David Arnsdorf: Alaska Manufacturers' Association.

• Author: SWAGEL, WILL
• Position: Interview

Established in Anchorage last April, the Alaska Manufacturers' Association is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute for Standards and Technology, which runs similar Manufacturers Extension Programs in all 49 other states and Puerto Rico. As the more well-known University of Alaska Extension Services provide help for farmers, gardeners and others, MEPs provide manufacturers with practical information and networking opportunities. David Arnsdorf, the president of AKMA, has over 20 years experience helping manufacturers become more competitive and efficient. He recently spoke to Alaska Business Monthly about AKMA and manufacturing's role in Alaska.

ABM: Does it sometimes seem counterproductive to try to develop manufacturing in Alaska, considering Alaska is America's premier natural resource-based economy?

Arnsdorf: I don't think so. I think that living on a resource base is a very dangerous spot to be in, in some ways. Because markets have an uncomfortable habit of changing suddenly and resources-at least some of them--run out eventually, you'll need something that's going to continue after that.

ABM: Are most Alaska manufacturing opportunities in the timber and seafood industries?

Arnsdorf: Actually, wood is really small. It's been shrinking for some time. Last year wood products counted for only 2 percent of the economy in Alaska. The other interesting thing is that the market for wood products is actually very bad at the moment. The Asian market has never really recovered from the Asian collapse of a couple of years ago. And wood producers in Canada and the Lower 48 have gotten much much more productive in the last few years and are able to produce a lot more out of each tree, basically. Which means they need fewer trees.

The seafood industry does have some significant opportunities, but also some significant threats. Farm-raised fish, particularly salmon, have taken a lot of the world market in the last 10 years. This is primarily quality product. We are trying to address that issue by developing handling standards. This project began last summer.

We are working with the Copper River Salmon Producers Association. We have developed fish handling standards for the fishermen and the processing plants, trained participants on the standards, and monitored their efforts to follow them. We will be refining the standards and the certification process over the next two summers, and we will begin producing fish with a...