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August 2013
Copyright Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA)©1999-2019 All rights reserved. The content of this article and website may not be copied, replaced, distributed, published, displayed or transferred in any form or by any means except with the prior written permission of Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA). Copyright infringement is a violation of federal law subject to criminal and civil penalties.
Vol. 18, No. 32 Week of August 11, 2013

AK-WA Connection 2013: Lynden inks agreement to buy Northland

Purchase requires regulatory approval; family of companies focus on expanding, improving services and energy efficiency projects

Rose Ragsdale

Alaska-Washington Connection

The Lynden family of freight transportation companies that primarily serves Alaska and the Pacific Northwest has been on the move in the first half of 2013 and the latter six months of 2012.

Lynden reported in April that it entered into a purchase agreement to buy tug and barge carrier Northland Services, Inc.

Northland’s major shareholder, Endeavour Capital, is a western U.S. private investment firm with a philosophy that centers on the principle of stewardship. In nine years, Endeavour, Northland’s other shareholders and management transformed the company via significant investment and expertise into a leader in marine transportation in the Alaska and Hawaiian markets, Lynden said.

Northland, which provides services between Seattle, Southeast and western Alaska and Hawaii, will operate independently within the Lynden organization under the direction of its current management team.

Lynden’s Alaska Marine Lines also provides tug and barge transportation services between Seattle, Southeast Alaska and central Alaska.

“Northland has a great reputation, and adds western Alaska and Hawaii to Lynden’s service, enabling us to provide more service capabilities to our customers,” Lynden Chairman Jim Jansen said in a statement announcing the deal. “We are excited about the ability to provide integrated statewide Alaska service, higher service frequency, and greater combined capabilities for our customers. Where there is service overlap, we will organize to provide a higher level of service. In certain communities where Alaska Marine Lines and Northland are the two primary freight carriers, other barge lines have plans to compete with us.”

Northland President and CEO Larry Stauffer said, “We have seen significant growth in our business over the past decade, and bringing two great companies and teams together will help improve and expand service in the communities we serve.”

Lynden said the proposed sale will require a lengthy, complex process to complete and is subject to regulatory review and other terms that, if completed, would likely result in closing in late 2013.

Focus on improvements

The Lynden organization has won numerous prestigious awards for excellence in service and safety, including several in 2012. But this does not impede the companies’ drive to do better.

For example, Lynden International, a full-service freight forwarding and logistics company, launched a newly designed website at www.lynden.com/lint in June. The expanded and enhanced site was created by Lynden’s marketing team to update and improve content and make navigation easier for new and current customers.

A year ago, the company expanded its 50+ office domestic network by opening a new location in San Francisco to serve northern California. Lynden International provides services to more than 6,000 U.S. cities.

Ongoing improvements in energy efficiency also are paying off. Among them:

Alaska Hovercraft in Bethel replaced High Pressure Sodium lights with high-efficiency fluorescents at the airport and shop and saw an immediate 26 percent reduction in electricity use and a recouping of the cost of both upgrades in less than two months, according to General Manager Kevin Carter.

Lynden’s Anchorage’s South Air Park facility uses heat recovery to warm some spaces, while cooling others. A split duct in the information technology computer room reroutes warm air into the basement below the offices and warm air from the second-floor offices is rerouted to the cross dock.

In Fairbanks, Lynden Transport recently completed a warehouse expansion and upgrades that included installing a dock door “curtain” to reduce heat loss in the winter months, plus new dock plates and insulation to keep a tight seal around the doors. “But the biggest change was a new heating system which allowed us to manage our heat with digital thermostats. We can now set temperatures for specific times of day and days of the week,” said Manager Greg Busher. The changes have resulted in a 20 percent reduction in natural gas use from 2011 to 2012. The Fairbanks upgrades were identified as potential ideas in an energy audit for the company done in 2011.






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Copyright Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA)©1999-2019 All rights reserved. The content of this article and website may not be copied, replaced, distributed, published, displayed or transferred in any form or by any means except with the prior written permission of Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA). Copyright infringement is a violation of federal law.