Corporate 100: VECO Corporation; this worldwide company has a strong base in Alaska. (Alaska Business Monthly's 2003).

From its Anchorage base on the Last Frontier, global operator VECO Corporation is driving progress in the engineering and design, construction, and operations and maintenance industries worldwide-while still managing to keep the home fires burning strong.

Sixty percent of VECO's business is from outside Alaska, reports VECO Chairman Bill Allen's office. And being an Alaska company gives VECO the ability to meet and beat many business challenges.

Selected by Alaska Business Monthly as among its annual Corporate 100, VECO was established in 1968 as a construction firm. Today, less than four decades later, the name VECO is recognized for its expertise in a wide array of support services, including various elements of project management and related construction, engineering, and operations and maintenance services. According to VECO's Rick Smith, the company originally went by V.E. Construction and was formed to support Arco Alaska Inc. on the offshore platforms of the Cook Inlet. But company officials say they prefer to think of VECO as an acronym for "Very Excellent Company."

To evidence VECO's growth, just take a look at its books-VECO tallied $210 million in Alaska last year, with worldwide revenue topping $520 million, according to a company report submitted to ABM. Company officials say the priority for the future is "aggressive worldwide business development while solidifying our base relationships and pushing for the Alaska Gas Pipeline."

Within the state, the company employs some 1,600 Alaskans. Take that figure global and the labor pool jumps to more than 4,000.

Key among the traits of any Corporate 100 player is a strong sense of effectiveness and responsibility. Not surprisingly, VECO Corporation presents such clear sense of corporate values and mission.

"Values are important at VECO," according to the company Web site, www.veco.com. "We have built this corporation on several premises, which are the keys to our continuing success. We work every day to ensure that every job reflects those building stones."

At the center of the company's building stones within Alaska are its local operations in Fairbanks, Kenai, Prudhoe Bay and Valdez. And when it comes time for philanthropy, VECO remembers its roots, with contribution to the Alaska culture and infrastructure that cultivated its growth and human resources. VECO is involved with the United Way, Alaska Children's Trust, Alaska Community Foundation, Alaska Federation of Natives, Alaska Native Heritage Center, Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other local organizations. Similarly, the company reports a strong interest in the culture of Alaska's indigenous population. "Starting in Alaska, we have worked with the Native corporations to provide training and work opportunities," the company reports. "We are repeating that model in the Canadian north ...."

That sense of grounding and connection is again evident in the company's mission statement: "Our mission is to make our clients successful, while creating stakeholder value, and providing a safe and rewarding place to work."

More than simply providing a rewarding work center, the company is proud of its push for safety, as well.

"Our top corporate value is safety," VECO reports. "We have an excellent safety record and have won many safety awards. We have built and maintained this record in some of the harshest and most remote conditions on the planet."

If not familiar with the company's work around the world--the Middle East, China, India, Canada--Alaskans certainly will recognize the company as the prime contractor to the Valdez oil-spill cleanup project; and, of course, for the activities of its subsidiary VECO Alaska Inc., offering industrial construction services to the Alaska resource industry and specialty electrical services to commercial operators locally.

"VECO has a large array of key contracts throughout the world, especially in the engineering field," says Smith. "The main contracts in Alaska are with long-term Alliance relationships with BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Conoco-Phillips and other newcomers such as Forest Oil (Corp.)."

Globally, VECO Corporation offers a suite of services that includes the following:

* Total Program Management

* Engineering

* Procurement

* Construction

* Construction Management

* Operations and Maintenance

* Environmental Management

Engineering is the company's largest facet, with operations/maintenance and construction tying for a close second, company officials report. They consider VECO's alliance relationships with its long-term clients as the company's "bread and butter."

Among recent contracts, the company was awarded a contract by Marathon Oil Corp. for construction of structures in support of a new gas field near Ninilchik, representing the "largest project planned in that area for 2003," the company reports. The contract is set for completion by VECO Alaska's Kenai division.

VECO's list of similar projects and alliances is long. Over the past decade, the company has managed projects totaling more than $25 billion, with its ability to serve up the resources and personnel to manage projects of $1 billion--placing it in a league of worldwide leaders in its field.