue, is that costs have been reduced by $5 per barrel, but those are average costs for all producers in 2016. The estimate is complicated, however, because it includes capital costs like drilling of new wells and major maintenance which ultimately result in more barrels being produced. In other words, if the reduced per-barrel cost includes capital investment needed to get new production, the decrease will actually have a negative effect in the long run because there will be fewer barrels being produced in future years from the capital investments foregone this year.

A Taxing Issue A new challenge, however, is that increases to the state’s oil and gas taxes are being considered once again in the state Legislature, in House Bill 111 (HB 111). This comes following substantial tax changes made last year in House Bill 247 that went into effect on January 1. The argument being made by sponsors of the new legislation is that HB 111 would deal with certain aspects of HB 247 that were originally proposed but not passed in the end.

However, the bill also represents a tax increase for the North Slope companies. Two changes proposed are aimed mainly at the large North Slope producers, who produce the bulk of the oil still moving down TAPS. One is an increase in the minimum state production tax from 4 percent of gross revenues to 5 percent, which amounts to a 25 percent increase for the producers or even more if certain tax credits are not allowed to count against the minimum tax, which the bill also proposes.

Another part of HB 111 would increase taxes on producers indirectly, by modifying a perbarrel production tax credit. While called a tax “credit,� this is really a way of modifying a significant tax increase imposed on producers in 2013 in SB 21, a tax overhaul made that year.

In that legislation the tax rate was increased from 25 percent to 35 percent of net profits but with the producers allowed to take a $5 per barrel reduction against the higher tax owed (this was an incentive to encourage companies to produce more oil.) If the per-barrel credit is eliminated or reduced, it amounts to an indirect tax increase. The tax system is still on the 4 percent (proposes to go to 5 percent) minimum tax on gross revenues at current oil prices but would swing back to the net profits 35 percent tax if oil prices were to rise to about $80 per barrel.

None of the companies proposing new projects have been specific about how a tax increase would affect their proposals except for Caelus Energy, which has said that if HB 111 were to be enacted as it is, the minimum oil price threshold needed by the company to develop Nuna, its near-term project, would rise about $5 per barrel.

R Tim Bradner is editor of the Alaska Economic Report and copublisher of Alaska Legislative Digest.

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OIL & GAS

State Signs On to Cover Costs of FERC-Approved Contractor for EIS

By Larry Persily (This update, provided by the Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor’s office, is part of an ongoing effort to help keep the public informed about the Alaska LNG project.)

A

s part of taking over sole responsibility for the Alaska LNG project, the state has signed an agreement to cover the costs of the contractor that will assist federal regulators in preparation of the project’s environmental impact statement (EIS).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) selects a third-party contractor to help with each project’s EIS and directs the contractor’s work. Project applicants pay all of the contractor’s fees and expenses.

In other news of the state-led venture, Alaska Governor Bill Walker has sent a thirty-twopage packet to President Donald Trump, proposing multiple congressional and executive branch actions intended to lower the cost, limit federal oversight, and ease the regulatory burden on the Alaska project. Among the requests is a federal loan guarantee to cover almost the entire cost of the $45 billion development.

Regardless of the outcome of the governor’s request to the president, the environmental review process will continue at FERC. ERM, a forty-year-old global firm with almost $900 million in revenues last year, with offices in Alaska and thirty-five other states, has been assisting FERC with preparations for the Alaska project’s EIS. Work on the actual EIS would begin after the project sponsor files a complete application with federal regulators.

The state agency in charge of the project, the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), has said it is working toward filing the application with FERC in June for the $45 billion development to move North Slope gas through an 804-mile pipeline to a liquefaction plant and marine terminal in Nikiski, with LNG (liquefied natural gas) export sales to Asian markets.

When FERC selected the EIS contractor in 2014, the project applicants were North Slope oil and gas producers ExxonMobil, BP, and ConocoPhillips, along with the state of Alaska as a 25 percent partner. The state paid its proportional share of the costs. Then last year, the state started to take over full management of the project after the companies opted not to proceed to the costly next stage of development and FERC application due to weak market conditions amid a global oversupply of LNG.

Contractor Expenses Will Depend on State Effort FERC had requested that AGDC negotiate an agreement with ERM for the state to take over full responsibility for the contract. The state corporation on February 23 signed a memorandum of understanding with FERC and 104

Alaska LNG’s planned Nikiski gas treatment plant.

Rendering: Alaska-LNG.com

ERM and then separately signed a reimbursement contract with ERM for its work on the project. Financial terms of the contract are not included in the public docket at FERC. Billings by ERM will depend on work generated by the project applicant’s filings with FERC. AGDC has said it is working to answer 420 pages of questions and requests for more information submitted last fall by federal regulators—information required before FERC would accept the project application as complete.

In addition to working on the environmental, engineering, construction, route selection, and other data requested by FERC, the state gasline corporation continues to negotiate with the North Slope producers on two issues still pending before the state can fully take over the project: The federal export authority for the gas is in the name of the companies and the state needs to get itself added to that authorization.

The state was not a party to the almost 650 acres of land the companies purchased at the LNG plant site in Nikiski, and AGDC is talking with the companies about an option or lease—some mechanism to satisfy FERC’s requirement that a project applicant must show it has a legal right to the site.

Coast Guard Says Cook Inlet Can Handle Traffic In other project news, the US Coast Guard on February 11 notified FERC it had reviewed the required Waterway Suitability Assessment for the Alaska LNG terminal in Nikiski. “Based on a comprehensive review of marine safety and security issues in coordination with port partners, I recommend Cook Inlet be considered suitable for accommodating the type and frequency of LNG marine traffic associated with

the project,” said Coast Guard Capt. P. Albertson, Captain of the Port, Western Alaska.

“We focused on navigation safety and maritime security with respect to LNG vessels transiting Cook Inlet,” the letter explained. “We consulted a variety of stakeholders including the governing Area Maritime Security Committee, Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee, Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council, and local emergency response groups.”

The Waterway Suitability Assessment looks at water depths, tidal range, underwater pipelines and cables, berthing requirements, and other safety and security issues.

While the Coast Guard Letter of Recommendation to FERC is public record, the underlying analysis, which includes “operational safety and security measures,” is confidential.

Governor Requests President’s Help Walker on February 7 sent a request to President Trump proposing “several practical and innovative means by which the US government can assist” with the project that would create US jobs and help reduce the nation’s trade deficit. Those include: Reopen the federal office for Alaska North Slope gas projects that closed in March 2015 and expand its authority in federal law to assist with an LNG export and/or in-state pipeline project. The office, created by the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act of 2004, was limited to assisting a pipeline project that would deliver gas to North America—that was before the shale gas boom, when US gas buyers, and Congress, worried the country could run short of the fuel.

Remove a North American pipeline project from the agency’s authorizing legislation.

Add a provision that the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act, and its benefits, apply only

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to a project “owned or partially owned by the state of Alaska.”

More than double the available federal loan guarantee for the Alaska project from the $18 billion established in the 2004 legislation to $40 billion, indexed to inflation.

Add a statement to law that the Alaska project qualifies for federal tax-exempt status.

The governor has promoted tax-exempt status for the project’s debt financing and its income under a state-controlled ownership structure as a significant move toward reducing the venture’s costs and increasing its competitiveness in the crowded global LNG marketplace.

Exempt the project “from all federal wetlands compensatory mitigation requirements of the Clean Water Act.” Direct all federal agencies to authorize above-ground or below-ground pipeline construction “in accordance with the project proponent’s design for any terrestrial, riparian, or marine area.”

Adding the LNG export project to the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act would impose the statute’s twenty-month deadline on FERC to prepare the project’s EIS and issue a decision on the application.

Other executive branch actions proposed by the governor in his letter to the president would limit federal agency oversight of different aspects of the project, including: Exempt the project from EPA oversight of programs that have been delegated to the state under the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.

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Direct the US Army Corps of Engineers “to ensure that any areas with underlying permafrost shall not be jurisdictional wetlands.”

Exempt the project from having to reimburse the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for its costs of reviewing the pipeline and LNG plant specifications, construction, and operational plans.

Direct the pipeline safety agency not to object to the polyethylene coating proposed by the developer for the steel pipeline and not to object to block-valve and crack-arrestor spacing along certain portions of the line. (The agency raised both issues in its comments through FERC last year.)

