TOP 49ERS
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nterior businesses featured on the 2024 Top 49ers list are a cross-section of sectors vital to the thriving economy of the Fairbanks area. Everts Air Cargo | Everts Air Alaska, Great Northwest, Inc., and Doyon, Limited have all contributed to increased growth in their respective industries, a testament to their business savvy, quality services, and growing impact in the Interior.

Sky’s the Limit
Just making the cut on this year’s Top 49ers list is Everts Air, a family-owned and operated airline providing cargo and passenger service within Alaska, the Lower 48, Canada, Mexico, and beyond.
Interior Indicators: Fairbanks Top 49ers point the way to success
By Rachael Kvapil
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nterior businesses featured on the 2024 Top 49ers list are a cross-section of sectors vital to the thriving economy of the Fairbanks area. Everts Air Cargo | Everts Air Alaska, Great Northwest, Inc., and Doyon, Limited have all contributed to increased growth in their respective industries, a testament to their business savvy, quality services, and growing impact in the Interior.

Sky’s the Limit
Just making the cut on this year’s Top 49ers list is Everts Air, a family-owned and operated airline providing cargo and passenger service within Alaska, the Lower 48, Canada, Mexico, and beyond.
Its mission is to ensure the safety, reliability, and affordability of air transportation services for Alaska communities and efficient delivery of cargo and petroleum products.

Under the umbrella corporation Tatonduk Outfitters Limited, Everts Air Cargo offers scheduled and charter air freight services within Alaska, as well as on-demand charter services throughout North, Central, and South America, including the Caribbean. Everts Air Alaska provides passenger, freight, and charter services utilizing smaller aircraft—Pilatus PC-12s, Cessna 208 Grand Caravans, and Cessna 408 SkyCouriers—based in Fairbanks. With a diverse fleet, both carriers can transport a variety of cargo, including small packages, hazardous materials, oversized items, and precious cargo such as live animals.

“We provide comprehensive transportation support services to the mining, oil and gas, tourism, and fishing industries in the state,” says Susan Hoshaw, assistant general manager for Everts Air.

The origins of Everts Air can be traced back to the border town of Eagle, where the nascent company catered to trappers, miners, and what would now be called eco-travelers. In 1993, Robert Everts acquired the company from Mark Lynch with the goal of expanding its operations to include large aircraft. Despite facing government delays and competition, Tatonduk Outfitters successfully obtained amended authority in July 1995. The small aircraft operation, previously known as Tatonduk Flying Service, and the large aircraft operation, formerly Air Cargo Express, were rebranded as Everts Air Alaska and Everts Air Cargo in 2002. Robert Everts’ aviation degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and guidance from his father, Clifford Everts, have significantly influenced his leadership approach, as he remains the company’s owner, president, and CEO.

“We take pride in being a vital component of the state’s transportation network, ensuring the seamless movement of goods and people… As we reflect on over thirty years of operation, we appreciate the dedication of our employees whose hard work and commitment have been instrumental in our growth.”
Robert Everts
Owner, President & CEO
Everts Air
Everts Air now operates a fleet of twenty-two aircraft. Over the past three decades, the company has evolved from operating DC-6 and C-46 aircraft to incorporating more modern jet aircraft like the Douglas MD-80. In January, Everts Air expanded its fleet by introducing the SkyCourier twin-engine turboprop aircraft, showcasing a commitment to providing appropriately sized aircraft to meet Alaska’s aviation needs. Hoshaw says this cutting-edge aircraft, designed for FedEx and first flown in 2020, is known for its performance and reliability, offering three configurations: all cargo, all passenger (nineteen seats), or a combination of passengers (nine seats) and cargo.

“The SkyCourier represents the forefront of aviation technology that enhances safety during flight,” says Hoshaw. “It will be utilized for both scheduled and charter passenger and cargo services.”

A team of 336 employees supports Everts Air operations. Most are based around Alaska, with a smaller number located in Laredo and Fredericksburg, Texas. Robert Everts says he prefers to lead by example with a hands-on approach, actively engaging with employees, personally piloting some flights, and working closely with leadership to address challenges effectively.

“The dynamic nature of the aviation industry requires us to adapt our approach to ensure continued success as an air carrier in Alaska,” says Everts. “Recognizing the changing workforce needs driven by generational shifts, we are exploring innovative strategies that depart from traditional business practices.”

He adds that collaboration with companies involved in the development of future technologies, particularly in the unmanned aerial vehicle and drone sector, underscores Everts Air’s commitment to staying ahead of industry advancements. By continuously seeking opportunities in aviation and exploring avenues for diversification, the company remains open to exploring new possibilities that align with its core operations.

Though Everts Air has appeared seventeen times since debuting on the Top 49ers list in 2001, Everts says his team is grateful for the recognition. He feels the success of the company can be attributed to the unwavering determination, persistence, tenacity, and innovative thinking demonstrated by all its employees. Together they work on shifting from a mindset of “we can’t do this” to “how can we accomplish this,” given the numerous laws, regulations, and standards in play.

“We take pride in being a vital component of the state’s transportation network, ensuring the seamless movement of goods and people,” says Everts. “As we reflect on over thirty years of operation, we appreciate the dedication of our employees whose hard work and commitment have been instrumental in our growth.”

Road to Success
Making this year’s Top 49ers list at #45 is Great Northwest, Inc. (GNI), a locally owned civil contractor focused primarily on heavy highway and civil site work. Its goal is to provide a collaborative workplace where skilled staff have the support and freedom to get things done, which allows GNI to attract and retain talented personnel who consistently deliver safe, quality projects on or ahead of schedule.

