Brice Cos. performs logistically challenging projects with heavy equipment in remote locations.

Founded in 1961 as a lumber business in Florida, Brice Cos.’ first generation of owners wanted to look for similar opportunities in rural Alaska – a market that was virtually untapped at the time, President Sam Robert Brice says.

“They wanted to start the same operation in interior Alaska, but it was too new and it led them into the land-clearing business,” he explains.

The Fairbanks, Alaska-based company is geared to performing logistically challenging projects in remote locations that can only be reached by aircraft or boat.

In 1973, it was awarded a landmark project to clear a section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline system, which encompassed nearly 300 miles and took the company nearly two years to complete.

“We were the first company with heavy equipment on the pipeline,” Vice President Alba Brice – Sam Robert’s cousin – notes.

All in the Family
“We’re a small, family owned Alaskan business, which sets us apart from the competition,” Sam Robert Brice asserts. “The big trend in our industry is that our competition is large corporations with unlimited financial resources. Our biggest challenge is how to compete with these large companies. Our other challenge has been transitioning from the first and second generation into the third.”

Vice President Todd Henderson – Sam Robert’s brother-in-law – expects it to be a flawless transition, since Brice is a family business. “I think we have the same common goal; we all have a vested interest in succeeding,” he points out. “We all have the same common vision of what we want our business to be like, and what type of product we want to produce.

“The nature of our industry is that there are never any dull moments, and I think communication amongst ourselves is quite a bit easier because we all have that same common goal.”

However, he says, being a family business does have its challenges, and it’s sometimes difficult to keep the work life and home life separated. “It can get quite interesting at times,” Henderson admits. “A lot of times we get scolded for talking business outside of work; they tell us to stop talking shop. But being a family business makes [overcoming obstacles] much easier. Most often, feelings are set aside because we are family. It’s a sibling-type relationship where you can say exactly what you feel at the time you feel it and there are never any hard feelings.”

Another Pipeline?
According to the Brices, “Everybody in Alaska is nervous about what’s going on in our political climate,” Sam Robert Brice notes. “It was predicted that the Alaska oil pipeline had a 10-year future. Well, that was 1977 when the first barrel of oil flowed. Now, it’s 30 years later and we’re still pumping oil, but the volume is decreasing each year and that’s what makes Alaska tick.”

“What people in the lower 48 tend to forget is that they’ve had a huge head start on their infrastructure,” Alba Brice adds. “Alaska doesn’t have infrastructure and when we try to install some, costs are exponentially higher because of the logistic requirements. That’s created a lot of animosity throughout the political world.”

They say a proposed Alaska gas line could support the state in numerous ways. “If indeed a gas line comes along there will be ample opportunity either directly on the line or because of its construction,” Alba Brice notes. “And we hope to be a part of it again.”