Declare that a strain-based design for the pipeline does not require a special permit.

The pipeline agency has long maintained that a special permit would be required for a strain-based design in areas susceptible to ground movement because of discontinuous permafrost.

Rescind an executive order that would require the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies to require compensatory mitigation from the project developer.

Require that any federal action considered under the Endangered Species Act within Alaska “should require concurrence” from the state Department of Fish and Game.

Exempt the project from the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Beluga whale recovery program management conditions. (Cook Inlet Belugas are listed as an endangered species.)

Direct the National Marine Fisheries Services to “re-evaluate and define” the Cook Inlet Beluga Exclusion Zone, with the concurrence of the state.

The governor’s list of proposals also includes an amendment to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 to ease the regulatory requirements for routing seven miles of the gas pipeline just inside the eastern edge of Denali National Park. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski tried adding the same amendment to an energy bill last year, but Congress never took action on the legislation.

The Alaska LNG team has advocated the park route as a better alternative than building the line across steep side slopes and unstable terrain farther east, outside the park boundary. The alternative route also would eliminate the need to build a 500-foot-long pipeline bridge across a steep canyon and would bring gas closer to park facilities for use as an alternative to diesel fuel.

Without the change in federal law, however, the alternative routing, regardless of its benefits, would be subject to an “impracticable … unreasonably difficult if not impossible” duplicative federal regulatory process under a seldom-used provision of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, project sponsors said in filings last fall with FERC. R Larry Persily is the Oil and Gas Special Assistant to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor’s Office.

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TRANSPORTATION

You Light Up My Life (and Help Me Land Safely) Runway lighting in Alaska is a critical element

By Tom Anderson

E

ver wonder what it would be like to land an airplane in the dark?

You could envision such a scenario on a computer simulation or in a movie, but for all intents and purposes, a pilot requires some level of illumination to safely land a plane.

The reality is that one of the most critical elements to flight is the landing.

To land, pilots must have some modicum of visual measure of proximity to the ground and length of the field upon which to set the tires down and then brake before going past the other end. The larger the plane, the more complex the logistics and infrastructure are for this consideration.

Add to the mix of landing variables some boisterous weather, intermittent and seasonal daylight or complete darkness, remote and treacherous terrain, and varied surface areas and now the calculus must be even more precise for a safe and efficient landing.

Toss all of these factors into your flight plan and destination, and there’s a good 106

chance you’re in the one state that juggles such obstacles on a daily basis: Alaska.

Landing Strips and Lights Most people know Alaska is a huge state. Certainly anyone who flies intrastate understands the dimensions of travel and the importance to land the plane, especially in remote locations when fuel is coveted and alternative landing strips are few and far between.

The sheer number of airports in the state is actually incredible in proportion to the number of people that work and live here, and that means a massive amount of lighting is necessary for the collection of landing fields.

Official landing strips are airstrips registered by FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and in the 5010 Airport Master Record.

Alaska has 395 public-use airports comprised of 278 land-based, 4 heliports, and 113 seaplane bases. Approximately 749 recorded landing areas, including private, public, and military, exist across the state.

Of course, bush pilots and those recreationally flying often land their planes on the thousands of Alaska lakes, water systems, sand bars, and dry surfaces absent a constructed landing strip. By the numbers, the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) owns and operates 242 airports.

Troy LaRue is a second-generation DOTPF airport manager. In his 20th year with the Department, he’s been at his current position as division operations manager for the Division of Statewide Aviation (SWA) for more than two years.

Working with LaRue is SWA’s Rural Aviation System Planner Rebecca Rauf. Rauf oversees aviation planning and future forecasting, including the Airport Master Record program, which means she manages the contractors who inspect all public airports, many of which are lighted.

SWA oversees the system planning property management of Alaska airports and the

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Time-lapsed photo of runway lighting at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

The long light streaming down from the right is an aircraft landing.

Photo by Rob Stapleton

Spending Plan, which includes safety and security. Safety officers work with the FAA to meet grant assurances and comply with regulations. Landing strip lighting is integral to nighttime operations, so SWA coordinates internally with Maintenance and Operations (M&O) to ensure runway lights across the state remain operable throughout the year.

LaRue delineates that Anchorage International and Fairbanks International Airports are the only two airports with the “international” status in the state. Ketchikan Airport is an exception because it’s owned by the state but operated by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. He adds there are many other landing strips in Alaska but little to no maintenance is performed on them. The DOTPF refers to these other runways as backcountry landing strips. There are also numerous private airports across the map and a handful of municipal airport such as Juneau International, Kenai, Merrill Field, Palmer, and Nenana that require some level of lighting and oversight but may not be managed by the state directly. www.akbizmag.com

Rauf notes there are 162 airports in DOTPF’s inventory (of 242) that have lighting on at least one runway at the airport. That equates to 80 unlit DOTPF airports throughout the state. Many of these runways are seaplane bases or smaller rural strips. She adds that of the 162 airports, 27 have high-intensity lighting on at least one of their runways and the remainder have medium intensity.

Both LaRue and Rauf attest to the problematic fact that where there is lighting on a runway, it’s not always easy to manage. They note the airports that have been built on permafrost cause the largest issue for DOTPF. Climate change and melting permafrost cause the ground to shift, which thereby breaks conduits, pulls wires apart, and leaves the lighting system inoperable. They add that it’s common to experience these issues in most cold regions of the state, from northern Alaska to south as far as the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta where deep freezes hinder repairs. Rauf says many of the areas are very remote and DOTPF doesn’t have

resources within the respective community to make immediate repairs, costing time and resources to get a maintenance worker there.

Vandalism is a problem as well; the state, via taxpayers, bears the fiscal brunt to remedy damaged lights. SWA has active public outreach initiatives to reduce vandalism of airstrips and lighting, including through partnership with Alaska communities who depend on the runway for supplies and medical necessity like an emergency medevac. “There are so many communities in Alaska that have one transportation mode, and that is air. Should a person in the village need medical care beyond the village’s resources during the winter months of darkness, as well as during periods of inclement weather and low visibility year round, the lighting system is vital to air transportation,” says Rauf.

One unique Alaska airfield that’s been in the news every so often is at Cold Bay. The main runway is 10,180 feet by 150 feet. This airport is vital to all transcontinental traffic that utilizes Cold Bay as an alternate airport. LaRue notes April 2017 | Alaska Business

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Intersection signage and lights are extremely important at night and during inclement weather to aid pilots on and off runways once cleared by Air Traffic Control.

Photo by Rob Stapleton

that when an aircraft experiences an emergency, especially when crossing the Pacific Ocean from Asia, exigency caused by mechanical failure requires a place to land. Many airlines use Cold Bay as an alternative to attempting to get to Anchorage when in duress. In 2016, American Airlines landed a Boeing 787 with 114 people on board because of an engine failure. In January of this year, Delta Airlines landed a 767-300 with 210 people on board that also had an engine out. This is yet another vital Alaska airport.

FAA maintains many navigation aids there, including a full ILS, illustrating how important lighting is to aviation safety, however remote.

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Several DOTPF airport lighting projects will be underway this year, primarily in the northern part of the state. A new taxiway lighting system is being installed in Cordova, new airport lighting systems are being installed in Galena and Gambell, and airfield lighting replacements will occur at Golovin, St. Michael, and Kiana. The Haines Airport will also have new general aviation apron lighting and taxiway edge lights reconstructed.

Let There Be Light While DOT manages airports, runways, and lighting in Alaska, there remains the critical supply and technical challenge to the indus-

try. Someone has to manufacture, sell, and install the special lights that keep the airports operational.

AirSide Solutions The lion’s share of lighting systems that you’ll see across Alaska airports statewide are manufactured by ADB Safegate and supplied by AirSide Solutions, their exclusive distributor in the state. Another industry leader, Cooper Crouse-Hinds, is likely the second largest supplier in the state.

The superiority of functional and consistently running technology is what quantifies when the rubber meets the runway. Lighting matters in aviation, and AirSide’s extensive range of products include runway and taxiway lighting systems, airfield signage systems that direct the pilots on the ground to the proper destinations, approach lighting systems that give the pilots runway distance and centerline guidance while on final approach, and airfield power and control systems that enable the air traffic controllers and pilots to operate the lighting systems.

