Construction and Rigging.

• Author: West, Gail
• Position: Construction and Rigging Inc. - The New Forty-Niners - Company profile

Construction & Rigging

Riding tail of a comet wasn't necessarily what Brad West had in mind when he joined his father, Robert (Bob) West, in the construction business in 1982. Even more surprising to Brad West was the fact that the company's fortunes soared during a time when other firms in the trade were sinking in alaska's recent recession.

Despite the downswings in other businesses, Anchorage-based Construction and Rigging Inc., a general contractor specializing in heavy industrial and marine work, has grown nearly 2,500 percent over the past five years, according to West, now senior vice president of the firm. Last year Construction and Rigging ranked 50th in Alaska Business Monthly's research for the New Forty Niner list of the top Alaskan-owned, Alaska-based businesses and was labeled "the one to watch."

Construction and Rigging's revenues climbed from $6.1 million in 1987 to $13.3 million in 1988, a 117 percent increase. In 1989, the firm's revenues rose another 40 percent - to $18.5 million, and 1990 is expected to be yet another year of rapid growth.

"We're in final negotiations right now for another surimi plant job," West says. "And this job should put our 1990 revenues in the $40 million to $50 million range. We may more than double 1989's revenues."

West doesn't expect the meteoric climb in revenues to continue. "We might have one more year at the most," he says. "Of course, a lot depends on oil prices and whether some things that are looming on the horizon actually go through. If projects like ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), the gas pipeline or the exploration of Cook Inlet actually happen, we could continue to have a lot of work. They would certainly offer some interesting opportunities."

Founded in 1970 as Western Associates, Construction and Rigging has undergone three major changes in its 20-year history. About five years after founding the company, Bob West joined with two partners, Bill Taylor and Paul Reynolds. In 1975, the three changed the company name to Taylor Rigging. In 1980, the company name was changed again; Construction and Rigging was adopted to reflect a more general identification.

The most dramatic change came in 1984 when Bob West, who had been the majority stockholder since the startup of the firm, bought out his partners and took over sole ownership of the company. "There had been some operational problems before Bob took control," says Gerald Caley, Construction and Rigging's controller. From a...