Security solutionsAlutiiq: versatile security solutions provider

With business headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska, and an East Coast Business Center in Chesapeake, Virginia, Alutiiq is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Afognak Native Corporation (Afognak), an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC). Afognak was formed under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). ANCSA was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on 18 December 1971 and was intended to resolve long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in Alaska, as well as to stimulate economic development throughout Alaska. The Afognak Board of Directors makes profit allocation decisions for Alutiiq and those decisions include payment of dividends to Afognak shareholders, charitable giving, job training, reinvestment in the Company, and various social and cultural programs.

Shareholders of Afognak are the owners of the company and are similar to tribal members, in that the status of a Native shareholder is determined by cultural ties. Shares in a Native Corporation cannot be bought, sold, or traded.

Formed in December of 1999, Alutiiq has grown into a company that provides a variety of services to the federal government including: physical security and guard services, electronic security/surveillance systems, emergency management/law enforcement, IT and technical support, construction, logistics, operations, and maintenance, engineering, training, and energy and oilfield services. All of the Alutiiq security related lines of business gross approximately $145 million per year. Clients include: U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, SPAWAR, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FDA, and DHS, among others.

Alutiiq has not escaped criticism directed at other Alaska native owned companies. An article in Federal Computer Week quotes critics to say that Alaska native owned companies have unfair advantages under their federal contracting program since no ceiling exists on the dollar value of sole-source awards. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) became concerned when Alutiiq received a $40 million contract in 2004 to provide security for nuclear facilities in Idaho. The contract was rescinded after Idaho’s congressional delegation protested that Alutiiq lacked the experience for such a job.

With no manufacturing facilities, Alutiiq is primarily an integrator, offering a Total Integrated Security Approach (TISA) that incorporates the major security services offered by the company. However, the company has additional capabilities and provides ISIS with their fire-arm training, and IED and EOD disposal training for the Marine Corp and the U.S. Army. Alutiiq was ranked number 84 in the government top 100 contractors as published in the 2010 Washington Technology Top 100 Government Contractors list. Criteria for the companies listed were based in sales related to IT products and services, systems integration, telecommunications, professional services, and engineering services.

At the ASIS convention in Dallas, Ron Hancock, Alutiiq Senior Vice-President of Business Development, provide Homeland Security NewsWire with a comment on the organization’s standing after the economic recession and their target market: “We have been fortunate, we have not had a significant downturn in our business like a lot of corporations have, although our growth has flattened considerably. We do feel that the federal government is our primary customer.”