Led by Ronald Nelson, the company’s president, AirSide markets its airfield products in an eight-state region that includes Alaska, with an impressive impact on safety standards and regulatory compliance. Headquartered in Auburn, Washington, Airside’s close proximity to Alaska and ten employees allow for expedited services and support for the 49th state.

Rick Lafferty, vice president and Alaska’s regional manager, is particularly proud of Air-

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Side’s track record. “AirSide Solutions has been a partner with the Alaska airports, and its airfield contractors, for over twenty-eight years,” says Lafferty. “Our goal is to provide the highest quality airfield lighting systems and technical support services to the market, improving the safety and reliability of airfields in Alaska.”

Nelson and Lafferty make reference to some of the challenging airfields their company has supplied lighting systems to over the last three decades. Point Thomson Airfield is an example. Owned and operated by Exxon Mobil and located on the North Slope, the airfield faces some of the most challenging weather conditions in North America, yet Point Thomson maintains a near-perfect record of successful approaches and landings. Lafferty adds that the high intensity airfield lighting and approach system installed at Point Thomson is a significant reason for the reliability of safe landings.

Nelson reminds that Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is the second busiest airport in the North American market, in terms of air cargo volume. The freight is most often carried by large-body aircrafts like the Boeing 747 and MD 111. In addition to the severe weather conditions, the sheer weight of the aircraft and jet blast forces during takeoff and landing operations creates an enormous strain on the Anchorage airfield lighting systems. AirSide has met the challenge to deliver what it deems the best system considering the adversity of Mother Nature.

In the industry, Nelson explains, the parlance adopted is “Anchorage Tested.”

“If the airfield lighting equipment works at Anchorage, it will work anywhere in the world,” he says.

Lafferty notes that Juneau Airport is located in a very challenging location, requiring Alaska Airlines to employ state-of-theart EVS (Electronic Visual Systems) on their aircrafts. During extremely poor visibility conditions, more common than not in the Southeast region, EVS captures the infrared heat signatures of the airfield lighting system and displays an exact replication on the cockpit window in the plane. The system enables pilots to land their aircraft in conditions that, without EVS, would be too dangerous or impossible, risking passenger safety.

“AirSide Solutions really is Alaska’s full-line supplier of airfield and heliport lighting and navigation systems, equipment, and technical services, and we’re very proud of that privilege,” adds Nelson. “Our core mission is to provide the state’s airside market with valueadded products, technical services, and logistical support for advancing the safety and reliability of airfield navigation, and our lighting systems are integral. Alaskans depend on it, and so do we. Our core strength remains the diversity and dedication of our workforce, celebrating well over 150 years of combined and collective years of service and experience.”

NPC Energy Services If companies like AirSide Solutions sells lighting systems, and the State of Alaska buys them and maintains them as the owner of the airports, who installs the systems? www.akbizmag.com

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Enter NPC Energy Services (NPCES). Based in South Anchorage, the company has a core group of about twenty-four employees, and that number typically rises to more than sixty during the construction season. Led by Paul Lantz, general manager and vice president of operations, the company is a full-service electrical contractor.

“In the aviation market NPCES is primarily an installer of airfield lighting and other landing aids and atmospheric equipment, but we also assist facility owners, their GC’s and maintenance contractors, and key vendors with project scoping, budgeting, and scheduling,” says Lantz. In some cases, he adds, the company performs electrical preventive maintenance and provides OSHA and NFPA 70E compliance programs for the equipment which powers and controls the airfield lighting so it is as reliable and safe to operate and maintain as possible.

While performing preventive maintenance, NPCES also tasks technicians with gathering the data needed to do arc flash hazard assessments and coordination studies. Engineering data, arc flash labeling, and training and equipment documentation is securely stored in a database that NPC’s clients, like the State of Alaska, have access to 24/7 via the Internet for maintenance planning or use in the event of an emergency on an airfield, runway, or at an airport property.

Lantz explains that installation of airport lighting systems typically involves close coordination with the civil contractor and airport

operations to ensure the work is completed safely and with the least amount of disruption to the airport users and travelling public as possible. He adds that these are often large civil and electrical construction projects with very tight timetables and construction phasing. They are very labor and equipment intensive, and therefore expensive, and require experienced managers who can work together as a team to avoid missteps and delays.

NPCES offers its services to airport facilities throughout Alaska, and Lantz notes that the short construction season, temperamental weather conditions, and challenging logistics often make projects interesting for his crews.

The company is particularly proud of its work at Anchorage International Airport and JBER, as it’s provided an opportunity to support some of Alaska’s key economic and national defense infrastructure and ensure its safe and reliable operation.

Over the 2017 season, NPCES has airfield lighting projects underway in Cold Bay, Cordova, Kotzebue, and Hooper Bay, and anticipates additional projects in Anchorage, Juneau, and on JBER.

Lighting the Way to Our Safety “Our rural airport system is not only the largest in the nation, but I will claim it is also the most challenging,” says LaRue. “The DOTPF M&O staff is really the backbone of the system; they are the most diversified group of talented people I have ever worked with. They work in the most extreme weather

conditions and remote locations in Alaska.

They are truly our biggest resource.”

Considering the complexity in logistics, management, and supply chain, adding the privatized installation and State-operated management, there’s a definite team approach to keeping the lights on at Alaska airports that works and works well.

The enormity of LaRue and Rauf’s infrastructural purview says it all. Recall that Alaska has 395 public-use airports, and 242 are owned and operate by the state. Nothing compares to this nationally. For example, Oregon operates 40 airports, Montana has an inventory of 126 public use airports, and Washington state has 135 airports and is considered one of the larger systems compared to many other states in the nation—yet all are dwarfed by Alaska’s inventory.

Alaska’s airports remain safe, and that status is testament in large part to the suppliers, installers, maintenance technicians, and management who keep the runways illuminated.

Thanks to the State of Alaska’s DOTPF staff, and the corporate professionals in the lighting world, we can all breathe a little easier every time we touchdown in a plane on a well-lit runway.

“Let there be light” never sounded sweeter to a pilot, and her passengers, when landing a plane in the Last Frontier.

R Tom Anderson writes from across Alaska.

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Alaska Business April 2017 DOYON UNIVERSAL SERVICES

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n January 31, Sodexo acquired 100 percent of Doyon Universal Services, previously a Limited Liability Company between Sodexo and Doyon Limited.

Effective February 1, Doyon Universal Services will continue to serve its clients as a 100 percent Sodexo-owned business, focusing as always on supporting Alaskan Native outreach and employment as well as quality of life and safety for its employees and consumers. sodexo.com

ANCHORAGE SOLID WASTE SERVICES | ALASKA WASTE

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nchorage Solid Waste Services (SWS) and Alaska Waste announced the acceptance of additional #1 (PETE) plastic containers within curbside recycling. These new plastic items are containers for salad bars, fruits, vegetables, and clear cups. Sorting advancements in mixed recovery facilities have made the recycling of all #1 plastics feasible in Anchorage.

While all #1 plastics are accepted in curbside recycling, drop-off locations at the Anchorage Recycle Center, Central Transfer Station, and Anchorage Regional Landfill will only accept #1 bottles. Self-sorted PETE, such as bottles, are a distinct, higher value product grade for end use mills. muni.org/departments/sws | alaskawaste.net

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ALASKA ACES

he ownership group of the Alaska Aces professional hockey organization has made the decision to cease operations at the end of this regular season and playoffs after fifteen sea-

Compiled by Alaska Business Staff sons and three Kelly Cup championships. The team informed the ECHL of the decision and the league’s Board of Governors has approved the request for Voluntary Suspension of operations.

Aces management says as a result of the economic downturn, sponsorships are down $600,000, season ticket sales are down $262,000 and attendance is down about 1,500 spectators per game from just a couple seasons ago. The organization has lost more money this season than in the past two seasons combined and with thousands of job losses in Alaska and more likely to come, the team expects this downward trend to continue. alaskaaces.com

ARCTIC ECONOMIC COUNCIL

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ne month after applying to be an Arctic Economic Council (AEC) Northern Partner, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation’s (ASRC) application has been unanimously approved. This makes ASRC the first organization in the Arctic with such a designation. There are various levels of membership at the AEC. The application was reviewed by the AEC executive committee before being approved by governance committee members. Larger businesses with their headquarters located within an Arctic state may apply to join the AEC family as a Northern Partner. The AEC’s full member representation includes a diverse collection of business industries that operate in and outside of the region.

