Established: 2002

Location: 209 E. 51st Ave. Anchorage, AK 99503

Telephone: 907-743-9871, local; 866-743-9871, toll free

Web site: www.wellsafe.com

E-mail: kcarroll@wellsafe.com

Focus of the service: The Alaska district of Well Safe Inc. provides 24-hour-a-day occupational safety, health and medical services for oil rigs, said Ken Carroll, the district manager. The company, which also has offices in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama, specializes in top-of-the line safety equipment and first-response medical teams. In Alaska, Well Safe has expanded into full-scale on-rig medical care.

History of the company: Well Safe was founded in 1984 to provide medical and emergency care to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company has always had an interest in Alaska's oil fields, but won its first contract in the state last September. In the middle of that month, two members of the Alaska staff made the maiden rotation onto a Cook Inlet oil rig owned by Unocal Corp.

In the months that have followed, the company expanded from two people -- Carroll and Medical Coordinator Scott Eddy -- to a staff of 10, including fully-trained medic and emergency expediters who spend two-week rotations on the rig. Per company standards, every member of the team passes rigorous tests, both physical and educational, before he or she is certified to go offshore, Eddy said.

"Every medical incident that's even thought of coming up we've dealt with in an acceptable manner," he said. "Our employees are trained so that they can handle anything we can throw at them."

Carroll said Well Safe's Alaska district, while still in its fledgling months, will continue to expand as long as the market is there and the caliber of workers they require are available for employment.

Major accomplishments: While the Alaska office of Well Safe is still young, Carroll noted that the company's reputation preceded their arrival. In the five months since the first crew rotated onto the Cook Inlet rig, the company has lived up to that reputation, he said.

"The customers are happy. We've never given them a reason not to be," he said.

Major players: Ken Carroll, the Well Safe Alaska district manager, said he grew up on oil rigs. He started working on rigs in the Gulf of Mexico nearly 24 years ago, and has been a member of the Well Safe team for about two years.

Scott Eddy came from a public background. He was a Public Safety officer for 21 years, having served as a chief of police and EMT in Southeast Alaska. He took a job with Well Safe in April, after he and his wife moved to Anchorage so she could pursue her nursing degree.

-- Regan Foster