(Kansas City, MO) – Garney Holding Company has announced the acquisition of Weaver General Construction, an Englewood, Colo. company that specializes in the construction of water and wastewater facilities. Garney—which is a 100 percent employee-owned private company, or “S corporation employee stock ownership plan” (S ESOP)—will gain access to several important customers with whom Weaver has strong relationships, as well as improve their Construction Management (CM) based delivery capabilities as a result of the acquisition.
“We look forward to inducting the dedicated and talented team at Weaver as employee-owners,” said Mike Heitmann, president and CEO of Garney. “Our company structure has allowed us to thrive and combine forces with these promising new partners, ensuring that we continue to lead the water and wastewater industry.”
The new entity will be known as Weaver Construction Management, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Garney Holding Company. In addition to Weaver’s CM strengths and client relationships, Garney was attracted to their culture, which closely mimics the strong culture and core values at Garney.
S ESOP companies like Garney, according to a University of Pennsylvania study, create not only employee motivation and success, but also $14 billion in new savings for S ESOP workers that they otherwise would not have. This is because company profits 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, as compared with most working Americans who, according to an April 2011 Gallup poll, think they will lack enough money to live comfortably in retirement.
“Employee-owners like those at Garney 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. “The allegiance of Garney’s employee-owners and the hard work of S corporation ESOP companies across the country continue to help our economy prosper and grow.”
Garney specializes in the construction of water and wastewater pipelines, treatment facilities, pumping stations, water storage tanks, and industrial/heavy civil projects. Garney was established in Kansas City in 1961 and has regional offices in Denver, Atlanta, Nashville, Orlando, and Phoenix. The company is 100 percent employee owned with approximately 720 current employee-owners.
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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.