The AEC was established by the Arctic Council during the 2013-2015 Canadian chairmanship as an independent organization aimed at fa-

cilitating Arctic business-to-business activities and responsible economic development. arcticeconomiccouncil.com

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49TH STATE ANGEL FUND

he Municipality of Anchorage reignited the 49th State Angel Fund (49SAF) with a new director and a partnership to spur local economic development.

49SAF is a $13.2 million program funded by the US Department of Treasury dedicated to investing capital into local companies, with a goal of generating returns while encouraging local economic development. Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has brought back Joe Morrison, the fund’s original lead staff, to stimulate investment.

49SAF has issued a $1.15 million investment recommendation for Launch:Alaska, Alaska’s only startup accelerator. Launch:Alaska will raise a matching amount of private capital to invest in startups working to solve energy challenges.

To date more than a dozen businesses have received $1.4 million of 49th State Angel Fund capital, with matching private sector investment of nearly $5 million. 49saf.com

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DELTA LEASING, LLC

elta Leasing, LLC, an Anchorage based oil and gas support services company, announced that it has purchased substantial North Slope assets from MagTec Alaska. MagTec Alaska is a Kenaibased equipment and vehicle leasing firm that has been a major supplier to North Slope operators.

As part of the MagTec asset acquisition, Delta Leasing takes ownership of 350 equipment as-

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INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS sets of MagTec, an 8,000-square-foot Prudhoe Bay shop facility, and the current MagTec customer leases on the equipment.

A 100 percent Alaska owned business, Delta Leasing has operations in Anchorage and Prudhoe Bay. deltaleasing.com

UNION MEMBERS IN ALASKA

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laska ranked third in the nation in union membership percentage in 2016; union members accounted for 18.5 percent of wage and salary workers in Alaska, compared with 19.6 percent in 2015, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

The union membership rate for the state was at its peak in 2002, when it averaged 24.4 percent, and at its lowest point in 2016 at 18.5 percent.

Nationwide, union members accounted for 10.7 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2016, down 0.4 percentage point from 2015.

Since 1989, when comparable state data became available, union membership rates in Alaska have been above the US average.

Alaska had 55,000 union members in 2016. In addition to these members, another 4,000 wage and salary workers in Alaska were represented by a union on their main job or covered by an employee association or contract while not union members themselves. bls.gov

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HUB INTERNATIONAL

ub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage based in Chicago, announced it has acquired the assets of Denali Alaskan Insurance, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Denali Federal Credit Union. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Based in Anchorage, Denali Alaskan Insurance specializes in providing property and casualty insurance solutions. The Denali Alaskan Insurance team will join Hub Northwest. hubinternational.com

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CHUGACH ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

ork is underway on a four-mile section of transmission line linking Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. Chugach Electric Association is rebuilding the 115-kilovolt transmission line that was constructed in 1962 and is nearing

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the end of its useful life. The line carries power produced at the Cooper Lake, Bradley Lake, and Nikiski power plants.

The project will rebuild transmission line between Mile Post 61 and 55 along the Seward Highway, using 230-kilovolt standards to maintain reliability and accommodate anticipated load growth in the future. The project is formally known as the Quartz Creek Transmission Line Rebuild: Silvertip Creek to Hope Substation Project.

Line construction began in January and is scheduled to be concluded by May 2017. Clearing for the construction began in December 2016. chugachelectric.com

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ALASKA PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATION

he Alaska Primary Care Association, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and U.S. Department of Labor have signed standards of apprenticeship to start four new health care Registered Apprenticeship programs.

The Registered Apprenticeships include Community Health Worker, Medical Administrative Assistant, Clinical Medical Assistant, and Medical Biller/Coder. This program is supported with federal grant money from the US Department of Labor.

Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, Christian Health Associates, Bethel Family Clinic, Camai Community Health Center (Bristol Bay), Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments, Cross Road Health Ministries, Easter Aleutian Tribes, Girdwood Health Center, Interior Community Health Center, Yakutat Tlingit Tribe, and Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation have already identified Alaskans who are signing up as apprentices through the program. alaskapca.org/ workforce

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SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE

ealaska Heritage Institute has chosen three emerging, master Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian artists to carve three cedar house posts that will be cast into bronze.

Haida artist TJ Young, Tlingit artist Stephen Jackson, and Tsimshian artist Mike Dangeli will create the carvings, which will be prominently

and publicly displayed in front of the Walter Soboleff Building on Seward Street in Juneau.

The artists’ pieces will be juxtaposed against the three monumental Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian pieces at the building made by master artists Robert Davidson, Preston Singletary and David A. Boxley. The pieces are slated for installation in 2018. The project is a part of SHI’s ongoing effort to make Juneau the Northwest Coast art capital of the world. sealaskaheritage.org

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ARCTIC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

rctic Information Technology (Arctic IT) announces the formal release of V1 of their Tribal Platforms™ Enrollment solution. Tribal Platforms Enrollment combines many variables and unique needs of the tribes to provide one comprehensive Tribal Enrollment solution. Automated Blood Quantum, Family Trees, ID Cards, Vital Statistics, and Demographics are all in one place.

Based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 (on premise or cloud), this ground-breaking application provides tribal governments the ability to manage the membership application process while maintaining the current tribe membership roll.

This information becomes the central collection of all membership information vital for Tribal government reporting and provides the ability to extend the centralized data to other member services departments. arcticit.com

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FOSS MARITIME

oss Maritime has released two time-lapse videos of the construction of the third of three state-of-the-art Arctic Class tugs being built to enter service later this year. The tug is ice class D0, meaning the hulls are designed specifically for polar waters and are reinforced to maneuver in ice. Like her sister Arctic Class tugs, it complies with the requirements in the ABS Guide for Building and Classing Vessels Intended to Operate in Polar Waters, including ABS A1 standards, SOLAS and Green Passport. foss.com/shipyards

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GCI

CI announced its Better Than Unlimited offer which combines Alaska’s Simply Unbeatable Mobile plans with red internet. GCI’s new Simply

Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Compiled by Alaska Business Staff Unbeatable Mobile plans start at $70 per month for the first line, $50 per month for the second line—and only $20 for three to ten additional lines. Any customer with two or more Simply Unbeatable Mobile lines qualifies for the significant discount on red internet for just $99 per month.

GCI’s red internet service provides 1 GIG speed for the ultimate internet experience in Alaska. It also comes with a terabyte of included data (if a customer uses all included data, streaming is still endless at 10Mbps). Customers without red will still be able to take advantage of GCI’s new Simply Unbeatable Mobile plans. gci.com

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GEONORTH

eoNorth, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tatitlek Corporation and a leader in geospatial and technology solutions, announced it has been awarded a contract by the State of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources to provide imagery streaming services to the general public.

GeoNorth will provide the business and technical services required to ensure that the general public has 24/7 access to the state’s SDMI imagery and other ancillary data layers. The SDMI imagery provides a base map for the entire state and is a critical resource to a wide variety of users supporting a broad range of mapping and analytic applications. geonorth.com

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ALASKA RAILROAD CORPORATION

he Alaska Railroad Corporation announced the elimination of forty-nine positions as part of a major corporate restructuring effort. ARRC has experienced a 44 percent downturn in freight tonnage since 2008 and has recorded a net loss from operations since 2015.

Contributing factors include: A significant drop in revenue from oil industry customers largely due to low oil prices; A significant drop in revenue from other key customers resulting from Alaska’s recession; Loss of export coal business resulting in closure of the coal export facility in Seward; An 84 percent drop in refined petroleum business due to closure and dismantling of the refinery in North Pole; Increase in labor and benefit cost largely due to the unsustainable rising cost of healthcare; and Increased resources

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needed to comply with the regulatory environment including Positive Train Control and other hurdles increasing the cost of doing business. alaskarailroad.com

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PENAIR

enAir planned to deliver 2,500 pounds of much-needed drinking water to the Pribilof Island community of St. George after the island’s water reservoir collapsed in early February. The city of St. George was without any water for drinking, cleaning, or sanitation purposes. PenAir had a Saab 340 all-cargo aircraft set up to deliver almost 300 gallons of water to the community the next day. “We are here to support St. George in whatever way we can,” says CEO Danny Seybert.

