Five of Top Small Workplaces Are Employee Ownership Companies

Five of the 15 winners of the 2007 Top Small Workplaces award have significant employee ownership plans, and four are majority employee-owned. The winners were announced in a special section of the October 1, 2007, Wall Street Journal. Winners were selected from about 850 nominations by Winning Workplaces, a nonprofit organization in Evanston, Ill. Winners were selected on a variety of issues, including teamwork, investment in employees, participation, and other successful people practices. Companies had to employ 500 or fewer people and have revenues of $200 million or less. The winners, four of whom are NCEO members, were:

• Exactech, a NASDAQ-listed ESOP company in Gainesville, FL, that manufactures orthopedic devices.
• Phelps County Bank, a Rolla, MO, 100% ESOP-owned community bank.
• Restek, a Bellefonte, PA, ESOP-owned chromophotography manufacturer.
• Reflexite, an ESOP and employee-owned manufacturer of retroflective devices in Avon, CT.
• Barclay Water Management, a Watertown, MA, water treatment chemical manufacturer that is 100% owned through direct stock purchases from all of its employees.

The first four on the list above are NCEO members.