SENCO Alaska: solution-based fastener company.

• Author: West, Gail
• Position: BUILDING ALASKA

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The invention of the pneumatic nail gun was the spark that sent Jack and Barbara Butt into the fastener supply business, and they opened the doors to SENCO Alaska Inc. in 1968. Jack, who had been a general contractor building homes in Anchorage, replaced his manual hammer with a pneumatic nailer one day and liked the results. The pneumatic nail gun is speedier and much more precise than the old-fashioned hammer, and it makes a homebuilder or a contractor much more productive.

According to Mark Symonds, salesman for SENCO Alaska, SENCO introduced the first nail gun to Alaska, and the Butts bought the statewide distributorship for SENCO products. At the time, the Butts had six daughters, and two, Teri and Jackie, joined their parents in running the business then bought it. The two have owned the business for the last eight years.

"They've worked at the company since the start, and that's been nearly 43 years ago," Symonds said. "They swept floors, answered phones, did inventory--just about everything."

Today, Teri Gunter is vice president of SENCO Alaska and her sister, Jackie Glatt, is office manager.

With nine locations that distribute SENCO products around Alaska--Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Soldotna, Kodiak, Bethel, Wasilla, Seward and Nome--SENCO Alaska currently has six employees.

"All the employees and customers are treated like family," Symonds said.

SENCO Alaska carries a full line of pneumatic nailers and staplers, as well as an extensive line of nails, staples and screws to meet construction-industry needs. The company also carries Jenny/SENCO compressors, MAX re-bar tiers and DURASPIN screw guns and a full line of accessories--and they rent all their tools as well as selling them. Folks with "honey-do" lists can find all the tools and fasteners they need at SENCO, too.

Symonds said SENCO Alaska is known for having what a customer needs in stock.

"Teri and Jackie always say: 'You can't sell from an empty wheelbarrow,'" he added.

A new product for SENCO Alaska is its Magnum Heated System, which keeps polyurethane foam at a consistent temperature during application. This foam is used for both commercial and residential construction, and SENCO Alaska has recently purchased a trailer that can travel from worksite to worksite.

"Our foam systems have been shipped from Southeast to Dutch Harbor to the North Slope and everywhere in between," Symonds said. In fact, he added, he traveled to rural Alaska during...