“We have been operating scheduled service to the island since 1977 and understand the needs and challenges of living in remote Alaska. If they need water, we are going to do whatever we can to help them.” penair.com

ALASKA AIRLINES

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mployees of Alaska Air Group companies Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air received $100 million in bonuses in February, following the record fourth quarter and record full-year earnings announcement. For most employees, this equates to more than 8 percent of their annual pay in 2016.

The company’s annual bonus, called Performance Based Pay (PBP), is determined by meeting or exceeding specific company-wide goals for safety, customer satisfaction, cost control, and profit. For the eighth year in a row, employees will enjoy a payout of about an additional month’s pay. About $9 million was paid to employees in Alaska. alaskaair.com

ARCTIC SLOPE TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION COOPERATIVE

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orth Slope village residents can now enjoy Facebook Live, stream a movie, and the best wireless broadband coverage. Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative (ASTAC) turned up 4G service in Kaktovik in January, finishing the conversion in all eight of the villages it serves as well as expansive Prudhoe Bay coverage. The conversion from 2G to 4G, in collaboration with

AT&T, started with ASTAC Nuiqsut customers last March, bringing the first HSPA+ high-speed data service to the region.

The new service extends miles out to sea and onto the tundra. Customers can also enjoy streaming media, picture messaging, and shared data plans. ASTAC and AT&T entered into a longterm strategic agreement in February 2015 to enhance North Slope wireless service. ASTAC network speeds will be even greater when the Quintillion subsea fiber comes into service in several North Slope communities. astac.net

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REPSOL | ARMSTRONG

epsol and partner Armstrong Energy have made in Alaska the largest US onshore conventional hydrocarbons discovery in thirty years.

The Horseshoe-1 and -1A wells drilled during the 2016-2017 winter campaign confirm the Nanushuk play as a significant emerging play in Alaska’s North Slope.

The contingent resources identified with the existing data in Repsol and Armstrong Energy’s blocks in the Nanushuk play in Alaska could amount to approximately 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable light oil. repsol.com

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CRYSTAL CRUISES

rystal Serenity’s Alaska voyages are offering far more than the comprehensive exploration of the Last Frontier that has drawn luxury travelers to the region for years. For all seven 2017 Alaska cruises aboard the award-winning vessel, luxury travelers can enjoy a host of value propositions and savings that specifically apply to families traveling with children and multiple generations. The voyages sail between Vancouver and Anchorage from June through August on seven-, nine- and ten-day itineraries that call in some of the region’s most spectacular destinations.

Crystal’s “Kids Sail Free” offer allows kids age seventeen and under to sail in a complimentary third berth with two full-fare adults, while the “Crystal Memories” program affords additional perks for larger families traveling together, and “Crystal Clear Choices” allows travelers to tailor savings to their needs. crystalcruises.com R

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RIGHT MOVES Northrim Bank

DeVore

Fellman

Gage

Northrim Bank announced several exciting personnel changes.

Anita DeVore, promoted to Regional Sales & Service Manager, has been with Northrim Bank for nearly twenty years and has more than thirty-two years in banking, including twenty-two years in management. DeVore holds her NASD Series 65 license and a Behavioral Financial certification/designation.

Cheryl Fellman, promoted to VP, Regional Sales & Service Operations Manager, has more than eighteen years of experience in banking and joined Northrim in 2014 as part of the merger with Alaska Pacific Bank. Fellman holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Northrim promoted Erin Gage to AVP, Retail Banking Operations Manager. She has nearly twenty years of experience in banking and has been with Northrim since 1999.

She has worked at several branches throughout her time at the bank and has been in the Retail Banking department since 2008. Gage holds a State of Alaska Insurance License.

Kosa

Milham

Northrim hired Gerlie Monta-Guevarra, who has been promoted to AVP, Branch Manager II, Ketchikan Financial Center, in 2014 with the acquisition of Alaska Pacific Bank.

She has more than sixteen years of banking experience.

Monta-Guevarra

Tammy Kosa, promoted to VP, Regional Sales & Development Manager, joined Northrim Bank in 2004 and has twenty-three years of banking experience. She co-manages Northrim Investment Services operations and is involved in development and execution of Northrim’s bank-wide training program in addition to her other duties. Kosa holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Jill Milham, promoted to AVP, Retail Banking Operations Assistant Manager, has been at Northrim since 2010 and has been in banking in Alaska for twenty-eight years. Milham was the Assistant Branch Manager at Northrim’s Southside Financial Center before joining the Retail Banking Department in 2015.

Ornellas

Soliday

Newhouse

Monta-Guevarra holds an Alaska Health and Life Insurance Certificate and a Consumer Loan Origination Certificate.

Darci Ornellas, promoted to VP, Regional Sales & Consumer Lending Manager, has been with Northrim Bank for nearly twenty years and has thirty-seven years of experience in banking. She has held various positions at Northrim including financial sales manager, commercial cash management officer, branch admin support, and branch assistant operations manager. Ornellas obtained her NASD Series 65 license in 2002.

Northrim promoted Diana Soliday to AVP, Brand Manager for the Wasilla Financial Center. She has more than thirteen years of banking experience and has been with Northrim since 2006. She has been the Assistant Branch Manager in Wasilla since 2011. In addition to being the Branch Manager, Soliday is also a Northrim Investment Services Investment Advisor Representative.

Sarah Newhouse has joined Northrim Bank after eleven years as a property and casualty insurance agent as AVP, Branch Manager for the Sitka Financial Center. Newhouse received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka campus.

Matanuska Experiment Farm

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has hired Susanna Pearlstein as the new Director for the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension center near Palmer. Pearlstein will provide leadership and administrative oversight for the academic, research, and Cooperative Extension Service outreach programs based at the farm, which is owned

by UAF. She earned her doctorate in soil, water, and environmental science from the University of Arizona in 2015.

Bell & Associates

BELL & Associates is pleased to announce that Vivian Santiago has earned her Alaska Professional Engineer License and is now registered with the state. Santiago has been a Civil Engineering Designer here at BELL for three years.

First National Bank Alaska

Hired as a Teller in 1986, Anita Bishop is the new Branch Manager at the Valley Centre Branch. Bishop has worked as a teller, customer service representative, and operations supervisor in the state’s capital city since arriving at First National.

Lisa Loupe takes over as Branch Manager at the Juneau Regional Branch Bishop after moving over from Valley Centre, where she held the same position. She’s been with First National since 1992.

Both Bishop and Loupe will be responsible for business development, consumer loans, branch operations, and customer service at their respective branches.

Arriving at the bank with more than Loupe twenty-six years working in Human Resources, Patricia C. Miller is First National Bank Alaska’s new Vice President and Director of Human Resources. Miller will guide and manage the overall provision of Human Resources services, policies, and programs for the bank’s Miller 671 Alaska-based employees.

Chugach Alaska Corporation

Chugach Alaska Corporation appointed Tim ‘Hoops’ Hopper as its new President of Chugach Government Solutions LLC. Hopper is responsible for leading Chugach’s federal government contracting business line. Hopper has more than forty years’ experience working for Hopper the government as an Air Force Officer and as a government services contractor. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy and earned his master’s degree in systems management from the University of Southern California.

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

Bristol Bay Native Corporation is pleased to announce the hiring of Aleesha Towns-Bain as the new Executive Director of the BBNC Education Foundation. As executive director, Towns-Bain will provide strategic leadership and effective management of the Foundation’s operations. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and Native American studies from The Evergreen State College and a Master of Arts in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Towns-Bain will be starting her new role in May 2017.

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Compiled by Alaska Business Staff AGDC

The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) is pleased to hire former Senator Gene Therriault to assist in government relations. Under a shared services agreement with Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), Therriault will help coordinate legislative presentations and responses on behalf of the AGDC.

Resource Data, Inc.

Resource Data, Inc. has hired Aubrey Campbell as a Business Analyst to their Anchorage branch. Campbell has more than five years of progressive experience in projects for IT, systems, and business process improvement, including new implementation and upgrades.

