Photos Courtesy Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District
Epperheimer, Inc. “With their help, they also in - cluded Kenai High School students and connected us with Nikiski High School so we could present in front of their students as well,” she said. Epperheimer is a member of the Association of Materials Protec - tion and Performance (AMPP), the leading industry association that sets standards and accreditation for coatings and corrosion-control ex - pertise to take advantage of educa - tion materials the association makes available. This is significant because there are few training schools for corro - sion control work. “It’s almost all on-the-job,” said Jeff Epperheimer, part owner of the company with his brother, Kevin. Corrosion control is critically important to oil and gas producers that closely monitor the condition of tanks, pipelines and other struc - tures that vitally support petroleum production. Epperheimer is based in Kenai, where Alaska’s modern pe - troleum industry got its start in the 1960s.
The family owned company was formed in 1980 in Nikiski by Mark Epperheimer. Sons Jeff and Kevin took the business over in 2014 and, as of 2021, own it. The firm does work for Hilcorp Energy, the major Cook Inlet producer, and Marathon Petroleum, owner and operator of the Kenai Peninsula refinery that is the state’s major supplier of gaso - line and one of its major suppliers of jet fuel. The company also does work on the North Slope and for marine op - erators because corrosion control and metal integrity is important for them, too. Having a qualified workforce is critical to the company’s support for the industry, however. Two years ago, Arbelovsky took Epperheimer’s introductory program into classes with high school seniors at Soldot - na High School. She started pitch - ing work in the trades, and corrosion control in particular, as a way for young people to make good money during summers and, just perhaps,
Alliance member provides training for Alaska’s future For years, Epperheimer Inc. — an Alaska-grown industrial coating contractor and Alliance member — had seen its pool of labor shrinking like many support companies. How - ever, the real wakeup call came as the state emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. “We had no new job applicants for summer hire openings” for the first time, said Larissa Arbelovsky, the company’s safety coordinator and part of the hiring team. It was a shock, but it spurred ac - tion. “Our labor pool was shrinking. We decided to grow our own,” Arbe - lovsky said. She reached out to Soldotna High School’s vice principal and coun - selor to schedule a presentation for students who might be interested in working in the industry and with
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