Local John Deere Dealership Washington Tractor Purchased By Papé Machinery

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Washington Tractor, a local John Deere Dealership in Chehalis with other locations around Western and Central Washington has been sold to Papé Machinery.

The sale was official on Oct. 1, according to Ryan Papé, president of the Papé Machinery Agriculture and Turf division.

“We always enjoy putting deals together with other family organizations because it is really our job, in my view, to carry on the legacy of what Washington Tractor and those families built,” Papé said. “They entrusted us to advance the ball forward.”

Anne Tornow, who was a part of the Washington Tractor ownership group with her husband Brian, said she and her spouse felt it was time to call it a career. 

“Brian and I are in our 70s so it was time for us to retire,” she said. “A couple of other owners were also ready to retire, and then the fact that we just felt it was time.”

Before the Chehalis John Dealership located at 127 North Hamilton Road bore the Papé Machinery or Washington Tractor name, it was known as Barnett Implement.

According to Tornow, the business started with humble beginnings — just seven employees in 1986.

Then, in 1991 Barnett Implement expanded its footprint when they added a lawn and garden dealership in Olympia, then grew again in 2000 when they acquired an Aberdeen dealership and once more in 2008 when they purchased a Sumner location.



In 2010, three other John Deere Dealerships around Western and Central Washington decided to merge together and formally became Washington Tractor, with 12 total locations.

Tornow said part of what made the sale feel right was that it would still be owned by a family-run business. Papé Machinery has been family-owned for four generations since it was founded in Eugene, Oregon, in 1938.

According to Papé, it was Washington Tractor’s ownership group that reached out to Papé Machinery inquiring about the prospect of selling the company.

With the purchase of Washington Tractor completed, Papé Machinery’s Agriculture and Turf division will now have 35 locations on the West Coast with the addition of the 12 Washington Tractor locations.

When asked if there would be any significant changes to the store locations they acquired, Papé replied, aside from the name, “nope.”

“We were fortunate enough to be able to retain a significant amount of the Washington Tractor employees who wanted to stay on with us,” Papé said. “We are excited that so many people wanted to stay on with us.”

He added: “I think from the customer’s perspective, when they walk in the door they should be very familiar with the people that they are seeing who have been there, in some cases, for decades.”