THE CALM BEHIND THE STORM Lynden exclusive shipper for Discovery Channel programs ou’re not in charge of your own ment. Almost everything is a rush according to destiny when you’re on a boat,” says Obeso. “Once the shows are in production, every- ‘Y Captain Keith Colburn during a partic- thing is shipped on a ‘we need it now’ basis. Crew ularly rough patch at sea. The TV program Dead- members are onsite waiting to film,” he says. “If liest Catch pits crab boats like Colburn’s Wizard they have broken equipment, they need the parts and their crews against the deadly Bering Sea dur- immediately. Every wasted minute costs the pro- ing king crab season. It is this chaotic environment ducers money.” that makes the show must-see TV for millions of That kind of stress leads to frayed nerves and Discovery Channel viewers. tense moments. As the transportation provider, It falls to Lynden International to get the rough the Lynden team does its part to keep things calm footage of the program back from remote Dutch and focus on solutions. “We hear things like divers Harbor, AK and delivered to the producers of the are hitting the water in three hours, or weather is WINGS show in California for editing and broadcast. In moving in. Urgency is the norm with these ship- contrast to the unpredictable marine environment ments,” Obeso says. of the Deadliest Catch, the Lynden team is solid, January is the busiest time with shows in pro- steadfast and reliable. And Lynden knows Alaska. duction and Lynden handling shipments from dif- “All the digital program film comes through our ferent producers to locations in Winnipeg, Nome Anchorage office for overnight air delivery to the and Dutch Harbor. Lynden’s variety of transpor- Original Productions offices in Burbank,” says Ac- tation modes is a distinct advantage. “We have count Executive Greg Obeso. “The film is on hard used Lynden Air Cargo’s 4-day-a-week scheduled drives, so they are small boxes, but obviously of service from Anchorage to Nome and, at other great value. Everything is time sensitive.” times when the freight is not so time sensitive, we Lynden also moves cameras, film, wet suits, have trucked and barged freight via Alaska Marine The resource magazine for cargo professionals helicopter mounts, and any other equipment Lines and Lynden Transport,” explains Internation- needed for production of the program. With some al Agent Owen Mitchell. Summer 2013 cameras valued at $400,000 each, the shipments A special Lynden customer service team and Vol. 21, Issue 1 receive the highest priority and white glove treat- Continued on page 3 www.laf.lynden.com Executive n keeping with the customer service theme carriers repeatedly tell me how very well our forum of our cover story, I thought back to our annual is managed and executed and how our people are Perspective I company meeting held this spring in Seattle. truly “genuine” and very “business focused.” Our theme was “The Competitive Edge.” Operation- This speaks to the type of service we provide ally, we divide our “edge” in the market into three for the producers of the Discovery Channel pro- core areas: People, Processes and Execution. grams and countless other clients. It is gratifying At Lynden we take pride in being customer to hear that our employees’ efforts are recognized driven, and our customers choose us because we by those we work with. We believe that just about consistently meet or exceed their requirements. any transportation problem can be solved in the We depend on our carriers for consistent service hands of the right people, with the right tools and and our internal technology for process efficiency the right experience. Our em- and accuracy, but most important, we depend on ployees deliver quality service our people to provide the integrity and quality that while putting the customer first our industry and clients have come to respect and and they do their best every depend upon. Lynden hosts a carrier forum at our day. That’s not only our mission, annual meeting made up of our top global carriers it’s the Lynden way of doing as well as those that are new to Lynden markets. business. The forum takes months of planning and many of Laura Sanders the participants serve you, our clients, as well as Vice President, interact with our front-line operations staff. Our Operations “…bringing LYNDEN SIGNS PURCHASE two great AGREEMENT TO BUY NORTHLAND companies serve our customers, our employees and the communities where we operate,” explains Larry and teams Stauffer, President and CEO of Northland. “We have seen significant growth in our business over together…” the past decade, and bringing two great companies and teams together will help improve and expand service in the communities we serve.” If the sale is completed, Northland will be an independent operating company within the