Third of three stories.

With the Jan.18 closing of Tarboro-based farm tractor manufacturer Farmtrac North America (FNA), the loyalties and livelihoods of plant workers, retail dealers and customers are slowly and surely being plowed under.

The timeframe may differ for each party but the outcome is the same: after a once-reputable company was financially gutted, corporate machinery tied to it has systematically begun tilling Farmtrac loyalists into the soil.

The January closing of Farmtrac's assembly plant and headquarters at 111 Fairview Drive and late February court-appointed receivership are only two benchmarks of the firm's demise. Receivership is a measure taken only when a company cannot afford filing bankruptcy.

According to court documents, Farmtrac owes more than $55 million in total liabilities.

Not long ago, Farmtrac boasted of very different numbers: investment of $6.5 million into assembly plant upgrades in 2005 and 2006, a commitment of $2 million to $3 million annually into continued facility improvement, reported revenues of $22 million during the first quarter of 2006 and claims of steadily increasing tractor sales.

From external appearances, it was far from a picture of a company in financial peril.

Created by North Carolina native William Redden Long II in 1941, Long Manufacturing prided itself on high quality tractors and dependable customer service.

Led by Long into the 1980s, the firm's name changed to Long Agribusiness before Escorts Ltd., of Faribad, India became the tractor firm's parent company in 2005 and rebranded the product Farmtrac.

During the transition, several persons of Asian decent held three of the top executive positions at Farmtrac, including Marketing Head Shenu Agarwal, Sales Head Sushil Kaul and a revolving door of company presidents in Vijay Raina, Vinay Upadhyay and Pranab Ghosal.

Farmtrac retained a substantial product but retailers across the country noticed a difference in attitude toward customer service and operations.

"If it wasn't about sales, they didn't want anything to do with you," said former Midwest Territory Manager David Petri.

During a visit to Green Acres Tractor, owner Kirk Wilson of Brooksville, Fla., described the actions of past Farmtrac President Vinay Upadhyay and sales manager Sushil Kaul as "rude" and "they had no clue about America customs – like service or warranties." The two were quickly dispatched from Wilson's property.

Others gained similar opinions of the Indian leaders' decorum. During one of three inquiries into purchasing Farmtrac North America, Montana Tractor Vice President Ted Wade took offense to "being snubbed" by Farmtrac and Escorts executives after making what Wade deemed was a reasonable offer. The Montana leader couldn't believe "how rude, arrogant they were about it."

More detrimental than lacking social grace, Farmtrac's top personnel proved unsuccessful at keeping company finances in check. Court documents state that by September, parent company Escorts had to make "numerous reassurances" that it would "fulfill its [financial] obligations" to pay on a six million dollar credit line with South Korean tractor and parts manufacturer LS Cable.