“Our mission is to partner with our clients to add value to their projects with our deep bench of highly skilled crew members,” says CEO Jennifer Quakenbush.

GNI started as a small landscaping company in 1975 by John Minder. He and his partners, Randy Brand and Tony Johansen, have grown GNI into a large civil contractor performing work throughout the Interior. Services include civil construction (including highway and road construction), site development, and underground utilities. Teams primarily work along the Interior road system, from the Canadian border to Valdez and from Denali Park to the Dalton Highway. Depending on the season, GNI employs between 45 and 200 people.

Quakenbush says GNI is excited to make the Top 49ers list for a seventh time with its highest gross revenue since debuting in 2008. She attributes GNI’s success to people maintaining relationships, in-house and in the community, so that they can help solve problems and share information.

“It’s a testament to our project crews and support crews coming together and rising to the challenge to accomplish more work than we’ve ever had,” she says.

The Economic Landscape
Two more Fairbanks companies made this year’s Top 49ers list. Doyon, Limited, the Alaska Native regional corporation for the Interior, ranked #19. The corporation operates a diverse family of companies in the areas of oil field services, government contracted utilities, construction, information technology, natural resources development, tourism, and real estate. Doyon employs more than 1,300 individuals in Alaska and across the nation and has more than 20,500 shareholders.

Also on the list is Usibelli Coal Mine (UCM). Although most of its work happens 115 miles south in Healy, UCM has an office in Fairbanks and, perhaps more importantly, it produces fuel for six Interior power plants. UCM and Doyon both appeared on the inaugural Top 49ers list in 1985. Doyon has been listed every year but one, and UCM has a clean sweep of every list for forty years. Ranked as high as #18 in 1989 when it was exporting coal to South Korea, UCM now stands at #39.

“Our mission is to partner with our clients to add value to their projects with our deep bench of highly skilled crew members.”
Jennifer Quakenbush
CEO
Great Northwest, Inc.
All four Fairbanks 2024 Top 49er companies represent influential industries in the Interior. In a recent presentation to the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, Jomo Stewart, the president and CEO of Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation, gave an updated snapshot from the Annual Economic Report 2023. Overall, Stewart says that economic trends show growth in the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) and that total job earning and Hotel-Motel Room Tax revenues were each up 10 percent from 2022. Construction and housing led employment growth at 10 percent each, with transportation and warehousing at 9.5 percent and the energy sector at 4.9 percent. Likewise, job and wage indicators showed positive trends, and the unemployment rate dropped a full 1 percentage point below the 2019 benchmark.

Stewart describes Fairbanks as a hub community that features a mix of resource rich companies and smaller companies that provide logistics and development for other regional industries that contribute significantly to Alaska’s economy.

“We have a number of mines active in the Interior, like Kinross [Fort Knox and Manh Choh], Pogo, and Usibelli,” Stewart said in an interview following his chamber of commerce presentation. “There are also many oil companies up north that rely on the Interior for services. We are the nexus of support for where the money comes from.”

Though natural resources showed flat growth in the Annual Economic Report 2023, Stewart said that this sector is likely to grow in the future because of increased production at the Manh Choh mine, ore processing at the Fort Knox mine, and increased activity at both the Willow and Pikka projects on the North Slope that rely on trucking supplies and materials from Fairbanks.

Even with growth in several sectors, government still represents a sizeable portion of the FNSB economy. Even excluding active-duty military, the government sector comprises 28 percent of the labor force, with 30 percent of the earnings. Overall, this sector dropped 1.5 percent between 2019 and 2023; however, it rebounded 1.7 percent from 2022 to 2023. This number increases drastically once active-duty military is added to the equation.

In his presentation, Stewart said the combined populations of Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base active-duty service members and their families, along with civilian employees and contractors, exceed 28,000 people. The direct economic impact exceeds $1.6 billion. Payroll for Eielson alone was slightly more than $465 million, and its spending on construction and other contracts topped $154 million.

Power and People
Stewart says two key influences are poised to affect the Fairbanks economy: energy and an aging workforce. Energy commodity prices have increased from 2019 to 2023, with only electricity and natural gas showing either a decrease in cost or no change between 2022 and 2023. Stewart says the Fairbanks community was built to be sustainable at around $1 to $1.50 per gallon of fuel oil. With prices around $4.48 per gallon in 2023, he says the cost of energy acts as a drag on the economy.

“We need to reduce and stabilize the cost of energy coupled with reducing the need,” says Stewart. “Accomplishing this will come from better building on the front end and energy efficient upgrades on the back end.”

The other economic indicator of concern is the Interior workforce. Stewart says the percentage of working-aged people leaving the community is a long-running trend. Likewise, a growing senior population means less available working-aged adults while also increasing demand for housing and senior services. Though exactly what is contributing to statewide labor shortages is unclear, Stewart says a decline in the workforce reduces the number of younger workers who will benefit from the guidance and mentorship of seasoned colleagues. That said, 2023 was the first year in the last five years in which the FNSB experienced net in-migration to the borough from out of state.

Despite challenges, Stewart is confident that Interior communities can work together to find solutions.

“It’s a complex system with many parts and pieces,” says Stewart, “and we have a lot of opportunity to build a successful future.”

The Golden Heart City’s four 2024 Top 49ers are big pieces of that system, and they are pointing the way toward success.