om DePeter, president and CEO of Onyx Drilling, LLC, got his first summer job as a drill helper when he was a 16-year-old high-school student in Fairbanks. Thirty-two years later, DePeter jokes it’s almost like he never left.
“I’d go to school during the winter and work on the drill rig in the summer, then it just continued,” he says. “My summer job has never ended.”
Today, DePeter has transformed that never-ending summer job into one of Alaska’s leading drilling contractors. And he’s built it on the strength of his reputation, a willingness to tackle the most challenging jobs, and a baseline standard of perfection.
“I had a big plan, but nobody wanted to give some kid from Fairbanks 2 million bucks,” he says with a chuckle.
When the opportunity to achieve that lifelong dream materialized in 2012, DePeter says he jumped on it. He kept Onyx Drilling true to his roots, focusing on mine-related drilling and gold exploration, he says. The transition to geotechnical drilling and construction a few years later “started some serious growth,” he adds.
“We bought the most modern foundation equipment and then landed a couple of good-sized projects in Prudhoe Bay, and it’s been off and running since then,” DePeter says. “We have the most modern sonic and foundation drill rigs in the state. There’s pretty much no drilling project that we can’t do, I would say.”
Onyx Drilling is based in Fairbanks but works statewide, whether at sea level or mountaintop.
Vice President, PND Engineers
“We do a lot of projects that are very remote, challenging projects,” DePeter adds. “That’s kind of what has set us apart.”
Torsten Mayrberger, an engineer and vice president of Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska member company PND Engineers, has worked on numerous projects with Onyx Drilling. He says the company is his first choice.
“If it’s anything to do with drilling holes in the ground or installing piles, they’re absolutely my go-to,” he says. “After so many years, I can’t imagine doing some of the more out-of-bounds stuff without Tom.”
Mayrberger cites a cone penetration testing, or CPT, sampling project the duo conducted from a sheet of floating ice in April 2024 as one of their more “out there” projects.
“It was something new that we did here in Alaska,” he says. “We both like a challenge and are kind of allergic to bread-and-butter jobs. The crazier the project seems, the more interesting it becomes to both of us.”
“We’re small and very diverse, so we kind of pick and choose our projects,” DePeter says. “There are quite a few that we pass on. If I had my way, I’d do every job that came across the desk, but that’s not the case.”
What makes Onyx Drilling’s full workload even more impressive is that it has zero social media presence and is only just now creating a website—“We’re definitely behind the times on all of that,” DePeter says—which means the company relies heavily on word-of-mouth referrals and networking. That’s what makes membership in the AGC of Alaska worth its weight in gold.
“I think the most beneficial thing of being involved in the AGC is just their networking system and getting our name out,” he says. “Going down to Anchorage annually and chatting with all the folks that go there I’d say is the most beneficial thing for us.”
That, and giving clients nothing but positives to share about their work.
“I’m sure everybody strives to give their best, but I think that’s our thing,” Eddy says. “We want to get in and get out and make it perfect every time.”
“We definitely strive for perfection with every job we do,” DePeter agrees. “That’s kind of our motto: ‘Perfect is adequate.’”