64 | BusinessWorld |August-September 2014
In fact, the company is nearing completion
of its sixth full year as a wholly employee-
owned entity, dating back to a decision its
initial owner and namesake – Earl Stoltzfus
– made while aiming to boost the
productivity of the operation and give its
long-term personnel a stake in their own
retirement plans.
Stoltzfus first came up with the idea several
years earlier and spent a prolonged period
investigating options for employee-owned
operations . He joined anationwide
nonprofit association comprised of
approximately 2,500 employee stock
ownership plan (ESOP) companies, and
began the process in real termsby selling 40
percent of the company to its employees in
2002.
“The better the company does, the more
valuable the shares become,” he said. “It's an
added opportunity for the employees to
have influence on their retirement. But you
still have to run the company like a business,
because if youdon't do that, youwon't have a
successful company.”
In addition, he said the transition to an
ESOP blueprint allows the company to
better represent its manufacturers/supp-
liers and provides corporate tax benefits,
while simultaneously providing employees
