Flying Bow-Ties Into Remote Alaska

Updated Aug 13, 2015

Sherpas haul Chevy Colorados into hard-to-reach places for all of Alaska energy company’s fleet

Removing the wheels from a 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and replacing them with smaller ones to fit inside a Shorts 330 Sherpa airplane is one way ASRC Energy Services in Alaska is committed to getting fleet vehicles to employees in areas unreachable by conventional means.

A 2015 Chevrolet Colorado rolls into a Shorts 330 Sherpa airplane on its way to ASRC Energy Services employees in a remote area of Alaska.A 2015 Chevrolet Colorado rolls into a Shorts 330 Sherpa airplane on its way to ASRC Energy Services employees in a remote area of Alaska.

As Alaska’s oilfield service partner, ASRC Energy Services deploys employees across the state to monitor everything from oilfield exploration and construction to ensure regulatory standards are properly followed.

“Our fleet vehicles double as mobile offices for the majority of our employees, so we need to give them dependable vehicles in the remote areas where they work,” said Chris Maynard, general manager of fleet operations, ASRC Energy Services. “These locations can vary from areas with no electricity to temporary roads built on top of the frozen tundra.”

ASRC’s fleet needs are as diverse as the terrain its employees encounter every day, which is why they’ve bought into Chevrolet’s three-truck strategy: Chevrolet Colorado, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, and Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD.

When it comes to light duty, the Silverado 1500 is the vehicle of choice to take ASRCs management team to and from project sites and carry clients an affordable-yet-rugged truck.

The Colorado meets those demands with a smaller footprint. The Silverado HDs are a 365-days-a-year workhorses to aid client operations in the oil and gas market.

2015 Colorados are an ideal solution for pickups ASRC Energy Services and Arctic Slope need in remote regions of Alaska.2015 Colorados are an ideal solution for pickups ASRC Energy Services and Arctic Slope need in remote regions of Alaska.

Each vehicle is specifically designed to tackle different aspects of a company’s needs which, when taken together, can benefit from single brand devotion.

“We build our trucks with companies like Arctic Slope in mind,” said John Schwegman, director, commercial product, General Motors. “Their employees don’t have time to worry about how the vehicle will operate when the weather is 40 degrees below zero. We ensure our vehicle’s performance will stand up to the test so they can get their work done.”

ASRC Energy Service’s fleet also counts on service to keep downtime to a minimum.

“On the service side, GM knocks it out of the park,” said Maynard. “The Alaska market is pretty small, but GM looks at every sale as one of importance, so even the smallest problem gets special focus from a GM engineer, even if that means they have to send one to Alaska.”