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Arctic Slope Regional Corp. named exporter of the year State’s international trade $2.6 billion last year, up more than 30 percent Petroleum News Alaska
A Forbes 500 company based in Barrow and with business ties to Russia, Asia, Europe, Mexico and Canada and engaged in business around the world, has been named Alaska’s Exporter of the Year. Gov. Tony Knowles presented the annual award for 2000 to the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. May 25.
“One of 13 regional corporations created in 1971 by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, ASRC has come a long way since,” Knowles said. “They started out with $44 million and 5 million acres. Now they are number 246 on the Forbes 500 list of the largest private companies. With 30 subsidiaries, they are on line to reach $1 billion in revenues in 2001. As Vice President Charlie Brower put it the other day, ‘Not bad for a company out of Barrow’.”
Varied subsidiaries ASRC’s subsidiaries represent a cross-section of industries — oil field service, petroleum refining and distribution, construction, engineering, base operation services, and even plastics. Several are exporters. Natchiq builds pipelines and provides oil field services and module fabrication and engineering, and has activities stretching from Sakhalin Island to the Gulf of Mexico.
Another subsidiary, Arctic Slope Consulting Group, is one of Alaska’s major civil engineering, architectural, and industrial inspection companies. In addition to operating in Alaska, New Mexico, and Colorado, ASCG is in Sri Lanka, Macedonia, Asia and England. Another ASRC subsidiary has a manufacturing plant in Guadalajara, Mexico, making molded plastic parts for computers and business equipment. Yet another subsidiary is developing a project near the equator, using satellites rather than copper wire for communications.
“ASRC has been a good corporate citizen to Alaska,” Knowles added. “Because of its Inupiat heritage, sharing its profits is an important part of the corporate culture. Not just with its 7,800 shareholders — but with all the communities in Alaska in which they do business — in Anchorage, Kenai, Valdez, and, of course, the North Slope.”
VECO runner up Named as runner up was Anchorage-based VECO Inc., an Alaska-founded and owned company that exports expertise in engineering, construction, operations, and maintenance. Community-based but with a global outlook, VECO is doing business in Alaska, the Lower 48 and 23 countries providing training, education, and investment in technology and project management.
One of Alaska’s largest charity and arts benefactors, VECO is a major supporter of the annual United Way fund-raising drive, and strongly supports the Alaska Children’s Trust. The company also won the Green Star Environmental Award in 1998.
Honorable mention was given to Great Pacific Seafoods, one of the largest providers of fresh wild salmon, cod, and halibut in the country. Buying from over 400 fishermen in Emmonak, Bethel, Cordova, Homer, and Seward, and a new station in Kotzebue, Great Pacific also produces frozen salmon for export to Japan, Korea, Germany, France and Portugal. In 1999, Great Pacific developed a market for Arctic Keta salmon in Germany.
Thirteen Alaska companies were nominated for the governor’s annual export award, which is based on the company’s impact on Alaska’s economy, new market development, and export growth, among other factors. Other nominees for this year’s award included Afognak Native Corporation of Kodiak; Alaska Agricultural Development and Marketing of Fairbanks; Alaska Quality Publishing; Arctic GeoScience; Young’s Firehouse; LTR Training Systems; Movers, Inc. and Providence Health System, all of Anchorage; Bethel-based Coastal Villages Region Fund; and United Airlines.
State’s exports strong “Last year alone, when you count just the goods we export, Alaska’s international trade added up to $2.6 billion. In just the past year, the value of Alaska exports was up more than 30 percent,” Knowles said. “These strong export numbers are good news for Alaska. International trade is important to our economic well-being, it means high-paying year-round jobs for Alaskans and more money coming into our economy.”
Among other recent trade highlights:
• Exports to the state’s top two international markets, Japan and Korea, grew dramatically in 1999 with exports to each country up over 50 percent.
• Alaska’s two largest export products, seafood and energy, grew considerably. Seafood exports were up 42 percent last year and oil, gas and coal jumped 62 percent.
• Alaska is continuing to work to promote the state as the gateway to the Russian Far East, as both an aviation link and staging base for mining operations there.
• Alaska’s newest export sector, agricultural products such as potatoes and carrots, is finding considerable growth interest in China where Alaska’s exports in 1999 topped $100 million for the fifth straight year.
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