|
Alaska-Washington Connection 2011: Firm services unusual equipment Rotating Services thrives in Alaska-Washington business environment; expands scope of specialized offerings Rose Ragsdale Alaska-Washington Connection
Rotating Services LLC is leveraging a growing Alaska business to expand into the Lower 48. The family of small businesses, which primarily specializes in maintenance, repair and inspection of industrial equipment, is not only building its base clientele, it is also broadening the range of services that it offers.
“The business is doing well, but we’re noticing a slowdown in construction in Alaska,” said owner Bret Burroughs during a June interview.
Burroughs founded Rotating Services Inc. nearly 12 years ago in September 1999 and converted it into a limited liability corporation in April 2000. The firm drew on Burroughs’ extensive experience to get its start, providing maintenance, repair, and inspection services for large industrial turbines in Alaska.
“I retired to do this,” he said, noting that he worked eight years for European Gas Turbines in Anchorage after moving to Alaska from Colorado in 1988.
His operation diversified in 2003 by shifting its focus to servicing industrial equipment on military bases and installations in Alaska. Rotating Services won contracts to provide maintenance and repair services for various types of equipment and systems on Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright Army Base near Fairbanks, Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson Army Base in Anchorage and at Clear Air Station near Delta Junction.
“I am so glad we did that. Diversifying was the best thing we could have ever done,” Burroughs said.
Rotating Services soon split its operations into two companies - Rotating Equipment Co. and Industrial Hoists and Purchasing Co, and in 2009, added a third company, Rotating Scales (renamed Phillips Scales), which certifies and services various types of industrial scales, including those found in grocery stores.
Diverse and different Today, the operation offers an even broader eclectic mix of services, having added yet another company, 1-800-Radiator & A/C.
Among its many services, the Rotating Services family provides preventative, scheduled and emergency maintenance to ensure that its customers’ equipment runs reliably at peak performance. This includes field maintenance, overhaul and refurbishment services and sales on industrial equipment and parts, including turbine power plants, pumps, generators, compressors, and flare systems.
The operation offers continuing education courses and training in such areas as hospital human resources; vibration and alignment; basics of industrial power; boiler operation, maintenance and safety; HVAC and air distribution; project management; and pumps and pump systems. Its engineering staff is also available to design new and update existing control systems.
Customers in Alaska include oil companies, military installations, state agencies, municipalities and mining companies.
“We’re doing a lot of work for the airlines and for fish processors. We work with Alaska Airlines in 28 airports across the state,” said Burroughs.
Alaska’s mines are another growth area.
“In fact, we’re dispatching people to the Kensington Mine today,” Burroughs said.
With a staff that has nearly tripled in the past two years to 30 full-time employees, the operation was actively seeking more salespeople and technicians in June.
“We keep a service truck traveling on the Alaska Ferry in Southeast,” serving our customers in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau and Yakutat, Burroughs said.
The operation also maintains an office and two service trucks in Fairbanks to serve its clientele in the Interior and equipment in Naknek and Kodiak, and was considering re-activating idle equipment staged in Dutch Harbor.
Looking to future growth, Burroughs said Rotating Services is poised to undertake a number of projects in the Lower 48, including work using a proprietary process for water decontamination plants in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
“We’re doing about $4.5 million in business right now, and our goal is to hit $7 million this year,” he said in June. “Our projects in the Lower 48 should kick off in September, and we are looking to open our scale business in Washington State this winter.”
Gratitude and grace Burroughs credits much of his companies’ success to the depth of knowledge his employees have acquired over the years.
Not only is he thankful for his employees, he is also grateful for customers that have helped the company, especially Alaska Airlines and Alaska’s military bases, including the U.S. Coast Guard. He also expressed thanks to the Iliamna-Newhalen Electric Cooperative and H.C. Contractors for their ongoing support and assistance.
Former Alaskans also have called on Rotating Services to provide its services in locations around the world, especially in Asia and Africa.
“We just chase wherever the work is. For us, it’s been a huge blessing. The Lord has just taken this beast and done things with it,” Burroughs said.
The firm, in turn, has undertaken charity work in southern Sudan where it built a hospital, and in Alaska, where it provides emergency services, including food, clothing and life skills
training.
| 