Lynden ynden has entered into a purchase agree- family of companies. The current Northland man- ment to buy Northland Services, Inc., a agement team will stay in place. L tug and barge carrier providing service “Other barge lines have plans to compete with between Seattle, Alaska and Hawaii. A lengthy, us in Southeast Alaska communities where Alaska complex process remains before the purchase Marine Lines and Northland are the two primary can be completed. The proposed transaction will freight carriers,” says Lynden Chairman Jim Jan- be submitted for regulatory review and other con- sen. “In communities where we have overlap, we ditions that, if completed, would likely result in will work to improve frequency and service. North- closing in late 2013. In the meantime, Northland land has a great reputation and adds Western remains an independent company with majority Alaska and Hawaii to Lynden’s service. We are ownership by Endeavour Capital, a private invest- excited about providing integrated statewide Alas- ment firm. ka service, more frequency and greater combined “Lynden provides an ideal situation to better capabilities to Lynden customers.” WINGS 2 Continued from page 1 email address is set up to handle the daily and often three-times-daily shipments during produc- tion. The group is available 24-7 to respond to requests and issues. In addition to Deadliest Catch, Original Pro- ductions produces Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men, Bering Sea Gold and even a program called Whis- ker Wars. Before Lynden came onboard, another freight forwarder was handling transportation for the shows. At one point freight was grounded in Sand Point, AK, which is 600 miles west of An- chorage and only accessible by boat or plane. “They were facing a two-week wait to get the freight out so the forwarder contacted us and we This signed photo from Captain Rick Fehst is from got it on another airline’s backhaul flight the same Greg Obeso’s personal collection as well as the signed day,” Mitchell says. photo from Captain Keith Colburn on the cover. Several Deadliest Catch captains have toured Lynden’s facilities By coincidence, Obeso was in Dutch Har- in Anchorage. bor at the same time working on projects for the seafood industry. “I happened to meet Producer One of Lynden’s more interesting assign- Sheila McCormick through mutual contacts while ments was flying a large gold nugget into Nome she was filming land shots for the Deadliest for the Bering Sea Gold series. For Ax Men, freight Catch. I mentioned that the company she was us- has been flown and barged into Southeast Alaska ing was calling Lynden for help and that she could and, for the Whisker Wars program, Lynden took just call us directly in the future,” Obeso recalls. care of a large international shipment to Germany “That started this great working relationship that for the taping of the world beard competition. “Over we have today.” Lynden began handling ship- the years, we have chartered flights and arranged ments for Deadliest Catch and six months later, transport of tri-pods, production equipment, dive the producer of Ice Road Truckers called. They tanks, air compressors, arctic gear, ATVs, yurts The Seattle-based Northwestern were transitioning the program from Prudhoe Bay and more,” Mitchell says. “We even flew gear to searching for crab in Dutch Harbor, AK. to Manitoba to begin filming in Canada. Lynden’s Adak in the Aleutian Islands where a boat met us office in Ontario was a selling point as shipments to pick it up.” Lynden’s worldwide presence – es- could be routed into Winnipeg through Ontario in- pecially in Russia, Canada and the Yukon – is a stead of Anchorage. Lynden also offered customs plus for producers as they scout new locations for brokerage, importing and exporting. programs. Both Obeso and Mitchell agree that the work is challenging, but also exciting and fun. “It’s definite- ly something different than the normal shipments we handle,” Obeso says. “We consider ourselves the ‘calm behind the storm’ to keep things rolling during production. Reality television is fast-paced and deadline-focused. We work well under pres- sure and try to ease the load of the producers in the field.” For Obeso, who worked for years in the seafood industry, one of the most memorable ship- ments wasn’t delivered to a remote filming site, but to a suburban location. Lynden flew 200 pounds of coveted blue crab from Alaska to Burbank for a Lynden’s Owen Mitchell (left) and Greg Obeso in Deadliest Catch season premier. Anchorage. 3 www.laf.lynden.com British purchased British Midland International (BMI), a highly successful cargo operation, adding a third Airways company to the roster. The acquisition of BMI is A DIFFERENT the first of what could be many more planned by World IAG as it grows the new cargo business.