TrueBlue of Tacoma finalizes acquisition of Seaton, becomes largest industrial staffing provider in U.S.

With the announcement Monday that it has completed its acquisition of Seaton Corp., Tacoma-based TrueBlue has become the nation’s largest industrial staffing provider.

“It puts us over $2 billion,” said Stacey Burke, vice president of corporate communications.

With the acquisition, 2013 pro forma revenue for the company totals $2.3 billion, according to a release.

The Seaton acquisition allows TrueBlue – traditionally a provider of short-term, blue-collar personnel – to move into other staffing areas. The company can now provide a higher level “outsourced workforce management” and can offer recruits for “contingent” positions that might one day lead to permanent employment.

The company can also offer to provide a larger volume of recruits for a job, and will offer onsite workforce management to clients.

With the Seaton acquisition, TruBlue now operates new brands including PeopleScout, StudentScout, Staff Management - SMX and HRX.

“We can now offer a broader range of specialized solutions to help clients better manage their workforce,” stated TrueBlue CEO Steve Cooper in the release.

The $310 million deal comprised $120 million in cash and $190 million in debt, Burke said.