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Weekly UpdatesThe key to success for one of Alaska's most profitable Native corporations has been adapting to client needs. For Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp., that means creating new services for new needs and embracing a customer base that counts on the company for continued service.
"Our revenue continues to grow and become more diversified," said Hazel Munoz, manager of corporate affairs.
Munoz notes that while UIC is best known for its work in construction, the company actually works in eight lines of business. Ukpeagvik's family of companies and first tier subsidiaries included Harpoon Construction Group Inc., Barrow Technical Services Inc., Umialik Insurance Co., UIC Oilfield Services, Bowhead Technical & Professional Services Inc., Bowhead Holding Co., Ukpeagvik Holdings Inc. and Pueo Group Contracting.
And the partnership between these various ventures continues to pay off for the company. Revenue grew by $25.5 million between 2004 and 2005 for sales of $267 million and a net income of $7 million (figures for 2006 were not available at press time). The company employed roughly 750 people in Alaska, with offices in Barrow and Anchorage and more than 1,000 employees worldwide with offices in Seattle, Virginia and Hawaii.
OILFIELD SERVICES
While continuing to develop business and services outside Alaska, the company keeps an eye to opportunities in the area its more than 2,000 shareholders know best-Barrow and the surrounding areas. The newest business development in the last 12 months has been the growth and expansion of oilfield services.
The venture draws on the lines of business UIC is already familiar with, such as construction, communication, front-end engineering and surveying, environmental engineering, marine transportation and logistical support. Munoz said oilfield services pull in employees already involved in those areas and helps 2to highlight the variety of business lines UIC is experienced in.
"It's so our clients have one point of contact and it increases awareness that we do have other services that complement the oil industry," Munoz said. "Our objective, for oilfield services, is to grow in the industry, rather than simply offer our existing services."
TOP-OF-WORLD OPPORTUNITIES
Shareholders' ties to the land also present additional opportunities for business, as oil producers begin to recognize the value of UIC's local environmental and traditional knowledge of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
Barrow is adjacent to the NPR-A, making locals and UIC shareholders the most knowledgeable about the area. Munoz said that UIC shareholder employees know how best to traverse the reserve and the resources needed to survive and work on the land, increasing safety in all operations. Local employees are also more cost-effective hires for producers because of their proximately to the work.
"That gives us an advantage to the oil companies because our employees are local and they have a connection with the terrain that goes back generations. We have been able to get the attention of the various producers that are exploring that area."
8(A) ADVANTAGE
The company, like many Native corporations, is much involved in the Small Business Administration 8(a) program.
"We continue to pursue and expand our capabilities in government contracting," said Munoz. "8(a) remains an integral part of new business. It represents half of our revenue base and is therefore very important to UIC and the shareholders we serve."
Munoz said 8(a)s often allow the opportunity for underrepresented business to get into the market.
"While this may be accurate for the small, disadvantaged, minority, individually owned businesses who participate in the 8(a) program, Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and Tribal participation in the program is born out of the commitments made by the U.S. government to its indigenous people," said Munoz. "Unlike those individually owned businesses, we are responsible for the welfare of an entire community and culture, not to one individual."
SHAREHOLDERS PRIORITY
With business opportunities for the company continuing to grow abroad and in Barrow's backyard, the company keeps the shareholders' interest a priority. Munoz said the company tries to keep shareholder employees connected to the Barrow area if they are working in Anchorage or outside. The company offers thousands of dollars in scholarships each year for shareholders and their children. And the company ties its continued success to its heritage and history, as stated in its guiding principal of wisdom: "As our elders taught us, we will teach our people and employees how to maintain our traditional ways of high work ethic, strong values, diversity and personal integrity, even when moving in new and different directions."
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