Campbell’s background is in marketing, Campbell healthcare administration, writing, and graphic design, and she has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Iowa.

Additionally, Resource Data hired Shaun Wilson as a Project Manager/ Sr. Analyst to their Anchorage branch.

Wilson has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Previously Wilson Wilson worked at GeoNorth starting as a senior programmer and worked his way up to a project manager.

Coffman Engineers

Coffman Engineers is pleased to announce the promotion of Trevor Buron to Principal in the Anchorage office.

Buron has twelve years of experience, all of which are with Coffman. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Idaho.

Buron specializes in industrial mechanical engineering and is instrumental to the continued development and day-to-day operation of the Coffman Anchorage office mechanical oil and gas work.

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce that Steve Larson has been promoted to the position of Executive Director, Mortgage and Real Estate Lending. Larson joined Alaska USA in 2012 with more than sixteen years of accounting and business management Larson experience. Prior to his time at Alaska

USA, he served as vice president, controller, and business manager, NORCON Inc.

Mat-Su Borough

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has hired Paul “Otto” Feather as interim Director of Emergency Services. He returns to the Borough after a deputy director of fire post he held here in 20132014. Feather holds a Masters in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. He also has an MA Feather in Human Resources from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri and a BS in electrical engineering from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Denali Home Loans

Denali Home Loans has added Tammy Gray as Senior Mortgage Loan Originator to its Mat-Su office. In this position, she is responsible for assisting Denali members with obtaining home loan financing for new purchases, refinances, and other mortgage loans.

Gray has more than twenty-eight years Gray of experience in banking, at various Alaska banks and credit unions.

Arctic Information Technology

Arctic Information Technology has appointed Bruce Hellen as President. In this role, Hellen will apply his passion for technology and business development to build upon the company’s position Hellen as a market leader in tribal, federal, and managed services technologies. Hellen has led multiple organizations of various sizes throughout his military and private sector careers, ranging from small teams to large organizations.

Landye Bennett Blumstein

The law firm of Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP is pleased to announce that Andrew B. Erickson has joined the firm’s Anchorage office as an associate attorney. Erickson will focus his practice on Alaska Native law, litigation, and bankruptcy. He received a Bachelor of Erickson Arts from The University of Montana, a

Master of Science in environmental policy the University of Oxford, and a Juris Doctor from Lewis & Clark Law School.

Office of the Governor

Governor Bill Walker announced the appointment of four new Superior Court judges.

Nathaniel Peters has been appointed to the Bethel Superior Court. Peters graduated with honors from Ohio Northern University and has been practicing law in Alaska for almost eight years. He served as a public defender in Palmer and Bethel for six years and has served as the Bethel Peters District Court Judge since 2014.

Christina “Tina” Reigh has been appointed to the Dillingham Superior Court. Reigh graduated magna cum laude from Seattle University Law School in 2003. She moved to Dillingham to work for Alaska Legal Services Corporation in 2004. She has served Reigh as Dillingham’s Magistrate since 2014.

Jennifer Wells has been appointed to the Kenai Superior Court. Wells graduated cum laude from Suffolk University School of Law in 1990. Since 1994, she has served as a magistrate judge, master, acting district court judge or training judge in communities throughout Alaska, including Unalaska, Naknek, Wells Dillingham, Kodiak, Glennallen, Palmer, and Anchorage.

Romano D. DiBenedetto has been appointed to the Nome Superior Court.

DiBenedetto has served as a magistrate judge in Fairbanks since 2012, where he presides over family law and probate matters, criminal arraignments and applications for post-conviction DiBenedetto relief. DiBenedetto graduated from Northwestern School of Law in 1993.

Tracey Wollenberg has been appointed to the Court of Appeals.

Wollenberg is the Deputy Public Defender for the Alaska Public Defender Agency’s Appellate Division, where she oversees statewide appellate litigation for the agency’s criminal and civil cases.

Wollenberg Wollenberg graduated from Columbia University Law School in 2005.

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Nail guns. Air compressors. Generators. Whatever you need, we deliver.

Connect with us / 800.727.2141 / www.nac.aero /

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Business Events APRIL

APR

4-5

Governor’s Safety and Health Conference

Egan Center, Anchorage: The Alaska Safety Advisory Council works with organizations to promote safety so that resources can be marshaled and used to reduce the menace of accidental death and injury. akgshc.com

APR

4-6

TWS Alaska Chapter Annual Meeting

UAF Campus: This is the annual meeting of the Alaska Chapter of The Wildlife Society and brings together wildlife researchers, managers, educators, students, and administrators. twsalaskameeting.com

APR

Alaska Native Studies Conference

Fairbanks: This year’s Alaska Native Studies Conference theme is “Sustaining Indigenous Livelihoods.” alaskanativestudies.org

7-9

APR

Alaska Wood Energy Conference

Ted Ferry Civic Center, Ketchikan: The Alaska Wood Energy Conference is a two-day conference with sessions on biomass heating, community updates, and combined heat and power technology review. energy.gov

11-12 APR

AKHIMA Annual Meeting

BP Energy Center, Anchorage: The Alaska Health Information Management Association (AKHIMA) is a state organization affiliated with the national organization American Health Information Management Association, an association of health information management professionals worldwide. akhima.org

13-14

APR

15

AFCCA Annual Child Care Conference

BP Energy Center, Anchorage: The Alaska Family Child Care Association 28th Annual Child Care and Early Education Conference. The conference includes seven hours of training, and lunch is provided. alaskafcca.org

Compiled by Tasha Anderson APR

18-21

Kodiak Area Marine Science Symposium

Kodiak Harbor Convention Center: The symposium offers an opportunity for stakeholders to engage and understand how Kodiak’s marine environment and resources function, change, and affect our lives and livelihoods. In addition, it offers opportunities for researchers to form a plan for integrated, cooperative, and communityinspired marine research. seagrant.uaf.edu

APR

ACP Alaska Chapter Meeting

Sheraton Hotel & Spa, Anchorage: ACP is the American College of Physicians, and the annual chapter meeting is an opportunity for CME credits and MOC points. acponline.org

20-22 APR

24-27

AWWMA Annual Statewide Conference

Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage: This is a venue for to bring information, technology, expertise, curiosity, hunger, and thirst (for refreshment and knowledge) for the Alaska Water Wastewater Management Association. awwma.org

APR

26-29

Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference and Forum

The Grand Aleutian, Unalaska: The theme of the 2017 Conference is “Western Alaska, Islands of Change.” seagrant.uaf.edu/ conferences/waisc/2017

MAY

MAY

Alaska Bar Convention

Centennial Hall Convention Center, Juneau: This conference provides opportunities to complete CLE requirements as well as an opening reception, several luncheons, and an awards reception and dinner. alaskabar.org

10-12 MAY

12-14

Marine Firefighting Symposium for Land-Based Firefighters

Homer: This three-day conference is an industry recognized effort to provide

the best available marine firefighting information and practices to shore-based firefighters, using both classroom and field experiences, hosted by Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council and Cook Inlet Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.

MAY

Alaska State HR Conference

MAY

ACUL Annual Meeting

MAY

ADS Annual Meeting

Anchorage Hilton: The 2017 Conference theme is HR Mission Possible and will feature keynote speakers Neal Fried, Economist Extraordinaire with the Alaska Department of Labor, and Al Bolea, the founder and architect of the Applied Leadership Seminar. alaska.shrm.org/conference

18-19

Sitka: The Alaska Credit Union League’s annual meeting is an opportunity to gather, network, and learn. alaskacreditunions.org/events.html

18-20

Kodiak: The annual meeting of the Alaska Dental Society, which is “Committed to enhancing the dental profession and the health of all Alaskans.” akdental.org

27-28

JUNE

JUN

IRWA Education Conference

Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: This is the International Right of Way Association’s 63rd Annual International Education Conference which provide educational and learning opportunities as well as networking events. irwaonline.org

11-14 JUN

15-19

Mining History Association Annual Conference

UAF, Fairbanks: The Mining History Association is an organization of individuals interested in the history of mining and metallurgy. Members include independent scholars, laypersons, college and university professors, historians, miners, geologists, retired mining industry personnel, and many others. mininghistoryassociation.org

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SHOP

PLAY 

Anchorage APR

8

Mother Daughter Victorian Tea

APR

6

2017 Alaska Heart Run

All money raised at the Heart Run at the Alaska Airlines Center benefits the American Heart Association and will fund research and community programs that help to fight cardiovascular diseases and stroke. heartrun.kintera.org APR

NYO Games Alaska

than five hundred 27-29 More athletes from across Alaska compete at the annual NYO Games Alaska at the Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus. NYO Games celebrates Alaska’s rich diversity and is open to students of all backgrounds. Athletic events include the kneel jump, wrist carry, stick pull, toe kick, one-hand reach, two-foot high kick, one-foot high kick, Alaska high kick, and seal hop. Additional activities include musical and dance performances, the Pilot Bread recipe contest, and the Opportunities Expo. citci.org/event-programs/nyo-games

Fairbanks APR

19

Achieving Healthy Lungs in the Arctic, A Respiratory Rally

The Respiratory Rally is a one-day community educational event at the Raven Landing Center aimed to help those living with lung disease, as well as their families and caregivers, learn more about prevention, managing their disease, and improving quality of life.

