Arctic directory 2020: LONG Building Technologies, celebrating 55 years providing innovative building solutions

Combining the best automation, equipment, service and security systems gives our company an edge over the competition

Petroleum News

Q. What is the official name of your company?

A. LONG Building Technologies, Inc.

Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?

A. LONG Building Technologies engineers, secures, services, and automates systems in commercial buildings. We are headquartered out of Denver, CO and have locations in Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and Utah, as well as Alaska. Our mission is to deliver innovative building solutions and positively impact every person our business touches. LONG is guided by five core values that are at the heart of everything we do: company, customers, co-workers, safety, and community.

Q. Where is your company located?

A. Our main Alaska office is at 5660 B Street, Anchorage, AK 99518, with a growing operation in Fairbanks at 1853 Standard Ave, Fairbanks, AK 99701.

Q. What year was the company founded and by whom?

A. Wills Long founded the company in 1965, operating as a HVAC equipment company from his basement. Since then, LONG has considerably increased our number of employees, locations, and services, but we retain our small-business sensibility. Q.

What is your company’s primary business activity?

A. In Alaska, our services include building automation, security solutions (access control, CCTV, intrusion detection), HVAC and industrial service, industrial PLCs (programmable logic controllers), and parts.

Q. Are there important projects the company is currently a part of or has done recently?

A. 2019 was an exciting year in Alaska for LONG, as we had many large projects, including the Fairbanks LNG Storage Tank, ConocoPhillips ATO, AK Cargo Port, and FBX Utility Services Security installations.

Q. How many employees does your company have?

A. LONG currently has 28 employees in Alaska, with a total of 430 throughout seven states. Our number of employees continues to increase each year.

Q. Describe the equipment your company uses and are there any new equipment purchases planned?

A. We carry Distech, Belimo, Milestone, S2, Openeye, Bosch, and Honeywell, among many other supporting manufacturers. You can visit our website for a more detailed list of manufacturers in Alaska, and throughout LONG.

Q. Is your company expanding any of its operations or locations?

A. Yes! LONG is officially opening a shop in Juneau, AK in 2020.

Q. Is the company changing any of its services or products?

A. LONG Security Solutions has just expanded its security offerings to systems and hardware tailored to financial institutions (banks, credit unions). We aim to keep up to date on the latest innovations and are always looking to add new products or manufacturers to our list of offerings.

Q. What is your company’s main strength or its edge over the competition?

A. At LONG, we believe our depth of experience, the relationships we cultivate with those we work with, and our solution-driven approach sets us apart from the competition. We treat each building as if it were our own, and always do what is right, not what is easiest. You can expect us to communicate seamlessly, which ensures we provide holistic solutions to your needs.

Q. What new markets, clients or projects did your company attract in the last year?

A. Oil and gas, healthcare facilities, financial institutions, local government, and native corporations were amongst our largest clients in 2019. These are also the markets we strive to expand our reach to within the coming years.

Q. What is the most challenging work/contract the company has undertaken?

A. Energy management and building performance upgrades for 30 buildings at the US Coast Guard base in Kodiak, AK. This project incorporated a multitude of systems and centralized management. The complexity derived from the scope of the project, as it is our largest to date, and the need to mitigate issues with older equipment while maintaining the workflow. LONG retrofitted many of the buildings and upgraded the DDC technology on older mechanical hardware, as well as added DDC where it did not originally exist.

Q. What are the biggest obstacles to completing work your company undertakes?

A. Working in Alaska generates unique obstacles we contend with daily. These are typically travel and scheduling related, as we do much work in remote villages and outlying areas that can be difficult to reach. There are also circumstances beyond our control that contribute to these obstacles, such as weather. Though these obstacles are often uncontrollable, we work hard to mitigate their impact.

Q. What do you see as your company’s biggest challenge in the next five years?

A. With an increasing workload each year, our biggest challenge ahead is finding skilled, talented technicians to perform the work and to improve and expand their abilities through continual training so we can always provide the best service for our customers.

Q. Does your company have an anniversary or other landmark event coming up?

A. In 2020, we will proudly recognize our 55th anniversary.

Q. What is the average length of time employee’s work for the company?

A. With a turnover of less than 7%, our average employment is 9 years in Alaska. This does not include the 6 new positions that opened within the last year.

Q. What is your company’s safety record? What steps does the company take to ensure a safe work environment?

A. We believe in safety first, because people come first. Safety is one of our core values and is embedded in our workflow. All employees are expected to stop work if an unsafe environment is identified and are empowered to remedy the situation before continuing the work. We conduct weekly, monthly, and annual meetings and trainings to ensure everyone goes home without injury. In Alaska, LONG has not had a reportable incident in several years.

Q. Has your company been involved in any community projects or charity events?

A. LONG encourages volunteer work and fundraising in all our locations. The LONG Endowment Committee allows employees to nominate local charitable organizations to which we contribute a portion of our profits each year. In Alaska, our 2019 endowment collectively donated $6000 to the Hope Center, Fairbanks Youth Advocates, and Beacon Hill. LONG’s Alaska location continuously raises money or goods to give to local charities. Additionally, in 2019, clothing and toiletries were donated to the Hope Center and we hosted a toy-drive for children at a local hospital, among other events.

Q. What is the address of your company’s Web site?

A. www.LONG.com