Spokane-based membership organization Associated Industries of the Inland Northwest has signed a letter of intent to acquire human resources and business consulting firm Red & Associates LLC.

The purchase is scheduled to become effective Oct. 1. 

Pam Pyrc, senior vice president of marketing for Associated Industries, says that in the acquisition process, Associated Industries hopes to combine the best part of each organization, specifically in the areas of member services and business consulting. 

“We hope some of Red’s clients will become members of our association, although some will remain as clients and continue with consulting services,” says Pyrc. “Red & Associates has built their business model around consulting, which is an area they have a bit more experience in than we do. We can offer more resources in areas like employment law, services which, as members, they will now have access to.”

She adds, “Combining what they have and what we have will only bolster the tools we’re able to offer both our members and their clients.” 

Pam DeCounter, principal at Red & Associates, concurs, saying, “Joining with Associated Industries gives us an opportunity to provide even more valuable services to businesses in this region. The possibilities are far-reaching, with new challenges along the way. It should be a lot of fun.”

Associated Industries declines to disclose the terms of the acquisition as they are still being negotiated.

In 2012, the Journal reported that Red & Associates had begun a partnership with Spokane-based insurance and employee-benefits brokerage Moloney+O’Neill, through which Red & Associates could offer Moloney+O’Neill employment related services and in turn receive exposure to potential clients. DeCounter says the Associated Industries’ acquisition will not affect that partnership. 

“Moloney+O’Neill was purchased by Alliant Insurance Services Inc., but they remain one of our strategic partners and friends,” says DeCounter. “We still share clients that they provide insurance for, who we in turn provide HR services for. The decision was made that we were simply a better fit with Associated Industries.”

Pyrc says Associated Industries will purchase the name and assets of the company. 

“Our number-one mission is to serve our members and grow the services we offer. To do that, we can either hire and train or acquire,” says Pyrc. “In this case, we found a good fit with Red & Associates. As our friendly competitors, we had had our eye on them for some time. We admire and respect the work that they do.”

 Associated Industries currently has 26 employees, and Red & Associates has seven. The acquisition will bring the total number of Associated Industries employees to 33. Pyrc says Associated Industries currently is recruiting for some new positions. 

“I know we’ll only continue to expand and grow as a result of this acquisition,” she says.

Red & Associates’ operations will move to the Associated Industries offices at 1206 N. Lincoln later this fall. Associated Industries occupies 20,200 square feet of the 21,100 square-foot building and leases the other 954 square feet to two tenants. Associated Industries purchased the building from Moloney+O’Neill in 2008, Pyrc says. 

Founded in 1910, Associated Industries serves more than 1,200 member organizations in Washington and North Idaho. It functions as an outsourced team or extension of its members’ human resources, employment law, safety, and health administration groups to protect and support their workforces.

Red & Associates was established in 2005 and focuses on helping small to mid-sized businesses become more efficient and profitable through human resources systems and professional support. Its services include HR outsourcing, HR projects like systems development and compliance reviews, business consulting, strategic planning, succession planning, and change management, among others.