SMS, which also has facilities in Mongolia, will host an opening of the branch on April 4. It plans to serve the mining market in the region, as well as construction, forestry, and utilities.

SMS sales and operations manager Drew Clerc said SMS was selected as the distributor because of its excellent record of providing world-class customer support in areas with challenges - like those faced by Alaskans.

"We're looking forward to offering the customer-centered support and industry-leading products that both SMS Equipment and Komatsu are known for," he noted.

"Everyone at this facility knows what it takes to succeed here because we are all Alaskans, and we have all worked in this industry for years."

The official said that offering Alaska top-of-the-line equipment is one element of its mission; the other side of that is support, and it will be on a mission to be the state's number one solutions provider for all of the equipment it represents.

In addition to Komatsu, the Anchorage branch will carry and service products from Fecon, Terramac, Takeuchi and more.