Galvin Flying Services sold

Galvin Flying Services, a longtime family-owned business at Seattle's Boeing Field, has agreed to be sold to a company based in Manchester, N.H., for an undisclosed amount.

Galvin's president, Peter Anderson, told employees Friday he had signed a binding definitive agreement with Quantem FBO Services to transfer ownership within the next few months.

Anderson, the nephew of Galvin's founder, said the company will keep the Galvin name, and no reduction in staff levels or services is expected.

With about 130 employees, Galvin is one of two major fixed-base operators at the airport south of downtown Seattle, offering fuel, service and storage to private planes, along with charters and rentals. It also trains pilots and sells planes. The late James B. Galvin founded the company at Boeing Field in 1930.

Anderson said the sale will enable the company to grow in ways it could not afford alone.

"We have some opportunities that are not going to come along again in my lifetime that are going to require some significant resources," said Anderson, who will remain president. "I want to seize upon them, and seize upon them while the market is active and vibrant in our industry."

He said the opportunities include a possible expansion outside the Seattle area, but would not give details.

Quantem has bought two other fixed-base operators in the past two years, including an Illinois company with a long history of family ownership, and is looking to buy more, Anderson said in a memo to employees Friday.

The sale, which is expected to become final by the end of June, comes during a period of some uncertainty at King County-owned Boeing Field.

On Monday, King County, the Port of Seattle and BNSF Railway executives signed a preliminary deal to turn a Renton-to-Snohomish rail line into a recreational trail. The port would buy the rail line, then swap it with King County for Boeing Field. Some tenants at Boeing Field have expressed concern that the management change would lead to higher rents.

But Anderson said the proposed swap was not a factor in his decision to sell Galvin. "I have absolute and complete faith that King County in this potential deal will consider the interests of existing tenants at the airport," he said.

Galvin had 2006 revenues of about $40 million, a number that has steadily increased since a drop in business immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Anderson said.

"We are expecting no change to the products and services we provide," he said. "To the contrary, we expect to expand all those products and services." He added that Galvin will be looking to hire additional employees, particularly for aircraft maintenance.

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com