|
PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Totem Equipment & Supply Inc. Four decades of equipment sales, manufacturing and rentals Susan Braund Petroleum Directory Contributing Writer
Family owned and operated for 42 years, Totem Equipment and Supply Inc. has made its mark on Alaska, keeping thousands of workers and job sites warm with its heaters and supplying construction and oil job sites with other mission-critical equipment to keep projects flowing smoothly.
“We’ve earned our spot in the Alaska marketplace with responsive service, honesty, and professionalism,” says company Vice President Mike Huston, who oversees day-to-day operations. “Our reputation speaks loud and clear!”
Founded by President and CEO Cliff Huston and wife/business partner Allie Huston, the company opened its Fourth Avenue and Post Road location in 1961, as a light- and medium-weight equipment dealer. There was no standing still, however. Industry need and opportunity quickly drove expansion into new product lines.
“After the ‘64 earthquake, it was touch and go for a while,” says Mike. “It was a ‘yes/no-will-Alaska-grow?’ atmosphere. We could have folded up the tent, but we all held together and continued on.” Diversify or die Cliff Huston believed in diversification, so Totem has continued to survive and thrive, becoming a mainstay in the Alaska construction equipment supply and service industry.
“To us, it was extremely important to have a lot of different apples in the basket,” says Allie Huston, who has worked at most posts in the company, including parts and sales, and now as comptroller and corporate secretary/treasurer. “It was hard sledding at times, with the ups and downs of seasonal cycles, competition and economic conditions. It’s like playing the market — you need to diversify to have a well-balanced business.”
When Cliff Huston brought the first Bombardier — a wide track snow machine made by Skidoo — to Alaska, he became one of the first snow machines dealers in the state. He sold his first three to the FAA for remote site use and gradually expanded to 25 dealers around the state, selling a total of 250-300 machines a year.
“We stayed with snow machines until the time came for the natural fallout of competition in the late ’60s and early ’70s,” remembers Allie. “It’s tough sometimes, but you have to be willing to leave products and manufacturers behind. In the early years, some of the manufacturers were what kept us in business. But, times change and when it’s no longer a fit, you have to move on. It’s like kicking a child out of the house, but you must be willing to stay modern and progressive in attitudes and not let personal history influence decisions.”
Over the years, the equipment dealer has continued to branch out in the marketplace. “The customer wants a relationship with an organization that can take care of it all,” reflects Mike. “That’s why we stand out from the rest. We are still small enough to be responsive but big enough to deal with big projects. We deal with some of the largest manufacturers in the world, like Terex, Toyota, Wacker and Honda; no one else out there does all we do. We don’t have to go to committee — we just figure out what’s best and come up with a plan. Totem is basically in business to make our customers money. There has to be value on both sides.”
Are they breeding? Chances are if you’re at a remote construction or oil industry site in Alaska, you’ll encounter a by-now-famous-Totem-heater — or 12. For years, they have been populating the North Slope and rural Alaska, wherever there’s a need for clean, safe, economical, high capacity heat to combat harsh Arctic conditions.
Totem pioneered the use of the ubiquitous Herman-Nelson heaters and distributed several other makes of heaters, but none seemed to be on target for the Alaska market. A portable heater that pushed fresh, clean hot air would be the ticket — one that could weather the weather.
“In the ‘70s we started building our own. I was parts runner at the time, then left for college and came back full time in 1982,” says Mike. “Meanwhile, we were into pipeline activity from the get-go.”
Totem landed a deal with Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. to build and lease the company 30 heaters for the North Slope, launching the company’s manufacturing efforts. The heaters were the foundation of today’s 1,000,000 BTU Totem 10 and eventually the 500,000 BTU Totem 5 indirect heater trailers.
Continual improvements in heaters “We hit it hard with the heaters, continually making improvements. We’re nothing if not adaptable,” says Mike. “Even today we’re modifying and refining our heaters. When one of the air carriers recently ceased flying the DC 6 tail-openers to the North Slope, we had to reduce the size of the Totem 5 so it would fit in the new plane configuration.”
The hardy popular Totem 5s, now dubbed the Totem 5 CD, feature 25-hour continuous running time and 110-gallon fuel capacity, making them a North Slope favorite.
All Totem heaters are portable, provide self-contained, clean, safe heat with no fumes or carbon monoxide, and feature easy cold weather starting. The Totem 10 model has seen some recent improvements, also, including: spill container lip; fuel line ball valves for immediate shutoff with leakage; two 500 Watt halogen work lights; extra electrical receptacles for auxiliary power; new door design for servicing combustion chamber without removal of heater; rubberized undercoating protection; and a one-year warranty. In recent months, Totem has exported several Totem 10 heaters to Korea and Russia and, according to Allie, the export business is building rapidly.
At the company’s Commercial Drive headquarters — new warehouse, the “Opera Hall” Quonset hut, fabrication shop, rental building and equipment yards — there’s never a shortage of activity. The manufacturing segment of the business fabricates heaters, water blasters, hydro pressers, pumping systems, and whatever else it takes to meet consumer needs. Never wanting for a project “We’re never wanting for a project,” muses Mike. “Whatever the customer can dream, we can build. In fact, we have a couple of interesting ones going right now. For the military, we’re developing a self-contained glycol heating system for temporarily filling a building’s heating pipes with glycol once they have been drained of water. And, for both oil spills on the slope and Anchorage snow dumps, we’re developing a snow melter that will melt the snow into a manageable liquid, evaporate it and pull the contaminants out for proper disposal.”
In the midst of all the growth, Totem never strayed from being a construction and industrial equipment dealer, carrying reputable and dependable brands for both industrial and home applications. The company recently acquired the Terex line of compact equipment, loaders, backhoes, excavators and rough terrain forklifts — parts, warranty and service, for complete one-stop service. Other equipment lines include: power washers, blast equipment, concrete mixers, augers, pumps, rollers, generators, concrete equipment, conveyors, vibrators and more. Turf and agricultural equipment selections range from mowers, brush cutters, blowers, spreaders, cultivators, seeders, sharpeners and trimmers.
Rental renegades Totem puts its own unique twist on the equipment rental business: all the rental equipment is for sale and the company applies 85 percent of the rental to the purchase price. “We want to keep equipment moving,” explains Mike. “We want to be able to rent customers the latest technology, not something old and tired. Often the customer ends up renting for longer than expected, so this way their money isn’t just burned up in rentals, it’s going toward the purchase.”
Totem Rentals Inc. rents out chain and chop saws, grout pumps, core drills, hand tools, sprayers, floor strippers and sanders, compressors, screening plants, scissor lifts and forklifts, pressure washers, earthmoving equipment, engines, trailers, asphalt and compaction equipment, generators and of course, heaters. Happy campers Totem’s staff of 20 seems to be enjoying the family feel of the business: many have been there for 10 years or more. “We have good people, innovative, free thinkers who like to develop ideas,” says Mike.
But, he doesn’t hesitate to admit who’s really in charge — his new baby daughter Allie. “Yep,” he says, “there’s definitely a new sheriff in town!”
Editor's note: Susan Braund owns Firestar Media Services in Anchorage, Alaska.
|
