A sandwich, 1,100 miles, and a broken-down truck

APD’s commitment to fueling Alaskans

At APD, we take pride in fueling everyday life across Alaska. Sometimes that means going a little further than most—like 1,100 miles further, and well north of the Arctic Circle—to get the job done.

We talk a lot about reliability and excellence. Not the buzzword kind, but the lived, roll-up-your-sleeves, “we’ll just go get it” kind.

Here’s a story that says it better than we can.

Recently, one of our trucks needed some maintenance. Instead of calling for a tow, Eric Wardlaw, our operations manager, and Henry Palmer, president of NorthStar Energy’s Alaska companies, decided to go get it themselves. Instead of waiting around or passing it off, the two leaders turned a problem into an adventure. 

“We could’ve called it in,” Henry said. “But where’s the fun in that? Sometimes you just go after it.”

The mission was simple: drive up, grab the truck, drive back. One catch: Eric and Henry both live in Alaska, but the truck was not exactly in the neighborhood. It was in Prudhoe Bay, which is 550 miles away over the Brooks Range, right by the Arctic Ocean. 

“We said, ‘Well, we’re up for it.’ And we made it a road trip,” Henry added.

About halfway up the Dalton Highway, they stopped in Coldfoot (population 34) for a sandwich. As one does. Along the way, they spotted muskox and a few moose… just your standard Alaska roadside scenery.

They made it to Prudhoe, found the truck, and got ready to head home. But the Arctic had other plans. The next morning, the truck wouldn’t start.

So they did what APD does best: figure it out. They warmed up the rig in a local warehouse, coaxed it back to life, and pointed it south. Ten hours later, it rolled home. 

We’ve grown into one of the largest fuel distributors in the region, but this is how that happened. By showing up and solving problems. By knowing the roads because we’ve driven them (sometimes the hard way).

Welcome home, Eric and Henry. Next time, the sandwich is on us.