The Odom Corp. keeps presence in Alaska but expands outside acquisitions in 2005 added $50 million in revenue.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY'S 2006 CORPORATE 100 - Company overview

A company with roots in Depression-era Anchorage, holds a strong lead in the statewide beverage distribution market and is expanding its Pacific Northwest business.

Today, The Odom Corp. is based in Bellevue, Wash., but company officials say its Alaska business forms the cornerstone of its current efforts.

"The Alaska business is very important to The Odom Corp.," said John Odom, company president, chief executive officer and chairman. "It's where our company was founded."

He praised the unique entrepreneurial spirit of pioneering Last Frontier businessmen, including his father, whose tenacity was fostered in Alaska.

Likewise, The Odom Corp.'s longevity and success statewide through overcoming numerous challenges has developed a competitiveness that is effective among Lower 48 rivals.

"Alaska has been a great place for the company," said Dick Barkett, The Odom Corp.'s chief operating officer. "It has been a pillar for us to grow geographically."

With the effervescence of uncorked, shaken champagne, The Odom Corp. is surging ahead in its industry.

Several acquisitions in 2005 added substantial revenue and a new key link in supplying a leading product line to customers like supermarket chains and restaurants.

"The acquisitions added $50 million in revenue," Barkett said.

Such a move is significant for the company that logged $235 million in revenue in 2005, including $106 million from Alaska.

BEGINNINGS AND GROWTH

Patriarch Milt Odom started the company in 1934. His three sons, Bill, Jim and John Odom, now own the business.

The Odom Corp. is a licensed wholesale distributor of major lines like Miller and Coors beer products, Coca-Cola, Gallo wines and many other beverages.

Although the company once owned various offspring businesses, like a food service operation in Alaska, the goal is more streamlined as a soft drink and alcoholic beverage distributor.

According to Barkett, The Odom Corp. is the largest beverage distributor in Alaska. One reason is the combination of its strength in beer, soft drinks and wine sales statewide, he noted. The company's ownership of so many beverage distribution rights in Alaska has limited expansion possibilities, he said.

Most of The Odom Corp.'s business was based in Alaska until 1996, Barkett said. That year, The Odom Corp. sold a bottling plant in Idaho, using the proceeds to acquire small beer distributors in Washington and Idaho, Barkett said.

The move jump-started a decade of expansion into the Pacific...