In each issue of The Alaska Miner, we profile someone active in Alaska Mining and the Alaska Miners Associa- tion. This issue we focus on Deryl Box, long-time active AMA member who passed away this summer. We asked Kenny Gerondale of Construction Machinery Industrial to reflect on Deryl’s many contributions as well as the challenges this year has provided. Faces of Mining
Deryl Box Construction Machinery Industrial
“Deryl started with CMI about 30 years ago working out of our Juneau branch,” owner Kenny Gerondale said. “He worked for us a few years and then left CMI. But he stayed in the industry, working in Utah and California. He even- tually came back to work for CMI about 10 years ago. “He came back as our sales manager in Fairbanks. Through it all, he has always been involved in our mining business.” Deryl was a fixture at AMA conventions and Fairbanks events, always with a big smile and a ready story. “He was always extremely active in AMA. And in Fair - banks he was very involved with small placer miners. He was a leader in our work with placer miners and hosted meetings for the small miners in our facility in Fairbanks. “CMI has always been involved with the big mines, but we never overlook our smaller miners.” CMI has established a Memorial Fund in Deryl’s honor. See Page 18 for more information. Construction Machinery Industrial is one of the larg- est retailers in Alaska, providing heavy equipment to ma - jor Alaska industries, including mining. Today it operates branches in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Ketchikan, with 110 employees serving customers statewide. CMI’s history has always been entwined with mining in Alaska, Gerondale said. “My grandfather came up here in the 1930s. He was a contractor and helped support the mining industry back then. My dad ran a concrete supply company and I worked for him, running heavy equipment and working in a gravel operation, which is a form of mining,” Gerondale said. “We started CMI in 1985. We later sold it to a Native group, and then bought it back in 2002. We have always focused on supporting the mining industry, from the smallest placer miners to the large mines. We try to offer the best products and support that we can.” Working with miners is good for business, he said, add- ing that mines operate 24/7, while there can be wide fluc - tuations in other Alaska industries. “Even when there’s a downturn, the mines are still working 365 days, 24 hours a day and they still need prod-
ucts and support,” Gerondale said. CMI faced significant challenges during the last 18 months of the pandemic. “This goes for most Alas - ka equipment dealers,” he said. “There were no prod- uct support people from the manufacturers. With COVID, they could not come to Alas - ka. The big corporations
would not approve travel. “The mines and oil patch were still working 24/7. Last year, the price of basic products (minerals, gold, lead, zinc, silver) went up. Consequently, every miner wanted to in - crease production by maintaining their equipment and buying new equipment. Last year, CMI had to deliver more new large mining equipment and equipment to small min - ers than in any year before. As long as we could get deliv - ery, we had to do it 100% ourselves, without help from the manufacturers. “Normally when you deliver a multi-million dollar shovel, mining truck or drill, the manufacturer sends a support team.” CMI ensured miners got what they needed, filling in the roles manufacturers normally perform. “It was a good year for sales but the stress on people, including guys like Deryl, was a lot higher than before. We provided a lot of the product support on our own,” Geron- dale said. “Also understand, we had to get techs into mines, like underground mines in Juneau. Guys had to quarantine 10 days in a hotel before they could go to the mine site. It’s a lot more than just testing. The mines all have different protocols with no two the same. “At the same time, we had to follow State of Alaska protocols in our work. We were one of the first to have an approved protocol to fly anywhere in Alaska. We have been able to get people in and out of remote locations in an emergency. Luckily, we’ve only had to make a couple of those trips, but we’ve done everything we had to do to prepare for and operate in a COVID year.” Local ownership is a powerful asset for CMI. “Decisions are made in Alaska and that is key, whether it’s a financial decision on support for a mine or a safety decision. They’re all made in Alaska,” Gerondale said. Alaska miners, like all Alaskans, are eager to be past the pandemic, Gerondale added. “People are begging to get back to some kind of nor- malcy, whether it’s going to dinner or conducting mining exploration.”
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16
The Alaska Miner
Summer 2021
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