Washington Tractor to plow into Poulsbo

POULSBO — Washington Tractor, offering everything from chain saws to tractors, is coming to Poulsbo.

Its arrival in late August will re-establish an outlet in Kitsap County for John Deere products, absent for two years.

And its debut also will signal a new sign of life on Viking Way, still suffering from multiple business exits in recent years, despite intensive road refurbishments.

"We're just delighted to be up there," said Brian Tornow, one of the owners of the Sumner-based company.

The company will be in the former Courtesy Ford used-car lot close to Viking Way and Finn Hill Road. Washington Tractor is leasing the land and showroom from Courtesy Ford.

Besides chain saws and tractors with backhoes and loaders, Washington Tractor will offer big and small lawn mowers, hedge and line trimmers, generators, pumps, skid steers and Bobcats. Brands will include Honda, Stihl and John Deere.

Kitsap residents have had to go to Sumner to get John Deere products since Kitsap Lawn and Garden of Silverdale closed a couple of years ago.

Tornow said he suspects customers from the southern base of the Kitsap Peninsula will continue to go to Sumner, but North Kitsap offered the company new opportunity to locate an eighth store.

"We kind of wanted to get around the bend there on the other side of the bay," he said.

The county has pockets of populations, and Poulsbo was one of them, he added.

Washington Tractor was incorporated only last November, formed by the consolidation of three long-established companies — Barnett Implement Co. of Chehalis, North Washington Implement Co. and Liberty Farm and Lawn. Besides Sumner, other Washington Tractor locations now are in Quincy, Ellensburg, Lynden, Olympia, Chehalis and Aberdeen.

The combining of three companies into one mirrors similar consolidations across the country as the farm and landscaping industries get leaner in tough times.

"Dealer consolidations are going on all the time," said Barry Nelson, spokesman for John Deere, headquartered in Moline, Ill. Washington Tractor is the biggest John Deere purveyor in the state.

But now that the consolidation of three companies into one is over, Washington Tractor may be eyeing other opportunities beyond Poulsbo.

"We will continue to look at opportunities," Tornow said.

About 30 percent of business at the Poulsbo store will come from contractors and landscapers. Seventy percent will come from homeowners, Tornow predicted. In contract, about 85 percent of business at the Washington Tractor in Quincy is in agriculture.

Washington Tractor will undertake a few minor improvements to the 3,500-square-foot showroom in Poulsbo. Most of the larger equipment will be displayed outside on the lot that's less than two acres.

The Poulsbo outlet will employ about six people and the company is hiring now. Companywide, Washington Tractor employs 145 people.