Greetings shareholders,
I hope you had an enjoyable summer and a smooth start to the fall season. As we move towards the start of a new business year, I am preparing to embark on a new season of my own. I have announced plans to retire in 2023 after an incredible seven years of service to Ahtna. Serving you has been my honor and I will undoubtably miss the people, but I’m excited to see our talented team move the company toward continued success and growth. A transition plan has been developed to allow for a seamless changeover of leadership.
We are excited to announce that Ahtna Netiye’ has made Engineering News Record (ENR) magazine’s list of “2022 Top 200 Environmental Firms” in the nation. The demand for environmental consulting services is on the rise globally, and we are proud to be recognized as a leader in the field. Thank you to our staff for helping us to achieve this honor two years running and showing their commitment to the Ahtna value of respect for the environment.
Something we should all be very proud of is Ahtna’s Experience Modification Rating (EMR) of 0.58. This means that over the past three policy years, we have experienced far fewer worker compensation losses than other companies that are similar in size and operating within the same industry. A rating of 1.0 is the average rating in each industry, and we are well below 0.8, which is considered to be a “very good” rating. This rating not only means that we have been successful in minimizing losses, but we also pay lower premiums than our competitors. The rating shows our commitment to a “Safety First” work environment despite the fact that we often work in very challenging conditions.
The macroeconomic situation playing out in many companies in our industry and around the world continues to present challenges, in particular with procurement of construction supplies, but we were fortunate to close out the summer with multiple large contract wins. New contracts, such as the $20.1M award from the Sacramento U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Redding, CA airport fire retardant pits upgrades and airfield paving, will be important for driving our volume as we head into the new year. We are combatting the current economic environment by increasing our fixed assets, investigating potential acquisitions, reviewing areas where we can take on subcontract work, identifying business lines for future diversification, and implementing an organizational structure to support our subsidiaries’ continued growth.
Ahtna continues to seek growth opportunities through mutually beneficial teaming agreements with other firms. Ahtna’s Joint Venture (JV) Committee reviews JV requests and meets quarterly with our partners to strategize on projects. We recently approved a new Small Business Administration (SBA) “All Small” Mentor Protégé JV with S&B Infrastructure.
S&B Infrastructure is based in Houston, TX and is focused on the oil and gas, power, energy transition, industrial, and transportation industries. The JV will target U.S. Air Force regional engineering and construction services for petroleum, oil and lubricant bid opportunities.
Other notable JV news includes Ahtna Engineering Services being awarded a seat on the Environmental Remediation Services Multiple Award Task Order Contract with our JV partners Geosyntec and Northwest Demolition. Ahtna’s estimated award value is $20M, and work will be performed in various locations in Alaska and the Pacific Rim. Ahtna Global, LLC and our JV partner Resource Data, Inc. were awarded a General Services Administration Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract under the 8(a) Streamlined Technology Application Resource for Services (STARS) government-wide acquisition contract. We will provide federal agencies with customized IT service solutions under our $8M portion of the contract.
To celebrate 45 years of oil flowing through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), our leadership participated in a special gathering at the Glennallen Response Base (GRB) with Alyeska’s executive team and our Ahtna Construction & Primary Products (AC&PPC) employees. Ahtna has been there since inception, helping to weld the first pipe laid at Tonsina River on March 27, 1975. After 45 years of operations along the 800-mile pipeline, and over 18 billion barrels of oil safely flowing from the North Slope to Valdez, Ahtna remains the team that delivers!
With the approaching holidays, I plan to take time to slow down, spend time with family, and reflect on the year. I hope you can do the same and wish you and your families a healthful and joyful season.
Thank you,
Tom Maloney, Chief Executive Officer
Ahtna Netiye’