ESCA member company NewAge® Industries finds prosperity through employee ownership

August 21, 2012

Home News ESCA member company NewAge® Industries finds prosperity through employee ownership

ESCA member and 100 percent employee-owned NewAge Industries, a plastic tubing and molded single-use products manufacturer, headquartered in Southampton, PA, is expanding. Similar to other ESCA member companies, NewAge attributes its transformation into an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) corporation as part of the reason for its continued successes.

NewAge Industries adopted the ESOP structure in 2006, effectively transferring ownership of the company to the employees. The model has proven highly successful by strengthening morale among NewAge employees, leading to job retention, stability, and growth. “It was easy to see the change in attitudes and morale after the ESOP was established,” says Ken Baker, CEO.  “Being an owner carries a different sense of responsibility, and the employees showed their pride of ownership right away.” With all employees invested equally in the company, they understand that when the company succeeds, so do they. This culture of ownership allows NewAge to focus efforts on reducing spending, implementing sustainability, practicing better customer service and finding new business opportunities to grow the company.

Throughout the past decade, while many companies were struggling to retain jobs, employee ownership helped preserve jobs particularly in the hard-hit manufacturing industry. A recent study, An Analysis of the Benefits ESOPs Provide to the U.S. Economy and Workforce, by former Simpson-Bowles commission tax advisor Alex Brill, shows that on net, employement among surveyed S ESOP firms increased over 60 percent from 2001-2011. NewAge has experience this first-hand.

Employee-owners at NewAge benefit from retirement savings accounts fully funded by their employer through the ESOP. In a study done by the The National Center for Employee Ownership, S ESOPs are shown to be powerful savings vehicles with retirement account balances 3-5 times higher than the average 401(k). Employees understand the significance of preserving this retirement savings tool, especially when so many retirement aged Americans are struggling to make ends meet when it comes to the “golden years.”

NewAge Industries’ growth is exhibited by its continual expansion. Currently, the company has employment opportunities for four positions, and only one of those is a replacement. Baker notes that “The new jobs are created because of controlled growth. We’re very careful when we hire. We look for ethical, hard-working, quality-minded individuals who want to be part of a thriving business. And getting a nice nest egg at retirement certainly doesn’t hurt.”

For additional information about employee ownership at NewAge Industries, click here.

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