(San Antonio, TX) – For the fourth consecutive year, the San Antonio Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) has named Alterman, Inc. the Safe Specialty Contractor of the Year. The company—which is a 100 percent employee-owned private company, or “S corporation employee stock ownership plan” (S ESOP)—rose to the top of the AGC’s 435 member firms with regard to safety.
“As employee owners, we know that our commitment to safety not only determines our physical well being today, but also fuels Alterman’s reputation, our success and—as a result—our retirement security long into the future,” said Guy Katz, director of safety. “Because our team operates with pride in ownership, we are personally invested in safety every day.”
Alterman’s incident rates are well below national averages. Alterman participates in the national AGC Safety Training Program and is one of the longest-standing partners in the country with the Safety and Health Agreement Regarding Enforcement (SHARE) program sponsored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The award follows a series of recent accolades for the company and its employee owners, including San Antonio Business Journal’s“Best Places to Work” and the San Antonio’s Hispanic Contractors Association’s prestigious MVP Award.
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 S ESOP owners like those at Alterman are so successful, as compared with most working Americans who—a recent 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. “The dedication of Alterman’s employee owners not only defines the company’s bottom line, but also strengthens the entire economy.”
Alterman, one of San Antonio’s oldest and largest electrical contractors, has been an employee-owned company since 1984, employing outstanding managers, electricians and technicians able to excel on projects of all sizes and complexity, including complete installation expertise, in-house design / build and Building Information Modeling (BIM), and fast-track.
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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.