There will be speakers from all over the community presenting on topics such as lung disease, indoor air quality, outdoor air quality, and preventative measures to poor lung health. Starting at 10 a.m., a free lunch will be provided. lung.org

APR

Annual Symphony of Wines

Through the month of April, this festival celebrates the return of migratory birds back to Alaska.

The most notable bird at this festival is the Rufous hummingbird, who begins arriving in Ketchikan in mid-March. The festival includes guided hikes, art shows, activities for children, and many other birding events. alaskacenters.gov/ketchikan.cfm

Petersburg APR

Girdwood APR

Alyeska Spring Carnival and Slush Cup

7-9 Spring Carnival takes advantage of the long days with extended hours of lift operations, great spring-skiing conditions, and Alyeska’s largest and most popular winter event, Slush Cup, where competitors dressed in zany costumes attempt to skim across a ninety-foot long pool of freezing water. Other activities include the Sitzmark costume party, Idiot Swim, Dummy Downhill, XTRATUF Pull tug-of-war, live music, and more. alyeskaresort.com Haines APR

Haines Annual Spring Fling

APR

Juneau Travel Fair

APR

Alaska State Improv Festival

about and book tours, 15 Learn attractions, and more from around Southeast Alaska. From Noon to 4 p.m. at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center, this event will offer information, discounts, and even chances to win prizes. traveljuneau.com

27

The Alaska State Improv Festival is a five-day event dedicated to the art of unscripted theater. AS IF! will feature performances by improv ensembles from Alaska and Outside and will include workshop opportunities from top improv instructors. Shows for the festival will take place at McPhetres Hall and Hangar Ballroom. asifest.com

Hummingbird Festival

1-30

This is a fundraising event to benefit the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra and includes a silent auction, wine tasting, music, and appetizers, all at the Hotel Captain Cook from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. anchoragesymphony.org

22

STAY

Ketchikan

Anchorage

Join the Anchorage Senior Activity Center for the Mother Daughter Victorian Tea and create special memories with your mother, daughter, grand children, or just your best friend.

There will be music, speakers, food, and door prizes from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. anchorageseniorcenter.org APR

Compiled by Tasha Anderson

Blessing of the Fleet

The annual blessing of Petersburg’s fishing fleet is sponsored by the Sons of Norway Lodge. Coffee and pastries are served after at Fisherman Memorial Park with visiting and stories about the various boats and old time fishermen and women. Open to the community and broadcast over the radio. petersburg.org

30

Wrangell APR

Stikine River Birding Festival

27-30 This festival celebrates spring in Wrangell and the annual spring Eagle migration and shorebird migration on the Stikine River.

Activities include a golf tournament, fish fry, art workshops, and speakers. stikinebirding.org R

28 Taking place at the Southeast Alaska Fairgrounds, the Spring Fling celebrates the changing season and includes a barbeque, live music, and the Blind Elephant silent auction. seakfair.org/events/spring-fling Juneau APR

Alaska Folk Festival

Juneau emerges from winter with the state’s largest annual gathering of musicians from Alaska and beyond for a week of musical performances, workshops, dances, and just plain jamming. The best part: it’s free and open to the public. Activities take place at Centennial Hall. akfolkfest.org

3-9

Fairbanks

APR

Fairbanks Outdoor Show

than 140 vendors from Alaska and the Lower 48 gather to 21-23 More present fishing charters, hunting expeditions, boats, ATVs, trailers, rafting, kayaking, outdoor dear, fishing and hunting supplies, camping supplies, taxidermy services, and more at the Carlson Center. Hours are Friday 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. carlson-center.com www.akbizmag.com

April 2017 | Alaska Business

117

EVENTS CALENDAR APRIL 2017

EAT

MALLS AND SHOPPING CENTERS

EAT

SHOP  Compiled by Tasha Anderson

PLAY

STAY

SHOP: Malls & Shopping Centers

T

here are shopping opportunities in every Alaska community, as Alaska is full of artists, entrepreneurs, and local manufacturers. In some of its larger hubs, there are shopping malls and centers, convenient for shoppers and retailers alike. Below are just a few of Alaska’s shopping malls and centers.

The Nugget Mall The Nugget Mall is located in Juneau at 8745 Glacier Highway. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and Noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The mall has twenty-two stores offering clothes, crafts, books, food, sporting goods, and more. The Nugget Mall also routinely hosts community events. nuggetmalljuneau.com

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Alaska Business | April 2017 www.akbizmag.com

Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall The Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall has five levels and is located in Downtown Anchorage at 320 West 5th Avenue, boasting more than 110 stores offering wares ranging from jewelry to electronics to housewares, including a food court and other dining options. The 5th Avenue Mall has several retailers with only one branch in Alaska, such as Nordstrom, Banana Republic, bareMinerals, Michael Kors, Sephora, and Victoria’s Secret. The 5th Avenue Mall is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. simon.com/mall/anchorage-5th-avenue-mall 4th Avenue Market Place The 4th Avenue Marketplace at 333 West 4th Avenue features arts and crafts by local artists and various other shops including a shoe store and boutique. There is a cafe and a Thai food restaurant.

The 4th Avenue Market Place is host to the Alaska Experience Theatre, Downtown Bicycle Rental, and Historic Veterans Museum and has the Port View Banquet Room available as a private venue.

The Sunshine Mall is located adjacent at 411 West

4th Avenue and also shares a variety of shops and eateries. Both are accessible from the 3rd Avenue parking lot.

The Northway Mall Located at 3101 Penland Parkway in Anchorage, the Northway Mall is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and Noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The Northway Mall includes a fabric store, grocery store, gym, and other shopping options. The Northway Mall also features a Shockwave trampoline park. thenorthwaymall.com The Mall at Sears The Mall at Sears is located in Midtown Anchorage at 600 East Northern Lights Boulevard. The Mall at Sears is home to Alaska’s first BurgerFi and Nordstrom Rack, in addition to other retail and food options. The malls operating hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday Noon to 6 p.m. mallatsears.com The Dimond Center The Dimond Center is located at 800 East Dimond Boulevard and is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from Noon to 7 p.m. The Dimond Mall boasts a movie theater, ice rink, and bowling alley in addition to its many retail and food locations. The Dimond Mall is a combination of retail and office space. dimondcenter.com Tikahtnu Commons Tikahtnu Commons is a shopping center with sev-

eral large anchor stores, many small restaurants and shops, and a sixteen-screen movie theater. It’s located at 1299 North Muldoon Road, north of the intersection of the Glenn Highway and Muldoon.

Hours of operation vary from location to location.

Glenn Square Glenn Square is located in the Mountain View neighborhood in Anchorage at 3200 Mountain View Drive just off the Glenn Highway. The shopping center is home of Alaska’s only Brass Pro Shops Outpost, which is approximately 80,000 square feet, and also features other shopping and dining opportunities.

University Center The University Center Mall in Midtown is located at 3801 Old Seward Highway, between 36th Avenue and Tudor Road. Hours are Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The University Center has an eclectic mix of local shops, furniture stores, the award-winning Peppercini’s Deli House, and a busy segment of the University of Alaska Anchorage campus.

