Diversification and Depth

Courage to grow brings business stability

By Jamey Bradbury

ven without a global pandemic, Alaska’s economy has cycled through unexpected highs and lows. But under the helm of owner Lee McKenzie, TrailerCraft Inc./Freightliner of Alaska hasn’t merely weathered economic uncertainty; Alaska’s premiere Freightliner dealership has seen consistent growth, thanks to the company’s diversity of products and services.

“That’s the ace up our sleeve,” says McKenzie. “We’ve got it all.”

A fixture in Alaska’s trucking and commercial vehicle industry, TrailerCraft started as a manufacturer of crash-resistant bumpers for North Slope vehicles. But key product lines soon helped transform and diversify the company’s sales and service.

By 1979, TrailerCraft was an original equipment manufacturer and distributor for Blue Bird school buses; in ’88, the company became a White-GMC truck dealer.

But it was in 1994 that things “really started happening,” McKenzie says. That year, TrailerCraft formed Freightliner of Alaska, a new division of the company. A relationship with Daimler Trucks North America LLC came soon after.

“That was when you started to see the true potential of where this company could go,” McKenzie says.

Even as a young man sweeping floors in 1984, McKenzie could see potential in TrailerCraft. At that time, owners John and Mary Lutz worked closely with McKenzie, who would joke with John, asking “When are you going to be ready to sell the business to me?”

That finally happened in 2008—at which point McKenzie began to further diversify TrailerCraft’s product lines.

As a Freightliner dealer, TrailerCraft was able to win a number of state contracts, which built a foundation of success McKenzie could capitalize on. In 2015, TrailerCraft took on Freightliner sister company Western Star’s product line, offering larger heavy-duty trucks, like the 6900 XD Offroad series, which was an ideal fit for Alaska’s oil fields.

“We have had huge success populating the Western Star trucks in the oil field over the last three years,” McKenzie says. “The performance we’re getting from them is unmatched from our competitors because of the technology of the Detroit diesel engine.”

With the 6900XD and 4900XD series, McKenzie aims to expand sales of these heavy-duty vehicles into the mining industry, as well.

While the oil industry has been a key factor in TrailerCraft’s success, the company has had to be savvy about weathering the state’s economic ups and downs.

In 2010, TrailerCraft became a dealer for Mercedes Sprinter vans, which, McKenzie says “are unmatched when it comes to the competition. They work for everyone from soccer moms to commercial plumbers to the tourism industry, which is full of them.”

For Charlie Grimm, CEO of BAC Transportation, the addition of Sprinter vans helped his company expand operations from two limos and a party bus to an eighty-two-vehicle fleet that offers luxury and cruise transportation.

In the wake of COVID-19, TrailerCraft’s ability to pivot supported the way BAC’s services had to change, too. As tourism waned, BAC focused on the medical transport division of its business, adding a city ambulance license to its state services. This June, the company began offering advanced and basic life support ambulance services throughout the state.

McKenzie’s team went above and beyond to ensure that BAC’s vehicles were working and available throughout the ups and downs of 2020.

“We’ve had vehicles break down and McKenzie will say, ‘I’ve got one you can borrow,’ and give me loaner. You just don’t see that elsewhere,” Grimm says.

TrailerCraft moved into a new facility in 2016; almost instantly, the company outgrew the new space and added three acres. Today, the shop is being expanded by six bays.

Photo courtesy of TrailerCraft Inc./Freightliner of Alaska

TrailerCraft moved into a new facility in 2016; almost instantly, the company outgrew the new space and added three acres. Today, the shop is being expanded by six bays.

Photo courtesy of TrailerCraft Inc./Freightliner of Alaska

One of the first Thomas Electric school buses sold to the city of Tok. Electric vehicles are rapidly becoming another major product TrailerCraft is supplying to Denali Park and other customers.

Photo courtesy of TrailerCraft Inc./Freightliner of Alaska

Western Star’s latest truck model. In addition to Freightliner, Western Star trucks have served as the cornerstone of TrailerCraft’s truck sales since 1994.

Photo courtesy of TrailerCraft Inc./Freightliner of Alaska

That kind of customer service isn’t a one-off, says Tom Grinaker, fleet supervisor at International Aviation.

“They’ve even helped expedite trucks that we didn’t even buy from them,” he says. “Their parts department is second to none; they even stock parts that only I use as a courtesy to me. Being a 24/7/365 company, you can’t really afford to be down. If I ask those guys to do something, I can cross it off my list.”

McKenzie attributes the success of the company to his stellar staff.

“We employee some of the most gifted and intelligent people you could find,” he says.

After a year of record growth—despite COVID-19’s impact on some of the very industries TrailerCraft serves—the company anticipates additional expansion as it capitalizes on a major 2020 accomplishment: selling the first electrically powered school bus in Tok.

“We’re hoping to bring that same technology to Denali Park, where we’ve already supplied numerous propane-powered buses that reduce the impact on the environment,” McKenzie says.

He’ll rely on the skill of his talented team to break into new sectors—and TrailerCraft itself will expand; after adding three acres to its West 92nd Street facilities in 2019, the company is growing by another 6,000 square feet. Plans are also underway to improve its Fairbanks location, which was launched in 2013.

“We’re excited to employ more people, to take care of more customers on a daily basis, and to take on more challenges,” McKenzie says.