STATE FOCUS | ALASKA


North to the future O


ften referred to by its popular nickname, ‘the last frontier’, Alaska occupies a unique place among the 50 US states.


Standing apart from the Lower 48, it embodies a forward-looking spirit that suggests boundless potential, economic opportunity, promise and its sheer expanse suggests it will have much more


Alaska is unique among the 50 US states in many ways, not only its climate. Its industrial base is unlike any other in the union, and though it has great opportunities for growth, the crane and hoist sector is a hard one to break into as a newcomer. Jim Banks explores the opportunities for growth that lie ahead.


to offer as it starts to look beyond the extractive industries on which it so heavily relies. It is, at first glance, a land of contradictions. It has a small population of around 740,000 residents, making it the third-least populous state, yet it is the largest stage by total area, consisting of a combined land and water area of 665,384


square miles. It dwarfs Texas, which comes in second at around 268,596 square miles. Around 40% of the population live in Anchorage, its largest city and the centre of its economic activity, though Fairbanks is a major hub of the state’s interior region. The extreme subarctic climate with very cold, snowy winters


44 Fall 2026 | ochmagazine.com


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