Two institutions that span Southeast Alaska are now one. Tongass Federal Credit Union (TFCU) merged with ALPS Federal Credit Union, keeping the TCFU name. The organization combines assets worth $233.4 million serving 13,163 members with eight branches (Ketchikan, Sitka, Petersburg, Metlakatla, Klawock, Wrangell, Haines, and Juneau) and four community microsites (Thorne Bay, Hydaburg, Kake, Hoonah). TFCU President and CEO Helen Mickel continues to lead the merged credit union.
tongassfcu.com

The Point Hope Native Store (PHNS) is becoming the thirty-sixth Alaska Commercial Company (AC) location in the state and the chain’s third store in the North Slope Borough. Tikigaq, the village corporation for Point Hope, has been operating the PHNS but is handing over the store to AC. Throughout 2023, AC plans to invest in renovations, such as added refrigeration to expand the availability of fresh food, while planning for construction of a new grocery store in Point Hope.
alaskacommercial.com

Every Alaska resident is part owner of the Three Bears Alaska supermarket chain, through an investment by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Most of the fund’s earnings come from out-of-state assets, but managers set aside $200 million in 2018 to boost in-state businesses. Last year, Three Bears received a capital injection from a Seattle-based private equity firm, and recent reporting found that the firm was handling the Permanent Fund’s money. Other Alaska companies receiving Permanent Fund capital include All Alaska Tours, Fleetzero electric cargo ships, and Macro Oceans seaweed products.
threebearsalaska.com

Anglers in need of an all-in-one cooler can find an Alaskan solution at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s. The national chains reached a distribution deal with PacBak, maker of the P88-MK Cooler/ROAM 18-V Vacuum Sealer Combo invented by Brian McKinnon of Wasilla. The invention already had national distribution through Army Air Force Exchange Stores. The deal with Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s puts PacBak in 177 locations, starting with Alaska stores this month.
pacbak.com

Alaska Behavioral Health is opening a new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) near downtown Wasilla. CCBHCs offer crisis services, screening and evaluation, outpatient mental health, primary care screening and monitoring, client-centered treatment planning, targeted case management, psychiatric rehabilitation services, and peer and family supports. “We’ve been painfully aware of the shortage of behavioral health services in the Mat-Su for a long time,” COO Joshua Arvidson says.
alaskabehavioralhealth.org

Alaska Auto Rental is expanding its service area to a new location near Valdez Airport. The shop at 300 Airport Road offers a selection of cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans for rental and leasing services in Valdez, as well as one-way rentals between Valdez and any other city in Alaska. Alaska Auto Rental has been operating since 2011 and now has the largest independent car rental fleet in Alaska.
alaskaautorental.com

Stretching beyond its home territory, Alaska Rubber Group is rebranding with a less geographically specific name. ARG Industrial is the new moniker for the company, which previously consolidated with Alaska Rubber & Rigging Inc. and Arctic Wire Rope & Supply. The supplier of belts, hoses, and chains has also acquired subsidiaries in Washington and Oregon, and the rebranding retires those historical trade names.
alaskarubbergroup.com

Australian oil and gas company 88 Energy is proceeding with an exploration well at a North Slope unit formerly named Icewine East. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission granted permission to drill the Hickory-1 well at the renamed Project Phoenix, straddling the Dalton Highway and Trans Alaska Pipeline System corridor. The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas also approved partial unitization of Project Phoenix acreage, forming the Toolik River Unit.
88energy.com