Q. What is the official name of your company?
A. CONAM Construction Co.
Q. Is your firm a subsidiary or affiliate of other companies? If so, please name those firms and their relationship to your company.
A. CONAM Construction Company is owned by and one of the many Operating Units of Quanta Services Inc., a S&P 500 company (PWR).
Additionally, we are partners with Alaska native organizations such as Tikigaq / CONAM, LLC and AMES 1 / CONAM JV.
Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?
CONAM is a great company to work for. The safety and wellbeing of our employees is our top priority. Our management adheres to strict ethic guidelines; we treat each individual that we work for, and that works for us, with great respect. Furthermore, we would like people to know that regardless of how challenging, remote, or harsh projects may be, our experience in Alaska construction and maintenance is second to none - we have innovative solutions to the most difficult problems. From the Kenai Peninsula to the farthest reaches of the North Slope, CONAM has been there and built that.
Q. Where is your company located?
A. Our main office is located in Anchorage, Alaska. We also have facilities in Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula and in Deadhorse.
Q. What year was the company founded and by whom?
A. The company was formed in 1984 by veterans of the Alaska oil and gas industry.
Q. What is your company’s primary business activity?
A. Our primary business activity is to provide heavy industrial construction and maintenance services to the oil and gas industry, the mining industry and remote village infrastructure projects. We are a general contractor with construction capabilities that include construction and maintenance of oil and gas process facilities, construction of pipelines, power plants, and mine facility maintenance and shutdowns.
Q. Are there important projects the company is currently a part of or has done recently?
A. We consider all projects we execute as being important to the success of our operation. Client satisfaction is of utmost importance.
Q. How many employees does your company have?
A. Due to seasonal construction trends, the numbers of employees fluctuate throughout the year. We typically peak with over 250 employees.
Q. Describe the equipment your company uses and are there any new equipment purchases planned?
A. We own a large modern fleet of equipment which are outfitted for arctic construction to include cranes, sidebooms, excavators, dozers, loaders, haul trucks / tractors / trailers, fuel trucks, mechanic / lube trucks, compressors, large trenching machines, specialty built Arctic drills, light plants, heaters, buses, welding trucks and flatbed trucks along with other support facilities to include camps, offices, break-shacks and envirovacs.
Q. What is your company’s main strength or its edge over the competition?
A. Our main strength is our dedicated employees followed by our financial strength and equipment resources coupled with our ability to tackle risky jobs of any type, in any location.
Q. What is the most challenging work/contract the company has undertaken?
A. One of our most challenging jobs included an EPC contract to install an eight mile 12” diameter jet fuel pipeline from the Port of Anchorage to Anchorage International Airport’s fuel storage facilities. This project included the installation of four miles of pipe that was laid offshore in the intertidal mud flats with construction activities only occurring during low tides. Concrete coated pipe joints were flown and strung along the ROW utilizing a heavy lift helicopter.
Another challenging project was the installation of 20 miles of 6” and 8” dia. pipelines from the Kustatan Production Facility to the Osprey offshore platform located on the West side of Cook Inlet. Two heavy wall pipelines were pulled from onshore to the Osprey Platform, two miles offshore. Four each, 1,700 feet of 12” dia. casings were installed using horizontal directional drilling equipment at the onshore approach to avoid a 200-ft. high shoreline bluff. Pulling of the pipelines from onshore to offshore was performed by a barge rigged with heavy duty pull winches and a modified anchoring system. The final pull into the platform “J” tube was performed by a specially designed and fabricated hydraulic chain jack along with barge assist support. Numerous diving operations were also performed.
Q. What are the biggest obstacles to completing work your company undertakes?
A. Hiring and retainage of highly skilled craftsmen, electricians, pipefitters / welders, within the state of Alaska. Numerous skilled craftsmen have left the state due to cut backs in the oil and gas industry to seek employment elsewhere. We are focused on hiring Alaska residents whenever possible and have become effective in recruiting personnel as needed, but not without challenges.
Q. What do you see as your company’s biggest challenge in the next five years?
A. Our biggest challenge will be maintain work in the oil and gas industry. This has historically been our largest business activity. We are currently seeing significant cuts being made in investments by the oil companies in Alaska which is a result of fiscal uncertainty surrounding never ending tax changes by state law makers affecting the industry and low oil prices.
Q. What is the average length of time employee’s work for the company?
A. The average length of time employee’s work for our company is not a true indication of employee dedication. We have several key craft employees who have been with us over twenty years and senior management staff who have been with the company for over thirty years.
Q. What is your company’s safety record? What steps does the company take to ensure a safe work environment?
A. CONAM has an excellent safety record which is a requirement of our clients in the oil and gas and mining industries. Our core values include a commitment toward caring for and providing our employees with a safe work environment, performing quality workmanship, and protecting the environment. These core values have been and will continue to be the cornerstones of our success. Our employees are expected to take ownership of management’s vision of excellence in jobsite performance. The belief that all tasks can be completed without incident defines CONAM’s HSSE culture.
Q. Has your company been involved in any community projects or charity events?
A. CONAM is involved in supporting several charity events throughout the state and can be found at attendance as a sponsor at numerous events throughout the year.
Q. What is the address of your company’s Web site?
A. www.conamco.com
