Spokane Valley-based K&N Electric Motors Inc. has been acquired by Bellevue, Washington-based Impel Co., says former K&N President and CEO Janet Schmidlkofer.

The two companies completed the transaction Nov. 1, Schmidlkofer says. 

“We found someone that we could actually work with,” she says. “It feels like they’re going to maintain the K&N culture and not change but enhance who we are.”

Impel Co. is led by Doug Staab, who owns and operates PumpTech LLC, of Bellevue, Washington.

K&N had been rejecting offers to purchase the family-owned and operated electric motor company for years before finally deciding to sell it, she says.

The electric motor company’s four owners were left without a new generation of Schmidlkofers who were willing to take over the company, she says.

Schmidlkofer is now the general manager for the business and says K&N’s 47 employees in Spokane and Moses Lake, Washington, all remain employed with Impel.

Before the acquisition, K&N’s ownership consisted of Schmidlkofer, her father, Jerry Schmidlkofer; and two brothers, Bob and Steve. Jerry will transition to a consultant role. Bob will move to controller from chief financial officer, and Steve will become industrial manager from vice president.

“We’re going to fit in like we’re a slice of the pie,” Schmidlkofer says. “We’re the only motor repair company that’s coming into the family.”

K&N will continue operating in Moses Lake and at its 58,000-square-foot headquarters facility located at 415 N. Fancher Road, in Spokane Valley.