EVERETT — The parent company of Everett’s Fluke Corp. is breaking apart, and one of the two new companies will be moving its headquarters here, according to a source familiar with the deal.
The company, which is going by the temporary name NewCo, is expected to move 50 employees to Everett who head a group of businesses that generated $6 billion in revenue last fiscal year. NewCo would be considered a Fortune 500 company.
A state official familiar with the move, who is not authorized to speak publicly about it, said state and local government officials ran a recruitment campaign to attract NewCo to Everett.
Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson confirmed that the city has attempted to land NewCo but said the city has not officially heard word about the company’s decision.
Representatives with Fluke Corp. and its parent company, Danaher, could not be reached Thursday afternoon.
Fluke, at 6920 Seaway Blvd., north of the Boeing plant at Paine Field, is a test- and measurement-equipment company that employs about 2,400 people worldwide. Danaher, with the stock ticker symbol DHR, is a Fortune 500 company focused on technology and based in Washington, D.C.
Danaher announced May 13 that it was acquiring Pall Corp., a Port Washington, New York, company that provides filtration and purification services to remove contaminants from solids, liquids and gases. The deal was worth $13.8 billion.
On the same day, Danaher announced that it would break into two separate companies, one focused on science and technology that would retain the name Danaher. Its revenue in the most recent fiscal year, including Pall Corp. revenue, was $16.5 billion.
The second company would be a diversified industrial company that has been referred to as NewCo. That new company would include Danaher’s test and measurement businesses, such as Fluke, as well as its other specialty industrial businesses. The head of this new company is James A. Lico, a Danaher executive vice president.
Danaher expected the separation of the two companies to be complete by the end of 2016.
The city of Everett, the state and other economic leaders have been attempting to attract NewCo to locate in Everett. Economic Alliance Snohomish County interim CEO John Monroe said he would defer any comment to Danaher or Fluke about the companies’ plans.
“We’ll have to wait to see what you report,” Monroe said.
Stephanson said Everett submitted a proposal to NewCo at the end of August.
The pitch included money from the state’s Strategic Reserve Fund, money earmarked for economic development to recruit the new company. The money is not given directly to the company but does pay for things such as workforce training.
Money from the fund was used in the state-led campaign to land Boeing’s 777X final assembly line here and helped deliver on the promise to quickly process permit applications for that project.
In its pitch to the company, Everett highlighted the community’s education programs, workforce training efforts, a transportation package passed by the Legislature and the potential for commercial air service at Paine Field.
They were “very interested and pleased” to hear that, Stephanson said.
Another selling point for Everett was the business climate.
“I think business opportunities for growth with NewCo are going to be significant,” Stephanson said.
Everett also is in the running as an expansion site for other major companies. Stephanson said he expects there to be a couple of more “eye-popping announcements” in the next six to 12 months.
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