Five of the 15 Winners of Wall Street Journal/Winning Workplace Top Small Workplaces Have ESOPs

This year's winners include:

• New Belgium Brewery, a wind-powered, employee-owned brewer in Fort Collins, Colorado, and winner of the NCEO Innovations in Employee Ownership Award. New Belgium's flagship brand, Fat Tire Beer, is one of the most popular craft beers.
• Jackson's Hardware in San Rafael, CA, is a 100% ESOP-owned hardware store that actually gained market share after two big-box chains moved in a few blocks away. The company is famed in the area for exceptional customer service.
• King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT, is another 100% ESOP. It is one of the oldest companies in America, and its King Arthur brand flours are widely considered the best available for people who love to bake.
• ATA Engineering is a 100% ESOP-owned engineering firm in San Diego and another Innovations Award winner. It uses the same incentive system for everyone, including executives. All work is done on a project basis, and the president may find himself reporting to a junior staff member leading a team.

All four companies practice open-book management and have structured, active employee involvement systems that go well beyond the norm. All four are also NCEO members.

Another winner is Paducah Bank and Trust in Paducah, Kentucky, a non-majority ESOP company that has a strong record of community involvement and, remarkably in the era of bank implosions, had record profits in 2007 and is having a very good year in 2008.

NCEO director Corey Rosen was one of this year's judges, but he recused himself from judging NCEO member company applicants.

We strongly encourage NCEO members to apply for the award (the track record of those who have applied shows a high rate of success). Nominations for next year's awards are now open by going to www.winningworkplaces.org.