FREELAND — The sale of Nichols Bros. Boat Builders, one of Whidbey Island’s largest private employers, to a Texas-based investment group has been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Nichols Bros. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, weeks after it abruptly laid off nearly all employees and closed its doors.
But the company’s future is bright under the new ownership, said Matt Nichols, chief executive of Nichols Bros.
“With the consummation of this transaction and the financial support of our new owner, we are ready to take Nichols Bros. to the next level and to make quality boats for another 40 years,” he said in a written statement Friday. “Our employees, customers and vendors are all excited about this transaction.”
He added the business will begin rehiring workers immediately and expects to employ about 150 workers as production resumes at full speed.
The shipyard already partially reopened weeks ago, when Nichols Bros. got permission from the bankruptcy court in Seattle to finish building boats already under way. As of this week, the boat yard employed about 50 workers.
Founded in 1964, the family-owned ship builder has become a leading manufacturer of tugboats, ferries, aluminum vessels and commercial fishing boats.
But the company hit some hurdles, too. In a statement of its finances, Nichols Bros. reported its gross income fell from nearly $36 million in fiscal 2005 to less than $7 million in the following 14 months. Also, two customers have taken legal action against Nichols Bros. during the past year, claiming the firm failed to deliver vessels on time.
The new owner of Nichols Bros. is Ice Floe LLC, backed by Treadstone Capital Management L.P. of Dallas and Joseph Usibelli of Alaska.
Michael Donohoe of Treadstone said the Freeland-based business has “a highly skilled workforce and a unique expertise in aluminum boat building, a growth sector of the industry.”
“The company has gone through a trying period as a result of litigation and capital constraints,” Donohoe said in a statement. “This sale allows the company to move forward free of those constraints.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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