Exporting business success from the 49th state: tips for trade in products, commodities, and services.

• Author: White, Rindi
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: International Trade

Oil, zinc, lead, coal, gold, copper, salmon, cod, and pollock and crab--most Alaskans could probably name the top ten Alaska exports. But the list of exports from Alaska is growing, and it includes a number of intangible items, such as architectural expertise, kitchen gadget designs, and even a satellite-based aircraft radar broadcast aimed at making flying in rural or semi-rural areas more safe.

Whether it's commodities or architectural plans being shipped, people who have experience in overseas exports say there are a few key things people interested in exporting should remember.

Usibelli Coal Mine has been operating for seventy-one years and sending coal overseas for thirty. Brown says until about eight years ago, the company worked primarily with a Korean company that operated the Seward coal terminal and marketed the coal exclusively to one Korean utility. But the Korean company went out of business, so Usibelli put in place "Aurora Energy Services," a subsidiary to operate the coal terminal, and Usibelli employees began directly marketing the coal overseas.

The coal from Healy is low-sulfur, which is desirable throughout the Pacific Rim, but it also doesn't have as high a heating value as some other types of coal. Add to that the fact that competitors with similar-quality coal are mining in Indonesia, where wages are lower than in the United States and environmental regulations are less strict. Brown says the current coal export market is challenging for these reasons.

But the end users--typically utility providers--value the stability of Alaska coal and the tonnage Usibelli can provide. In 2011, the company saw a peak in its exports. That year, 1.1 million metric tons were shipped through the Seward coal terminal.

"Since, we've been steadily coming back down," Brown says. "Prices have been coming down, so as a result we're curtailing some of our production."

Having a strong domestic business boosts Usibelli.

"We are able to continue to supply low-cost energy to the Interior--that's our bread and butter," Brown says.

In 2011 the company's portfolio was split about 50/50 between exports and domestic sales. In 2014, about 35 percent was exported; the bulk was sold within Alaska, about 1 million tons. It went to Golden Valley Electric Association, Clear Air Force Base, forts Wainwright and Eielson, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the energy plant in downtown Fairbanks.

Brown says Usibelli is examining expansion options, but it's unlikely to make a move until coal prices rise. Australian coal (the benchmark coal for the Pacific Rim) that in 2010 was selling for around US$110 a ton is today selling for about US$65, a roughly 40 percent drop in value.

Nelson's business is based on the technology developed in the Capstone Program, an aviation safety program funded by the federal government between 1999 and 2006. Capstone was created after a rash of private airplane crashes in the late 1990s. At that time, Nelson says, Alaska was seeing a private plane accident every three days, with a fatality about every nine days.

"Bush flying was officially the most dangerous profession in the US at that time," he says.

ADS-B, which stands for Automatic Dependent...