In addition to these dedicated shopping centers and malls, Alaskans have the convenience of retail stores, bank branches, personal services, small businesses, and eateries at many strip malls, as well as the mall-like atmosphere and construction around many large grocers and stand-alone retailers, such as Carrs/Safeway, Fred Meyer, REI, Target, and the immediate areas surrounding the larger malls.

R

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April 2017 | Alaska Business

119

MALLS AND SHOPPING CENTERS

Bentley Mall Bentley Mall is located at 32 College Road in Fairbanks with hours of operation Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Bentley Mall features seventeen stores, ranging from clothing stores to used games to a hair salon, and there are several shopping opportunities neighboring the Bentley Mall. facebook.com/BentleyMallFairbanks/

ALASKA TRENDS

Immigrants and the Economy

Immigrant Residents In 2014, 55,724 immigrants made up 7.6 of the Alaska population. Between 2010 and 2014, 9,073 foreign-born people immigrated to Alaska. The top three countries of origin are Philippines, Korea, and Thailand.

Demographics

Immigrants in Alaska are more likely to be of working age (defined as being aged 25-64) than the US-born population. In 2014, through taxes on their individual wages, immigrants in Alaska contributed $52.3 million to Medicare and $193.6 million to Social Security.

Age Group

Foreign-Born Population Share

US-Born Population Share

0-24

19.3%

38.0%

25-64

69.9%

52.9%

65+

10.7%

9.2%

Home Ownership Immigrant families have long played an important role helping to build housing wealth in the United Sates. Frequently moving into neightborhoods once in decline and helping to revitalize local communities and make them more attractive to US born residents. Immigrants own 9,583 Homes in Alaska.

Workforce Education In Alaska, immigrants are considerably more unlikely to have graduated from high school— 21.3% have less than a high school education, compared to only 6.7% of US-born Alaskans.

Immigrants are slightly more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree and almost as likely to hold a graduate degree in Alaska.

Workforce Foreign-Born Education Population Share Less Than High 21.3% School High School & 45.5% Some College Bachelor’s 22.9% Degree Graduate 10.3% Degree

US-Born Population Share

6.7% 64.7%

Entrepreneurship In 2014, 2,993 immigrants were self-employed entrepreneurs in Alaska. Their companies generated $58.5 million in business income.

18.3% 10.4%

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Taxes & Spending Power Immigrants play an important role in Alaska contributing to local economies both as consumers and taxpayers. In 2014, Alaska immigrant household incomes equaled $1.8 billion. Of this, about $436 million was paid in taxes: $375.7 million in federal taxes, $60.7 million in state and local taxes. This left Alaska immigrants with about 1.36 billion in spending power.

ANS Crude Oil Production 03/01/2017 10/01/2015 05/01/2015 01/01/2014 09/01/2012 05/01/2011 01/01/2010 09/01/2008 05/01/2007 01/01/2006

Immigrant household income

$1.8B

State & local taxes paid

$60.7M

Federal taxes paid

$375.7M

Total spending power

$1.36B

Voting Power

ANS Production per barrel per day 581,335 Mar. 5, 2017

09/01/2004 05/01/2003 01/01/2002 09/01/2000

0 400,000 800,000 1,200,000 SOURCE: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division

ANS West Coast Crude Oil Prices 03/01/2017 09/01/2014

About half of Alaska’s immigrants are eligible to vote. In 2014, there were 17,528 registered immigrant voters in Alaska of 27,750 who were eligible.

Eligible Immigrant Voters

Registered Immigrant Voters

27,750

17,528

09/01/2012 09/01/2010 09/01/2008 09/01/2006

ANS West Coast $ per barrel $55.73 Mar. 1, 2017

09/01/2004 09/01/2002 09/01/2000

Workforce Engagement In 2014, working immigrants in Alaska contributed to a wide range of different industries. Those industries with the highest share of foreign-born workers in Alaska are shown below.

74% 25%

Seafood and Other Miscellaneous Foods Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

25%

Traveler Accomodation

18%

Waste Management and Remediation Services

16%

Child Day Care Services

DATA SOURCE: “The Contributions of New Americans in Alaska,” August 2016, Partnership for a New American Economy

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80 $100 $120 $140 $160

SOURCE: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division

Statewide Employment Figures 10/1976—1/2017 Seasonally Adjusted 01/31/2017 11/01/2012 01/01/2010 03/01/2007 05/01/2004 07/01/2001

Labor Force Employment Unemployment 6.5% Jan. 2017

09/01/1998 11/01/1995 01/01/1993 03/01/1990 05/01/1987 07/01/1984 09/01/1981 11/01/1978 01/01/1976 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 SOURCE: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research & Analysis Section; and US BLS

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April 2017 | Alaska Business

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ADVERTISERS INDEX ABR Inc.........................................................................93 Acrisure LLC...............................................................67 Ahtna Inc......................................................................51 AirSide Solutions Inc..........................................109 AK USA Federal Credit Union............................27 Alaska Communications (ACS).........................47 Alaska Executive Search......................................57 Alaska Logistics.....................................................110 Alaska Mergers & Acquisitions LLC.................33 Alaska Satellite Internet (ASI)............................87 Alsco.............................................................................. 31 Alyeska Pipeline Service Co...............................16 American Heart Association............................117 American Marine / Penco....................120, 121 Arctic Catering.........................................................21 Arctic Chiropractic..............................................119 Arctic Office Products..........................................26 AT&T................................................................................11 BDO................................................................................24 Best Western Kodiak Inn......................................76 Bradison Management Group (BMG)............57 Bristol Bay Native Corp. (BBNC)..........................3 C & R Pipe and Steel, Inc.....................................89 Calista Corp...............................................................93

Carlile Transportation Systems........................61 CH2M.............................................................................96 Chugach Alaska Corp............................................14 CIRI..............................................................................116 Coffman Engineers.................................................35 Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency..............35 Construction Machinery Industrial...................2 Cornerstone Advisors...........................................63 Cruz Construction Inc..........................................19 Delta Leasing LLC....................................................99 Dowland-Bach .....................................................102 Doyon Limited..........................................................49 Explore Fairbanks....................................................77 Fairweather LLC....................................................100 First National Bank Alaska.....................................5 Foss Maritime............................................................30 Fountainhead Hotels.............................................75 GCI...............................................................................124 Global Diving & Salvage Inc...........................102 Great Originals Inc.................................................68 Historic Anchorage Hotel................................119 Judy Patrick Photography...............................122 Junior Achievement..............................................18 Kalmar Global...........................................................22

Kinross Fort Knox....................................................15 Land’s End Resort...................................................83 Lynden Inc.....................................................................9 Mat-Su Convention & Visitors Bureau...........81 Matson Inc..................................................................13 Medical Park Family Care Inc............................28 Microcom....................................................................32 N C Machinery.......................................................103 Nature Conservancy..............................................37 New Horizons Telecom, Inc...............................42 Northern Air Cargo.................................114, 115 Northrim Bank..........................................................39 Novagold Resources Inc......................................43 Pacific Pile & Marine...................111, 112, 113 Pacific Tugboat Service.......................................89 Parker Smith & Feek...............................................65 PenAir........................................................................108 Personnel Plus.......................................................118 PIP Printing................................................................85 Pogo Mine...................................................................23 Providence Health & Services Alaska............53 Ravn Alaska................................................................95 Seawolf Sports Properties...............................123 Southcentral Foundation....................................33

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium.....................34 Span Alaska Transportation Inc.......................29 Stellar Designs Inc...............................................118 Teck Alaska Inc.........................................................55 The Lakefront Anchorage...................................76 The Odom Corporation.......................................20 Thomas Head & Greisen......................................57 Travel Juneau............................................................83 Tulalip Casino Resort............................................79 UA Local 367 Plumbers & Steamfitters.........91 Udelhoven Oilfield System Services Inc........................................................25 Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp........................................17 United Way of Anchorage...................................38 Usibelli Coal Mine................................................101 Valdez Convention & Civic Center..................78 Vigor Alaska...............................................................45 Visit Anchorage........................................................73 Washington Crane & Hoist...............................105 Waste Management...............................................97 Wells Fargo Bank Alaska......................................59 Westmark Hotels - HAP Alaska.........................75 Yukon Equipment Inc.........................................109

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