Environmental profile: VRCA.

• Author: Bostian, Kelley
• Position: VRCA Environmental Services Inc. - Company Profile

Riding the boom in environmental services, VRCA has grown into one of the giants of the industry.

Mother always said if she had a nickel for every time she cleaned up after her kids, she would be a wealthy woman. Well, Mom had a pretty good idea.

Taken on a national scale, oil spill response and hazardous waste cleanup companies are making profits that would make any mother proud. And these companies are not only cleaning up after industry -- they are teaching industry how to avoid making messes in the first place.

VRCA (originally Versatile Response Co. of Alaska) Environmental, based in Anchorage, is one of the largest environmental services companies in Alaska. VRCA recently gained attention when it won three major spill response contracts: the Alaska Clean Seas contract; the 17th District Coast Guard contract; and the CISPRI (Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response Inc.) contract.

Only Martech USA outdistances VRCA in revenues. "Martech is rated No. 1, but their revenues are based on worldwide operations, and they do a lot of underwater construction. We believe their environmental revenues in Alaska are less than ours," says VRCA president Rex Lumpkin. "We like to think we're No. 1."

The environmental business is booming, Lumpkin adds. "This is one of the most promising industries in Alaska and nationwide at this time," he says. "There have been so many environmental mistakes made in the past that now we realize we have to go back and clean up. That includes everything from mom and pop dumping waste oil in the backyard to massive waste dumps."

The need for such companies is reflected in state and federal environmental regulations that seem to change on a daily basis. VRCA devotes one full-time staff position mostly to keeping track of environmental regulations.

The company started out five years ago in the $2 million to $3 million category and has grown to between $15 million and $18 million in gross annual revenues, Lumpkin says.

VRCA also draws clout from its parent, Natchiq, a Native-owned subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corp. (ASRC), one of the largest companies in Alaska. ASRC purchased the company, formerly known as ESL Oilfield Services, in 1988.

Today, VRCA has about 120 employees and a fleet of vans stocked with oil spill response equipment at each of its branch offices in Fairbanks, Prudhoe Bay, Kenai, Kodiak, Anchorage and Valdez. Officials say the equipment and branch offices are strategically located to allow rapid...