Skinner Family Sells Nc Machinery

Tukwila-based NC Machinery, a Caterpillar franchise owned by the Skinner family, is being sold to a Montana company. The sale will result in the loss of about 25 jobs.

The sale to Tractor & Equipment Co. of Billings is expected to close by the end of the year, according to NC President John Clearman. The layoffs will affect administrators, including Clearman, and their staff in NC's Tukwila offices.

NC employs about 740 in Washington and Alaska, Clearman said.

Clearman declined to disclose the sales price. NC has been for sale for about a year and is one of the largest Caterpillar franchises in the United States. At the time the company was offered for sale, industry sources speculated that it would go for about $100 million.

The sale is part of a plan by the Skinners, one of the state's wealthiest and most prominent families, to liquidate some of its holdings. In mid-May, the family announced it was selling Alpac Corp. of Seattle, a soft-drink bottling company, to Pepsi-Cola North America.

Both Skinner companies had given 5 percent of their pretax profits to the Skinner Foundation, a major contributor to local arts, cultural and social organizations since its founding in 1956. As a result of the sales, the foundation is being restructured.

The sale of NC includes all assets - the Caterpillar franchise and property and equipment, including three building complexes in Tukwila and about 17 outlets in Washington and Alaska.

Tractor & Equipment is also a Caterpillar franchise but is slightly smaller than NC, Clearman said.

NC's franchise territory in Washington extends west from the Columbia River to the Pacific, with the exception of a chunk of Southeastern Washington.