HOME PAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS, Print Editions, Newsletter PRODUCTS READ THE PETROLEUM NEWS ARCHIVE! ADVERTISING INFORMATION EVENTS

Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
September 2014

Vol. 19, No. 38 Week of September 21, 2014

Arctic Directory: Alaska Textiles brings innovative safety wear to the harsh Alaskan climate

Company’s new service provides ease of online ordering and tracking of FRC gear, safety awards

Q. What is the official name of your company?

A. Alaska Textiles Inc.

Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?

A. At Alaska Textiles, we are a family. Each customer we work with instantly becomes a part of our family.

Q. Where is your company located?

A. We are located at 620 W. Fireweed Lane in Anchorage, AK. However, we have sales representatives also representing us within the 48 contiguous states.

Q. What year was the company founded and by whom?

A. Our history dates back to 1946 when we were started as a division on Alaska Cleaners Inc. In 1981 we became our own entity.

Q. What is your company’s primary business activity?

A. Our company’s primary business is manufacturing and distributing our own brand of top quality flame resistant safety wear, designed for the harsh Alaskan market. This brand is manufactured in our factory in Edmonton, Kentucky under the name Korbana Protective Apparel. The Korbana line varies from summer wear clothing to our most popular, arctic jackets and bibs. Our arctic wear is world renowned for its ease of design and vapor barrier capabilities.

Q. Are there important projects the company is currently a part of or has done recently?

A. Of course! They range anywhere from new products, new services and community involvement. Alaska Textiles is continuously taking the next step forward in our industry and making sure that our Korbana safety line exceeds expectations. In addition, we’ve added a new service that allows our customers to have the ease of online ordering and tracking for both FRC, Promotional Items and Safety awards.

Q. How many employees does your company have?

A. We currently have 29 employees.

Q. Is your company expanding any of its operations or locations?

A. We are always looking for new opportunities. Currently we are growing our operation in the Bakken. We have been doing business there for the last 5 years and as of this year, have already exceeded last year, and the season is just getting started.

Having our base office in Anchorage has many benefits not only to us, but to our customers. Anchorage holds one of the largest FedEx hubs, which allows us to ship out orders at a low cost and pass it on to our customers. We also have sales representatives who travel outside of Alaska to visit with our customers in the 48 contiguous states.

Q. Is the company changing any of its services or products?

A. Yes and no. Our classic FRC clothing will generally stay the same, however we do change a few things on them to meet our customers’ needs. In addition, we’re always coming out with something new as technology in the FRC business changes. We stay on top of the FRC industry by traveling to industry shows and bringing ideas back to this market.

Q. What is your company’s main strength or its edge over the competition?

A. We are a company that is innovative, forward thinkers which keeps us ahead of the norm. In addition, the amount of knowledge we have in safety and promotional marketing greatly surpasses our competition. Owning our own factory is a large competitive advantage as we can control what we are making to better meet our customers’ needs.

In addition, our sales staff is an amazing group of individuals. Each sales member, from our Sales Assistants to our National Sales Manager, all have amazing customer service skills and in depth knowledge of the safety industry. Our in house Technical Director has years of experience working and training with our customers in regards to the proper types of FR PPE for their companies. Our Operations group does a fantastic job working with all other departments to make sure we not only meet our customers’ expectations, but exceed them. Together, our staff at Alaska Textiles works together as one unit, with one goal. Making sure our customers are taken care of.

Q. What new markets, clients or projects did your company attract in the last year?

A. With the variety of services we provide our customers, we’ve been able to attract many new customers in different markets. We do business with customers in the utilities, oil and gas, construction and general business.

Q. What is the average length of time employee’s work for the company?

A. Many of our employees have been here for quite awhile. For instance, our National Sales Manager, Heidi Dubinsky, and Marketing/Technical Director, Mary Snare, have both been here for 14 years, our Assistant Sales Manager, Kathy Egrass, has been here 9 years. Many of our operations personnel have also been here quite a few years. We strive to make sure our company supports our employees in making sure we have an environment they want to come to every day. Here, we are all family.

Q. Has your company been involved in any community projects or charity events?

A. Absolutely! Not only does the company involve itself in many of those events, we encourage and support our employees to also reach out and be a part of the community. In fact, we are working very closely with the American Heart Association for this year’s Heart Walk in Sept. We are also a big supporter of St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. We are currently working on a large fund raiser golf tournament here in Anchorage. We respect what St. Jude has to offer to families, that all one has to do is get your ill child there and the Hospital takes care of the them from there.

Q. What is the address of your company’s Web site?

A. You can find us on the web at two sites: www.alaskatextiles.com and www.korbana.com






Petroleum News - Phone: 1-907 522-9469 - Fax: 1-907 522-9583
[email protected] --- https://www.petroleumnews.com ---
S U B S C R I B E

Copyright Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA)©1999-2019 All rights reserved. The content of this article and web site 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.