On the heels of an auction to liquidate a large surplus of storage items, Farmtrac dealers from around the country gathered Thursday night at a Tarboro hotel to learn more about the status of the struggling tractor manufacturer and what the future may hold for them.

Approximately 40 of the nationwide 280 Farmtrac dealers assembled at the Comfort Inn on Western Boulevard to have discussions with court appointed officials, export liquidators and implement distributors in a five-plus hour meeting that eclipsed the midnight hour.

The dealers and company employees have been negatively impacted by the Jan. 18 closing of Tarboro-based Farmtrac North America (FNA), who is more than 180 days behind on its debt of approximately $11 million to secured creditor Textron Financial.

Since the closing, dealers have only been able to provide very limited replacement parts, out-of-pocket costs for service and no warranties. By statute, many states in the U.S. require a warranty with any new motorized vehicle sold. Tractor retailers report living off of their savings due to an inability to make farm equipment sales.

Worse yet, creditors are beginning to breathe down the neck of some tractor retailers.

According to a dealer, "One guy called me up and said 'I'm going to have everything you own.'"

Tarboro attorney Jim Marrow, the Edgecombe County Superior Court-appointed receiver, assured the group that he and manager Doug Gurkins of Greenville are "doing everything possible to create a best-case scenario" and paralleled it to a child adoption. "You just want to find the appropriate parent for the child."

Marrow assumed receivership duty Feb. 27 to ensure payment of debt to creditors. As the present owner of Farmtrac, part of his job is to repair the company's reputation and prevent the embattled firm that "approaches $50 million in total debt" from perishing.

According to Marrow, there is hope. Unable to provide an in-depth disclosure of negotiations that are still in progress, Marrow said that negotiations are under way with "two or three U.S.-based buyers and one buyer outside the U.S." and although not an odds maker, he'd estimate a "50-50 chance" of landing a prospective buyer.

He hopes to have a response in "about three weeks."

Meanwhile, Marrow and Gurkins will liquidate 19 tractors, a host of farming implements, tires, surplus parts, random old materials and salvage. The auction began at 10 a.m. today at 411 Hope Lodge St., across from Stocks Elementary School.

The auction proceeds will go toward maintaining operating costs of the 14-person work crew with remaining funds put toward the companyís debt.

Lack of warranty and parts support has created major handicaps for Farmtrac retailers, which are unable to sell a bulky inventory of tractors nor are they able to support current customers. Both are critical sources of revenue necessary to keep doors open.

Dealers agreed that procuring warranty and finance programs will be keys to selling tractors ñ and subsequently working out of their present financial funk.

Different warranty programs were discussed. Instead of the default "fail safe" plan, a more restrictive that would charge seven percent of tractor cost and operate under narrower guidelines, ad hoc dealer leader Tim Cook of Drakesboro, Ky., suggested a "three-point protection" plan that would permit a smaller percentage cost and place the funds into an escrow for added flexibility of use.