The new 49ers 1993 new horizons.

• Author: Woodring, Jeannie
• Position: Top 49 companies - Includes related article - Industry Overview

If slow but steady wins the race, then Alaska's 1993 New 49ers bear the mark of true champions.

Booms and busts routinely blast holes in the state's economy. Without the slow, steady growth that ensures stability, Alaska sometimes seems destined for more roller-coaster business rides. But 1993's New 49ers (based on figures provided for fiscal year 1992) show that perhaps these disastrous economic turns will switch into reverse. Again and again, statistics given by 1993's top 49 Alaskan-owned companies demonstrate that slow, steady growth stands on the state's horizon.

Here's what the facts reveal. In 1993, 26 of the New 49ers reported an average 22 percent gain in revenues, compared to 23 companies posting an overall growth rate of 29 percent in 1992. Only 22 firms listed as 1993 New 49ers reported reduced revenues, compared to 24 companies in last year.

Total revenue for this year's New 49ers stands at $3.2 billion, up from $3.09 billion for 1991. While total employment for 1993's New 49ers fell to 20,479, down from a total workforce of 22,769 in 1991, check out the source: Carr-Gottstein Food Co. Inc. moved off the New 49ers listing because its sale of public stock last summer put majority ownership of the company into the hands of non-Alaskans. Had Carr's remained on the list, total employment for 1992 would have risen to a new high of 23,449.

In addition to Carr's, other companies dropped out of the New 49er listing. Look closer, and again you'll find that the news isn't so bad. Two firms on last year's list chose not to respond this year. Only one company shut down. Two companies were sold and no longer qualified.

Newcomers to this year's top 49 companies represent a broad spectrum of Alaska industry -- a healthy sign of the kind of diversification it takes to ensure good economic times are here to stay. A Native corporation, Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp., jumps onto the list as the 15th-largest revenue-producing Alaskan firm.

Other 1993 newcomers include a construction company (Davis Constructors and Engineers Inc.), a car franchise (Anchorage Chrysler Center), a food distributor (Northern Sales Co. of Alaska), an oil and gas drilling outfit (Pool Arctic Alaska), a trucking firm (Carlile Enterprises), and a building products distributor (Kenai Supply Inc.).

Along the lines of diversification, all 49 companies on this year's list reveal a healthy picture of Alaska's increasingly balanced economy.

Representing the state's still strong...