Vitus energy.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: 2015 Top 49ers - Dialogue with Vitus Energy's Mark Smith - Interview

While the experience leading Vitus Energy stems from men working in Western Alaska since roughly the turn of the century, the company as I currently structured was founded in 2009 and began operations in 2011. According to Vitus Energy CEO Mark Smith, the company did $32 million in sales within its first year of operation. For this year's Top 49ers, Vitus Energy reports that in 2014 its gross revenues were $69 million. Smith f says that Vitus Energy focuses on two areas that are absolutely necessary for this kind of success in Alaska's fuel delivery industry: providing the best possible value and delivering the kind of service that customers appreciate.

History

Vitus Energy's earliest roots began with Smith's great uncle, who was part of the Nome gold rush around the turn of the twentieth century and eventually migrated to the Bristol Bay area in the 1920s. In the 1930s, looking for opportunities in Alaska (which was generally unaffected by the Depression) and having been invited up by Smith's uncle, Smith's grandfather traveled north, bringing his experience in the marine and logging industries with him. In 1934 he founded Smith Lighterage Company, providing tug and barge services and operating out of Dillingham and Aleknagik. Smith's father and uncle worked for Smith Lighterage, purchasing it themselves in 1961.

Smith bought out his dad and uncle in the 1980s, operating the tug and barge company until 1999 when it joined the Northland Group under the subsidiary Yukon Fuel Company. Yukon Fuel Company was purchased by Crowley Marine in 2005. In 2009 Vitus Energy was formed with Smith and two other former Yukon Fuel Company executives Justin Charon and Shaen Tarter. Vitus Energy's entry into the market began with a management agreement to construct and operate two tug and barge sets for Alaska Village Electric Cooperative.

Smith's Alaska Upbringing

Smith himself has participated in the business all his life. Fie was born in Salem, Oregon, while his father was in Oregon at law school. When Smith was about a year old they returned to Alaska to the family homestead in Aleknagik, which had a population just under two hundred in the 2010 census. Growing up in a rural Alaska community definitely impacted Smith. "When you live out there you need to be self-sufficient. If you want anything done, you need to do it yourself. So, I think we all grew up very independent-minded and developed skillsets and capabilities that kept us self-sufficient," Smith...