Wisconsin company buys Skee-Ball manufacturer

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. -- The eastern Pennsylvania manufacturer of Skee-Ball has been sold to a Wisconsin rival in the amusements industry.

Owner Joseph Sladek told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he sold the Skee-Ball enterprise to Pulaski, Wisconsin-based Bay Tek Games Inc. The deal was signed Tuesday and the price wasn't disclosed.

Sladek bought Skee-Ball Inc. in 1985 and called the sale a "bittersweet goodbye." Skee-Ball manufactures its games in New Britain Township. But it will move to Wisconsin after a three-month transition.

Bay Tek CEO Gaetan Philippon says the companies have a friendly history and they knew "one day one was going to buy the other."

Skee-Ball President Jeff Hudson says about 25 to 30 people work for the company in Bucks County.

The company says Skee-Ball was invented in Philadelphia in 1909 by J.D. Estes.