LINN COUNTY, Ore., September 5, 2012 — One of Linn County’s oldest family-owned businesses has been sold.

Fisher Farm & Lawn is now Papé Machinery following completion of the sale of its assets to the Eugene, Ore., company. Fisher had been in business in the Albany area for nearly 88 years.

Pat Richards, president of Fisher Farm & Lawn, said the sale was completed Friday, but negotiations had been ongoing. All seven of the Fisher stores in Oregon were included in the purchase.

New Papé Machinery signs went up on the Tangent store on Saturday. Stores reopened under the Papé name Tuesday.

“Selling at this time is the right decision for the companies and employees involved,” Richards said. “The recent economic crisis made us a leaner and stronger company and it is imperative that we now move into growth mode, either independently or as part of another company.”

Richards said that almost all of the 160 current employees at the locations have been rehired by Papé.

He said under new ownership employees should have a wider range of opportunities due to the size and scope of the Papé organization.

Fisher specialized in the sales and service of John Deere and other commercial and residential grounds care equipment. It was founded in 1925 by Harold Fisher. The Richards family bought Fisher Implement Company in 1964 from Fisher’s widow and has owned it since. The name was changed to Fisher Farm & Lawn in 2010.

The company built a new 45,000-square-foot site on six acres in Tangent in 1998 and moved there after 55 years on Pacific Boulevard in Albany.

Also family owned, Papé is headquartered in Eugene and has been in Oregon for 75 years.

Papé has more than doubled its John Deere sales outlets by acquiring Fisher and now has locations in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

Along with the Tangent site, sales and service outlets in Harrisburg, Salem, McMinnville, Donald/Aurora, Gresham and Hillsboro were included.

In a statement released by Papé, company official Ryan Papé said, “When our great-grandfather started our business, he did so by selling agricultural implements throughout the Willamette Valley. We look forward to strengthening those relationships with our customers.”