Document nmw33KQNY54z52n7wDNBKxQGz

AMERICA'S LAST FRONTIERS 2w kv* Ui V MIKE SCHWALLER NAMED TRAINING AND SALES PROMOTION MANAGER AT NAPA HEADQUARTERS !Xfii Above Left: Prudhoe Bay oilfield encamp ment. Above: Owner Molletti and his crew service pick-up trucks, heavy duty trucks and industrial equipment. powered by the high winds and blown across the ice fields. To facilitate movement between the buildings during these "blows," ropes strung from building to building become mandatory "life lines" to hang onto in order to travel from one building to the next. Of course, shipping from the NAPA Seattle Distribution Center to the Alaska-based NAPA Jobbers presents its own set of challenging circumstances. With 20 NAPA Job bers located across the state, the Seattle Distribution Center makes regular weekly shipments to An chorage either via plane, boat, barge and even the U.S. Mail. At Anchorage, the goods are usually loaded on trucks and land-trans ported to each store's respective location. Above: Prudhoe Bay Supply, Inc. The building also contains living quarters for the store's employees, a kitchen and its own water, sewage and power sup plies. However, due to distance and unpredictable seasonal condi tions, shipping flexibility and pre planning is a must. Large or heavy shipments become too expensive to air transport; instead, a barge will be used. Such a barge trip, however, can take up to six weeks and must be planned so that the barge will arrive at a time when there is sufficient breakup of ocean ice to allow docking and un loading. Otherwise, trucks depart ing from Anchorage must travel a restricted "haul road" -- a twolane ice path that runs all the way north to Prudhoe Bay. In an unex pected "emergency" situation for one of the Alaska-based NAPA Jobbers, the NAPA Seattle Distri bution Center even had to air ship an engine into Anchorage and then transport it the rest of the way via helicopter! All said, the problems and chal lenges of operating an NAPA Parts Store in such a remote region are quite unique. But then so are the people who man Prudhoe Bay Sup ply, Inc. -- with the true pioneer spirit, they're willing to carve out their own special niche in one of America's final frontiers. J. Michael (Mike) Schwaller has been named Training and Sales Pro motion Manager at NAPA headquar ters in Dearborn, Michigan. In this newly created position, Schwaller assumed responsibility for NAPA's various training programs as well as all sales promotion activi ties originating from the headquar ters office. A native of Atlanta, Schwaller comes to NAPA headquarters from the NAPA Charlotte (North Caro lina) Distribution Center, where he has served as assistant sales manager since 1978. Prior to joining the Char lotte D.C., Schwaller spent two years as an equipment representative for the southeast division of Genuine Parts Company. A graduate of the University of Georgia at Athens, Schwaller receiv ed his degree in political science and business. (Ed. Note: Prudhoe Bay Supply, Inc. certainly takes the prize for be ing the northernmost NAPA Parts Store. But which store is the south ernmost? Which is at the highest altitude? The farthest below sea level? if you think your store qualifies in any of these catagories -- or your own special category, for that matter -- let us know!) 23