Apex is 100% Employee Owned!
Now Employee Owned!
For 37 years, Apex Plumbing has been a family-owned and family-operated business serving customers along the Front Range. Our president and owner began in 1985 with the goals of providing top notch service to his customers, ensuring his employees were both safe on the job and well taken care of at home, and providing a stable income for his family. As he has neared retirement, he has decided to transition Apex Plumbing into an employee-owned business to further provide top notch service while taking care of his employees and spending more time with his family. Apex Plumbing is now a proud employee-owned business with a new ESOP business model. Employee ownership means no single person, family, or third party is a majority shareholder of company stock. Instead, the company’s stock is allocated among employees through shares.
ESOP Explained
ESOP is an acronym for Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). An ESOP grants employees company stock, often based on the duration of their employment. Typically, it is part of a compensation package, where shares will vest over a period of time. Each employee is invested in the common stock of the company so as it earns more over time they in turn earn more. It is a flexible succession strategy for business owners interested in selling all or part of their business while being completely committed to retaining all current employees in the process.
According to this informative site, an ESOP is considered to be a retirement plan, like the 401K plan, and both have vesting schedules for their balances. But an ESOP is different from a 401k plan, in that a 401k is primarily employee-driven, meaning each employee funds their 401K account via paycheck deductions. There are no paycheck deductions for ESOP benefits. Contributions to eligible employee’s ESOP accounts are made by the company.
This site states, “From 1974 to date, it has been estimated that 22,000 companies have installed Employee Stock Ownership Plans. The total number of employees currently covered by ESOPs is about 14,100,000 with $1.4 trillion in ESOP assets (about 25% of the 401(k) market).”
ESOP Benefits
When a company’s structure becomes an ESOP, it incentivizes each employee to give their best and to stay in their position for as long as possible. The longer each employee stays and the more money the company makes, the richer he or she becomes in retirement because the company’s success will directly benefit the health of the employee’s investment into the company. At employee-owned companies, each employee from the base up to the top are given stock so everyone benefits.
Long Term Benefits at Apex Will Include: Building individual wealth and continuing the great culture. When an employee-owner leaves the company, the company will purchase back their shares.
ESOP Goals
In an employee-owned company, Apex’s goals of providing fantastic customer service to our customers and maintaining the highest quality of work do not change. However, the company goals are now personal goals due to the incentive structure based on the success of the company. It’s not merely a paycheck being worked for, but it’s the long-term success of the company and potential generational wealth being earned by each employee-owner. Another goal is to help each employee-owner gain a better understanding of business ownership that can lead to other future entrepreneurial opportunities.
Same Apex As Always!
For 37 years, Apex Plumbing has been a proud Denver institution striving to meet the needs of our customers. We have tried to leave every customer feeling as though they received the best service possible. This has not changed. Our commitment to continued excellence has not and will not change either. In fact, because of the structure of the ESOP, we strongly feel this commitment to excellence will be greater than ever, backed by every person in the company. If you are interested in joining us and becoming an employee-owner, please visit our “Employment Opportunity” page.
Overall, Apex remains dedicated to you, our customer. We look forward to continuing to serve you and the Denver Metro area for decades to come!
