(San Antonio, TX) Alterman, Inc. today announced that it has been named as a finalist for three San Antonio Hispanic Contractors Association awards. The company—which is a 100 percent employee-owned private company, or “S corporation employee stock ownership plan” (S ESOP)—will be considered for the Impact Award and Partner Award at the Association’s Wednesday evening ceremony. In addition, Alterman project manager Harvey Zapata will be considered for the Association’s prestigious MVP Award.
Alterman, one of San Antonio’s oldest and largest electrical contractors, credits its success to its employee owners who operate with a vested interest in the company’s growth and development.
“Supporting our community is more than the right thing to do — it also makes good business sense,” said CEO Don Kuykendall. “Our employee owners operate with a personal investment in our shared success, and that means keeping our commitment to growth in the San Antonio business community. We’re honored by these nominations and thank the San Antonio Hispanic Contractors Association for their consideration.”
The Impact Award nomination reflects the company’s efforts to bring diversity to the construction industry in San Antonio, as evidenced by Alterman’s mentorship of a small, minority-owned local company through the Bexar County mentorship program. The Partner Award nomination—based on Alterman’s commitment to equality, inclusiveness, diversity and multiculturalism in the construction industry—reflects Alterman’s workplace diversity. Alterman regularly surpasses national averages in the construction industry for employment of minorities and women in its workforce.
The nomination of Zapata for the MVP award is based on his significant contribution of volunteer hours, talents and service toward fostering diversity within the industry. Zapata provides free electrical services to non-profit organizations—including the San Antonio Youth Center, SU CASA and the San Antonio Cultural Arts—so that they may devote more resources towards achieving their missions.
According to a University of Pennsylvania study, S ESOP companies like Alterman create not only employee motivation and success, but also $14 billion in new savings and retirement security for workers that they otherwise would not have. This is because profits of the company flow into the ESOP (retirement) accounts of the workers. Moreover, most S ESOP employees have retirement account balances three to five times higher than the average 401 (k) or other defined contribution plans. This helps to explain why Alterman’s employees are so successful, as compared with most working Americans who—an April 2011 Gallup poll found—think they will lack enough money to live comfortably in retirement.
“Employee-owners like those at Alterman work smarter and harder because of their commitment and investment in the business,” said Greg Klein, chairman of the board of directors of the Employee-Owned S Corporations of America. “Alterman is a prime example of what S corporation ESOP companies can do for workers, for our communities, and for our economy.”
Alterman has been an employee-owned company since 1984, attracting outstanding managers, supervisors, electricians, technicians and support personnel able to excel on projects of all sizes and complexity. Alterman provides complete installation expertise, 24/7 service, in-house design / build and Building Information Modeling (BIM), detailed estimates and fast-track construction for a wide range of electrical needs, as well as voice and data communications systems, video, access controls, security and surveillance systems and alternative energy solutions for LEED certification.
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The Employee-Owned S Corporations of America (“ESCA”) is the Washington, DC voice for employee-owned S corporations. ESCA’s exclusive mission is to preserve and protect S corporation ESOPs and the benefits they provide to the employees who own them. These companies have an important story to tell policymakers about the tremendous success of the S ESOP structure in generating long-term retirement savings for working Americans and their families. ESCA provides the vehicle and the voice for these efforts. ESCA represents employee-owners in every state in the nation.