Project Equity • 12th January 2021

Proof for employee ownership

There may be no one-size-fits-all method to make a business recession-proof, but the data is clear: if you want to give your business the best odds of surviving a tough economy, turn your employees into owners.

The Menke Group • 18th November 2020

ESOP Companies Outperform Other Firms During COVID-19 Pandemic

Companies with Employee Stock Ownership Plans have “drastically outperformed” traditionally owned businesses at retaining jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic by a rate of 4 to 1, according to a new report.

Project Equity • 7th October 2020

Columbia Forest Products

The employee-owners at Columbia Forest Products have seen it all. Booms and busts, bull markets and bears, health scares, natural disasters and even illegally-operating offshore competition. And throughout every challenge, they have had each other’s backs, worked together, pulled through and risen to the occasion as a team.

The Menke Group • 7th October 2020

Survey Shows Consumers Prefer Companies with ESOP Values

The data shows that the American consumers want to do business with--and work for--companies that embody the worker-centric values at the core of every ESOP.

The Menke Group • 15th September 2020

Menke Congratulates Applewood Seed Company on Transition to Employee Ownership

The Menke Group was proud to advise and assist Colorado-based Applewood Seed Company, a wholesale supplier of bulk wildflower and garden seeds, with the design and implementation of their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

Project Equity • 15th September 2020

Case Study: Device Engineering Incorporated

If you have flown on a commercial airline in the past three decades, there is a good chance you have the employee-owners at Device Engineering Incorporated (DEI) to thank, in part, for your safe arrival.

Stellari • 1st September 2020

Why We Love TENCEL™ Lyocell

Choosing the right fabric isn’t easy. What’s the point in a fabric being comfortable or looking great if it means tossing ethics and sustainability out the window? What’s the point in it being ethical and sustainable if no one wants to wear it?

The Menke Group • 25th August 2020

ESOPs: The Future of a Better American Economy

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, many of us are wondering when things will get back to normal. When will life be normal again? When will business be normal again? What many people—business owners, workers, even politicians—are starting to realize is, the old normal may never come back. And that could actually be a good thing.

The Menke Group • 23rd June 2020

How ESOPs Can Help to Close the Racial Wealth Gap and Promote Economic Justice

[...] ending discrimination in our criminal justice system will not end systemic racism. For there to be true justice in this country, there must be also be economic justice. That means confronting the roots of injustice, beginning with slavery and continuing through to redlining—both in its overt forms which were made illegal in the 1970s and the subtler forms which continue to this day.

The Menke Group • 28th May 2020

COVID-19 and Your ESOP: What You Need to Know

As COVID-19 spreads across the country, we know that your health and the health of your fellow employee-owners is your top priority. And we know you are also concerned about the health of your ESOP. Will it be there as a resource for those who need it most in the times ahead?

The Menke Group • 28th May 2020

How a Repurchase Obligation Study Can Help Your ESOP Survive the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shifted the economic landscape virtually overnight. The financial picture your business may have been looking at as of December 31, 2019 could be very different today. Many ESOP-owned companies are understandably focused on what this means for their annual valuation. But the next big threat to your business’s capital may not be on your balance sheet at all.

The Menke Group • 28th May 2020

Lessons in Resilience: How ESOP Companies Maintained Employee Morale During the Great Recession

With the COVID-19 pandemic casting a cloud of uncertainty and instability over the economy, leading to record numbers of unemployment claims, you may have heard people (including us) saying that ESOP companies are more resilient in the face of adversity. And it's true.

The Menke Group • 28th May 2020

Skyline Construction Brings Employee Ownership to Two More Companies with Acquisition of Unimark and Servicemark

Skyline Construction Enterprises, a San Francisco-based, 100% employee-owned commercial general contractor specializing in commercial interiors, has acquired Seattle’s Unimark Construction Group and its tenant services sister company Servicemark.

AmaWaterways • 12th March 2020

Quiz: What Kind of Cruiser Are You?

A quiz for AmaWaterways' guest magazine, Beyond the River Bend. What motivates you to travel? Making memories with family? Trying food and wine you can't find anywhere else? The chance to sit on your butt and do as little as humanly possible? Take the quiz and find a perfect river cruise to fit your personal style.

AmaWaterways • 12th March 2020

Exploring the Upper and Lower Danube

The Upper Danube is the setting for the quintessential river cruise. Closed off to outsiders for many years, the Lower Danube is quickly becoming one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world. Learn about some of the key sites along both ends of this historic river. Article for the AmaWaterways guest magazine Beyond the River Bend.

The Menke Group • 12th March 2020

Client Case Study: Basden Steel Achieves 100% Employee Ownership

The Texas-based Basden Steel group of companies have been providing fabrication and erection operations for the commercial construction industry since 1985. They have built everything from schools to casinos to arenas to military facilities. On January 1, 2020 Basden Steel built a new legacy by turning its 450 employees into owners through the sale of 100% of the company stock to a Menke-designed ESOP.

The Menke Group • 12th March 2020

Bob’s Red Mill ESOP Turns 10

In 2010, Bob Moore, founder of the whole grain flours and cereals company Bob’s Red Mill, celebrated his 81st birthday by giving his employees the gift of ownership. Ten years later, the Bob’s Red Mill ESOP is going strong with roughly 600 employee-owners—three times the number they had when the ESOP began—and the company is reporting record sales. And Moore, now 91, is still happily working full time as President.

The Menke Group • 12th March 2020

Congress Looks to ESOPs to Brace for the Silver Tsunami

February 12, 2020, ESOP Association member Daniel Goldstein, President and CEO of Folience, testified before the U.S. House Small Business Committee about the need for the Department of Labor to clarify its ESOP regulations given the impending retirements of 2.5 million baby boomer business owners.

The Menke Group • 12th March 2020

An ESOP Helps Loftness Specialized Equipment Stay True to Its Roots

On January 1st, 2020, Loftness Specialized Equipment, an agricultural equipment manufacturer based in Hector, MN, became 100% employee-owned, and in doing so, reconfirmed its longstanding commitment to the town of Hector and the community who helped make the company what it is today.

The Menke Group • 12th March 2020

Houchens CEO Retires as Head of One of America’s Largest ESOP Companies

Earlier this month Jimmie Gipson, 78, announced he would be retiring as of March 31st, 2020 from Houchens Industries, where he has worked for 55 years, the last 27 as CEO. Houchens, which began over 100 years ago with a single grocery store in Barren County, KY, has grown to [...]