February 15, 2023

Auctioneer James G. Murphy Co. packs its bags for Marysville

Photo from James G. Murphy Co. [enlarge]

The new yard in Marysville is about 9 acres and has a 25,000-square-foot steel building.

Tim Murphy plans to retire from his father's namesake company, James G. Murphy Co., soon after he drops the auction hammer down on JR Hayes Corp.'s assets as that company's owner, Dan Hayes, retires and closes shop.

The online auction of equipment from earthwork contractor JR Hayes will be held next month.

Auctioneer James G. Murphy Co. recently moved from its longtime digs in Kenmore to more spacious operations in Marysville. Tim said he will retire once the move is finalized, probably in the next month or two. His son, Colin, is now running the daily operations. Also, his sister, Julie Murphy, has been at the company since 1986 and is CFO.

James G. Murphy Co. has been in business since 1970, and in Kenmore since 1976 on about 7 acres at and around 18226 68th Ave. N.E. Tim said they could only use 3.5 acres of the site due to restrictions placed by the city of Kenmore.

“We were just getting squeezed with apartments and condominiums around us,” he added about the decision to move.

The DJC reported in September that Pulte Homes was planning a 276-unit condominium project on the old Murphy property. Tim said his company sold about 3.9 acres to Pulte for $9 million and expects to close on the remaining 3.5 acres within the next couple of years. The total price, he said, will be around $18 million.

Tim said his company's old 7,000-square-foot office will probably be razed by the end of the month. He said it was built in 1982 and the company subsequently bought smaller parcels of land around it over the years to create the Kenmore operation.

“It's sad to see it come down,” he said. “We put our heart and soul into that building when we built it.”

Up in Marysville, James G. Murphy Co. workers last month moved into an existing 25,000-square-foot building at 3803 136th St. N.E. The site is nearly 9 acres, which is more than twice the usable acreage in Kenmore. Tim said crews just finished the property's retention ponds and are 90% finished with site work.

Tim said they chose Marysville because it's a growing area, and many of the company's employees and customers are north of Seattle. He said the property's 20-year-old steel building used to house machine and cabinet shops, including Display Cabinets, which closed its doors and its equipment was later auctioned off by James G. Murphy Co. Tim said they approached the landlord and made an offer for the property after discovering it because of the auction. Including property acquisition and site improvements, James G. Murphy Co. spent about $9 million to relocate to Marysville.

“(The city of Marysville) welcomed us with open arms and the planning department was extremely helpful and a pleasure to work with from start to finish,” Tim added.

Tim said his dad worked for Massart Co., a large mechanical contractor that would form joint ventures for overseas projects and bring the equipment back to Ballard to sell when jobs were finished. This inspired his dad in 1966 to start selling household furnishings and holding estate sales, leading to the formation of his namesake company, which would eventually sell off the assets of Massart when it folded about three decades ago.

James G. Murphy Co. employs about 45 full- and part-time workers to conduct about 120 yearly online auctions of items located throughout the U.S. Tim said about 20 auctions will involve equipment congregated at the new Marysville location, though all auctions are now conducted online. Tim said during the pandemic they switched from mostly on-site auctions to all online, which has resulted in bigger audiences. Bidders can still preview equipment in person in Marysville or where a particular auction is being held.

Tim has worked at the company since 1980 and has seen some unusual items cross the auction block over the years, including a log sorter from an Idaho sawmill that fetched over $1 million and remnants of the ferry Kalakala.

“It was just an odd piece to get rid of and everybody involved was a little quirky,” Murphy said about the Kalakala.

For the upcoming JR Hayes auction, a preview lists 85 pieces of heavy equipment, including semi-tractors, pickup trucks, bulldozers and motor scrapers. There is also a preview of over 400 other items, such as excavator buckets, forklift jibs, road plates and manhole covers. Tim said more items could arrive as JR Hayes winds down its operations.

“The auction is a simple, easy way for (Dan Hayes) to exit — all done in two days,” Tim said.

And what about Tim's exit? He plans to spend half his time in Palm Springs, California, and the other half in Western Washington.