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Weekly Updates"Go With Experience" was first coined in 1977 when James J. Haagen partnered with tugboat companies in LaConnor, Wash., and Wrangell and formed Northland Services. Haagen's goal was to provide cost-effective barge transportation service to various Alaska ports. The company's first terminal was an unpaved facility in Kenmore, Wash., on the northern shore of Lake Washington, and six voyages were made to Western Alaska in Northland's inaugural year.
Today, Northland Services' 70-acre Seattle facility is capable of loading four barges at one time, and its warehouse capacity exceeds 35,000 square feet. With a fleet consisting of more than 30 tugboats and barges, Northland now delivers freight to more than 125 destinations throughout Alaska, from Ketchikan to Kotzebue and beyond. Hawaii is part of the company's trade route, as well. But Alaska remains the largest market for the transportation company. "It's very important to us," said Executive Vice President Shawn Bohnert.
PROUD GROWTH
Northland Services experienced rapid growth and expansion in the mid-1990s, purchasing Yutana Barge Lines, Service Oil and Gas, and various smaller entities. As Northland entered the 21st century, the company continued to evolve. In 2000, Adsteam Marine Ltd., Australia's largest tugboat/ship assist operator, purchased 50 percent of Northland. During the time of Adsteam's ownership, Northland continued to build on its core marine transportation business, acquiring Alaska Cargo Transport and Aloha Cargo Transport, thus complementing Northland's existing Central Alaska service and expanding into the Hawaiian market. Furthermore, Northland merged part of its operation with Boyer Barge Lines, allowing the transportation company to improve and solidify its market position in Southeast Alaska.
Bohnert joined Northland during Adsteam's ownership. Bohnert, with a background as an investment banker and a public company CFO, was living in Australia at the time and was a good friend of Adsteam's CEO. When Adsteam started speaking with Northland about investing into the company, Bohnert was asked to help. It was a good fit: Bohnert, a University of Washington graduate, and whose father was a professor at the University of Alaska, had been in and out of the state of Alaska since he was 14 years old. He understood the lay of the land--its challenges and the needs of its people. So Bohnert moved back to the U.S., and has been a part of the Northland team since that time.
ACQUISITION BENEFITS ALL
Northland management's big opportunity came three years ago when Bohnert, CFO Barry Hachler, and CEO Tom Martin put together a business plan that allowed Northland to cast off the restraints of foreign ownership and acquire the business in a management-led buyout. The current management team, along with a group of investors--including two of Northland's founding owners, Haagen and Dunlap Towing, and Endeavor Capital based in Portland, Ore.--completed the purchase of the company in April 2004. "It was a unique opportunity that allowed us to put that acquisition together, become owners, and continue growing and developing the company," said Bohnert.
The management buyout allowed Northland to refocus the company back on its marine transportation origins. Today, about a dozen members make up the owner/senior management team. Since buying Northland, the management-owners have invested more than $70 million in marine and cargo-handling equipment. "It's fair to say the ownership group is very focused on growing and developing the company," Bohnert said.
The company also is committed to helping and participating in the communities it serves. Northland Services provides active sponsorship of the Iditarod Basketball Tournament in Nome, the Golden North Salmon Derby in Southeast, and the Boys and Girls Club of Anchorage, among others. In addition, care and concern for its employees and their families has led Northland to become actively involved with national organizations, such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
A LIFELINE
For decades, Northland has tackled the complex challenge of operating scheduled barge freight service over supply lines that stretch from Seattle to Alaska and to Hawaii, with the 49th state making up the company's largest and most diverse customer base. In short, Northland delivers year-round weekly service to Southeast Alaska; weekly services the major populations of Anchorage and Fairbanks, with additional sailings scheduled March through September to handle seasonal increased needs; holds a hub in Dutch Harbor as a strong supporter of Alaska's fishing industry; and has developed special operations to service remote communities with limited access in Western Alaska--the rugged, challenging land in which Northland Services has its roots. For spots such as these, freight service is not an amenity; it's survival.
"Because we operate in a lot of remote places, we are very much a part of those communities," Bohnert said. "We're an essential link in the lifeline of their communities and the rest of the world; that's what Northland is really all about."
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