Carlile Transportation Systems Securing the load for future generations
Photo courtesy of Carlile
By Susan Sommer
Two oversize loads hauled by Carlile Transportation Systems. A bridge across the Yukon River is in the background.
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elling his family-owned Alaska business of thirty-three years to a large, out-of-state company doesn’t worry former CEO of Carlile Transportation Systems Harry McDonald in the least. In fact, he and his team are excited about the potential growth. And McDonald is ready, at some point, to retire. He’d like to see the company he and his brother, John Carlile McDonald, started from scratch in 1980 continue its successful trajectory. Seattle-based Saltchuk, Carlile’s new parent company as of May, is a family of diversified companies with holdings in 146
transportation and petroleum distribution. Adding one of Alaska’s largest trucking companies to its holdings seemed to Saltchuk leaders like a perfect fit. McDonald says the new arrangement is “good for the company and good for the state.” Carlile Director of Marketing Peggy Spittler describes the transition as a natural evolution. McDonald was comfortable selling Carlile to a familiar family-owned company that already owns other Alaska businesses and understands the state’s complex transportation needs. Leaders from both companies, as well as other industry
Alaska Business Monthly | October 2013
partners, have been on a first-name basis with each other for decades. Besides Carlile, Saltchuk’s Alaska businesses include Northern Air Cargo, Cook Inlet Tug & Barge, Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Delta Western, Inc., and Inlet Petroleum Company. Some recent projects Carlile has done include hauling steel and other materials to the new University of Alaska Anchorage Sports Arena jobsite and hauling massive wind turbines to the Eva Creek Wind Project near Healy. Safety comes first at Carlile, and while a typical day runs smoothly, an occasional www.akbizmag.com