Larry Rannals, President: Tri-Star Distributing.

• Author: Stomierowski, Peg
• Position: View from the Top - Interview

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Larry F. Rannals founded Tri-Star Distributing in Anchorage Nov. 2, 1981, with partner Sam Harris. The duo, who'd worked together at another distribution company, started the firm from scratch using funds from their home equity loans, Rannals recalls, saying he couldn't have done it without Harris, who retired in 1993.

VIEW FROM THE TOP: Looking back after 30 years, all of our hard work, great product lines and dedicated employees have paid off a hundredfold. Tri-Star has grown from just the two of us in the first six months to more than 30 employees, counting part-timers, and gross sales of about $10 million annually. As for most any food business here, the future looks strong.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES: We are a packaged-food wholesale distributor to grocery stores. Our main lines are Keebler crackers and cookies, Cheez-lts, Mission tortillas and chips, Tim's Cascade Chips and Peet's Coffee. Main customers are Carrs/Safeway, Fred Meyer, WalMart and military commissaries, and we do a lot of business in the Bush through Alaska Commercial and Eagle (Carrs) grocery stores and other wholesalers. We've seen recent growth in our Wal-Mart and Bush businesses, where there is high demand for the type of products we distribute.

BUSINESS DRIVERS: Service is a primary driver. We stock, rotate and guarantee all our products. Stores give us the space and we do the rest. Overall, freight charges to bring these products here...