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PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Ranes & Shine Welding maintains a climate of versatility, innovation and excellence
Jessica Hess Petroleum Directory Contributing Writer
The Ranes & Shine Welding facility in Anchorage holds the power to impress all on its own. The two-and-a-half acre lot and 12,000 square foot building, together with a series of functional and innovative outbuildings, can accommodate any job that comes its way. In fact, jobs of all varieties are in process at any given time. From custom-fitting roll cages in racing vehicles to fixing lawn mower brackets to constructing dozens of water facility tanks at once, no job is too big or too small.
When a customer understands the history behind the building and the work that goes on inside, the whole scene takes on an increased aura of excellence. Tom Ranes, owner of Ranes & Shine LLC, grew up experimenting in the large shop his father maintained at home. His dad, who worked overseas for the petroleum industry, would leave for a month at a time. The self-starting Ranes took full advantage of this time alone in the shop to teach himself welding and mechanics, until shop work was second nature. Never slowing down, by the time he was in high school he managed an automotive shop. Upon coming to Alaska, Ranes welded for three years as an employee of Pool Arctic Alaska on the North Slope. Six years ago, he started his own welding business in Anchorage out of a truck. The mechanical whiz kid, now just 30 years old, invested time, hard work, and a drive to do things right as he started out with his mobile shop.
The reputation he built, together with his knack for ideas and good management, grew into a business that operated beyond the capacities of his first shop, which he occupied for only one month, then the second, which could accommodate the growing business for only six more months, and the third, which served Ranes & Shine for three years in its limited space. In 2003 the new and current facility, designed and contracted by Ranes, came to life to house the constant supply of welding and automotive jobs and a burgeoning team of skilled employees. The new building still has room to grow.
As Ranes will tell you, “I’ve always wanted the best.” That includes bringing on and taking care of the best employees he can find. With one of Anchorage’s best pay scales and medical benefit packages for welding and automotive workers, he makes sure his crew knows they are employed by a company that gives and expects quality.
Unlike many welding shops that concentrate on one type of job, Ranes & Shine Welding can successfully take on jobs of all shapes and sizes. Ranes’ interests and talents range from the oil industry to auto racing to roofing beams. The computer expertise of his employees and the quality of the machines can create any design imaginable. The steel artwork in front of the shop is just an example of the versatility. Services for petroleum With a team of 17 employees to date, among whom are oil industry veterans with more than 40 years combined petroleum experience, Ranes & Shine is making its mark in the oil industry. Ranes maintains some of the most versatile and quality steel-working machines in the state. The company’s 22 foot press brake is the largest in Alaska. Tanks of any size and shape are well suited to this singular piece of machinery. A steel saw operated on the premises can cut an impressive 24 inch beam at a 45 degree angle. Ranes also owns a 14-foot shear, a computerized plasma table and a 110-ton iron worker, as well as other top-of-the-line machines.
Ranes & Shine maintains ongoing relationships with engineering and construction companies such as M.I. Swaco, Alaska Interstate Construction, Doyon, Nabors Drilling, Neeser Construction and Bales Construction. Under these contracts, Ranes & Shine provides welding and sheet metal fabrication needs to Alaska’s petroleum companies. The big jobs that have come their way through these and other connections include changing over drilling modules, welding pumps, doing pit systems and high pressure line and fabricating dozens of water tanks at once. Automotive Services The welding and fabrication aspects of the shop cover only part of the spectrum. Ranes & Shine Automotive handles more than 500 vehicles from contracted fleets, including Klebs Mechanical, Hotwire Electric, Alaska Office Source and Anchorage Roofing. Above-and-beyond service comes with the contract — Ranes & Shine opens its doors on weekends just for fleets that need all their vehicles on the road during the workweek. Going the extra mile in this and other ways allows the businesses that rely on Ranes & Shine to keep their services offered at a maximum to their own clients.
Non-fleet vehicles get excellent attention also. The company boasts one of the most economical oil changes in Anchorage and excels at brake service as well. The doors are always open to new customers.
One of Ranes’ passions is auto racing. He owns and drives a 2003 Ford Mustang Cobra that has set track records in Hawaii and at the Alaska Raceway Park as the fastest street-legal car in the quarter-mile. His company offers a full line of services for racing — installation of roll cages and motors, and anything else that can optimize performance and safety on the race track. In fact, a turn-key racing shop operated by Ranes & Shine is in the works. Versatility and quality The variety does not end with petroleum industry work and automotive services. Roofing beams for both residential and commercial structures, 50-foot skids for the Department of Transportation, the above-ground water system for the City of Bethel, and boiler piping for schools and other institutions help round out what Ranes & Shine offers. That’s without mentioning stainless steel countertops, trailers, customized auto speaker systems, and any — big or small — that might walk in the door. Ranes and his crew have the drive, the knowledge, and the mechanical sense to turn around any job in good time and of excellent quality.
Stop in and meet Tom Ranes and the crew at Ranes & Shine Welding and Automotive. You’ll find that Ranes speaks honestly when he says, “Whatever I do, I do one-hundred percent. I don’t do anything halfway.”
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