ATCO opens Alaska office

The maker of buildings for remote camps and construction camps said it sees opportunity in ongoing and planned Alaska projects, and in leveraging opportunities created by the recent consolidation of ATCO's remote camp business with sister companies involved in noise management and radar-site operations, said Harry Wilmot, president and chief operating officer of the Calgary, Alberta-based business.

Wilmot said ATCO had an office in Alaska during the 1970s and 1980s, and its structures were widely used for construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, North Slope oil fields and other projects.

It currently is building a 78-person camp at the Teck Pogo gold mine near Delta Junction.

The new Anchorage office is a one-person operation for now. That person is Larry Angel, who has 30 years of experience in the construction industry -- 15 in the modular-camp business, said Boris Rassin, executive vice president.

In June, ATCO Ltd., the parent company, consolidated its structures arm with its noise-management and Frontec subsidiaries. Frontec operates radar sites in Alaska with Arctic Slope Regional Corp. of Barrow, giving ATCO further incentive to reopen an office in Alaska, Wilmot said. Beyond the buildings themselves that ATCO sells or rents, the company also can handle camp operations, from utilities to catering to housekeeping, Wilmot said.

In the 18 months since Wilmot took over the ATCO Structures business, he has been opening more branch offices in the United States and Canada where the company expects growth, he said.

The Alaska branch is not built on the expectation of landing business with two possible multibillion-dollar developments in coming years: a North Slope natural gas pipeline and a mine at the huge Pebble copper and gold deposit near Iliamna, Rassin said. But if those projects happen, ATCO would like to be part of them, he added.

Long-term, if opening the Anchorage branch office succeeds in increasing ATCO's business in the state significantly, it could lead the company to consider other investments in Alaska, such as a distribution center or even manufacturing, Rassin said.

The company's new office is at 425 G St., Suite 707. The phone is 841-7738.