Small company attitude, big company capability.

• Author: Dalby, Ron
• Position: Interview

Lynden is not just trucks...or airplanes...or barges. Under President Jim Jansen it's the apparent company for all these and more.

Throughout our talk, Jim Jansen kept returning to one overriding concern - his company's desire to continuously improve its position as Alaska's premier transportation company. Right along with that went his objective of focusing all Lynden's activities toward providing quality service that meets or exceeds a customer's expectations.

In some form or another, those guidelines have probably been part of the company 's philosophy since Jansen 's father Henry purchased it in 1947. Then it was just a local trucking firm in Washington, hauling mostly agricultural products. By 1953, Henry Jansen was looking toward Alaska for expansion. He calculated his trucks would cost shippers more than ships but less than airplanes, and he figured this suggested a market for his services. He was right, and the rest, as they say, is history.

ABM: Did your family form Lynden?

JANSEN: No, the company was formed in 1907 in the town of Lynden, which is a farming community in northwest Washington state. It was formed to haul agricultural products between the town of Lynden and the town of Bellingham.

ABM: When did your family come into the picture?

JANSEN: My father was a Lynden truck driver in the '40s. He and two other partners bought the company for $10,000.

ABM: When did Lynden begin making moves toward Alaska?

JANSEN: In 1953 the decision was made to buy two Kenworths and two 40-foot Arrowliner trailers and begin service between Seattle and Alaska via the Alcan Highway.

ABM: How did that work out? The Alcan of 1953 doesn't stand out in my memory as much of a trucking road.

JANSEN: It was very difficult in those days. There had been a lot of attempts to run a reliable schedule over the Alcan - with a lot of failures. When Lynden decided to begin service over the Alcan, the intent was that it be a quality, reliable service that would survive the test of time.

ABM: Did it?

JANSEN: Yes, with plenty of difficulties. The initial service was basically hauling perishables in the early days of Foodland (the Anchorage-based grocery chain, now Carrs). The intent was to provide a service that was midway between the very expensive air freight and the inexpensive water freight.

ABM: How long did it take them to make a one-way trip in those days?

JANSEN: About four days.

In the early '60s the U.S. Postal Service wanted to make some test runs. They went to bid, and we ended up with a contract for the mail up the Alcan Highway until the late '70s.

ABM: Now, besides the trucks, you're flying cargo and carrying it by sea. When did Lynden's...