Gateway to the world: Alaska's transportation companies meet customers' needs with old-fashioned hard work and innovative ideas.

• Author: Pielli, Brooke
• Position: ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY'S 2006 TRANSPORTATION SECTION - Cover story

What do the transportation companies servicing the largest state in the U.S. have in common? A combination of hard work and innovative ideas. Often added to that formula is a sense of employee ownership, even when the company is privately owned. The result of these factors is a smaller number of transportation companies than might be expected for a state of 570,374 square miles.

"It is survival of the fittest," said Sen. Charlie Huggins, District H, and chair of the Transportation Committee. Huggins, with a formidable military career spanning 25 years, has lived in Alaska since 1988.

"Those companies who work hard are rewarded with success," Huggins said. "I know that sounds old-fashioned, but it works."

In the 49th state, what works is important. With the largest landmass of any of the 50 states, its coastline and tidal shoreline are the largest in the nation. Alaska also has both arctic tundra and tidewater glaciers, as well as a number of active volcanoes. Its population of 626,932 (2002) deal not only with extreme winter weather and vast distances between communities, but also with remote settlements, some of which are reachable almost exclusively by air. With these challenges of weather, distance and remoteness, the reliability of transportation companies is crucial to consumers waiting for vital equipment and supplies. It isn't only Alaska residents who depend on reliable air transport for food and cargo.

"In late May and June, fresh fish from the Copper River are transported to companies located across the United States who then sell the fish to local markets," explained Huggins. "Fish is a fresh product and the State of Georgia, for example, is a buyer. The fish have to be refrigerated and transported by plane to their destination quickly so that they arrive there without spoiling.

Because of our geographic location, we also can have consumers in the other direction, west, in Central Europe, for example. Again, reliable air transportation is important. We do quite a bit of traffic with the Pacific Rim."

LYNDEN

"It's a real challenge," said David Rosenzweig, director of marketing for Lynden. "We have an experienced staff and a large range of equipment. We have six L-382 Hercules airplanes, for example. Because they can land on short runways, gravel, ice or even packed earth, they can deliver cargo to remote areas that might be without road access."

The Hercules aircraft is unique in that with a cargo-hold that is 53 feet long, 10 feet wide, and nine feet high, it can carry a payload of up to 48,000 pounds of break-bulk or palletized cargo. Loading and unloading cargo is quicker and easier than with conventional aircraft because the rear-loading door can be lowered to either ground level or to truck-bed height. Such a rear door also allows straight-in loading, thereby extending the maximum length of the cabin over the closed rear door.

Lynden also has a share of the marine and overland business. As Alaska Marine Lines, Lynden offers a twice-a-week barge service between Seattle, Wash., and Southeastern Alaska, as well as weekly service to Central Alaska via Whittier. There also are charter barge services to locations along the coastal region, a full range of intermodal service options, and door-to-door freight management services.

"Meeting the vast array of customer needs throughout (the state) makes the work unique," said Rosenzweig. "Some moves are more difficult than others. We have more than 50 years of experience serving Alaska...