Morningstar Stone and Tile of Topsham said Monday that it has established an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, and is now 30 percent owned by its staff members, with the goal of transferring 100 percent ownership to them within the next 10 years.
The company’s founder and president, Nick Whatley, said in a news release that he had been working toward a business plan that could support the ESOP for 10 years, and that everything finally came together this year. Morningstar has 21 employees.
“The ESOP structure allows us the chance to give all employees the opportunity to use their good work to build a much stronger position for retirement,” Whatley said. “Without incredibly talented and dedicated employees, we would not have been able to make this happen.”
Morningstar joins a small group of Maine companies that have transitioned to employee ownership in 2016, mostly in the construction industry.
ESOPs involve the creation of a trust for employees that serves as a retirement benefits plan. Financial advisers say ESOPs have grown in popularity because, although they do involve certain risks, they give the founders of family-owned companies a way to exit the company while preserving its name, culture and staff.
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