City of Newton Mayor Chaz Allen delivered a proclamation at Newton Manufacturing Company declaring October as Employee Ownership Month. The proclamation, which recognizes the importance of employee ownership in American business and Newton Manufacturing’s employee ownership, was presented to the company’s president, Lee Cochran, during their annual employee ownership meeting.

“Employee ownership has become a powerful incentive for Americans to make the best of their talents and energies in their places of work, thus strengthening the competitive potential of our state’s businesses,” the Mayor stated as he read the proclamation to the gathered employees.

Newton Manufacturing has been employee owned since 1988. Under their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), employees who complete a year of service begin participation in the ESOP that owns shares of the company. When an employee retires or otherwise leaves the company, they begin receiving the balance of their account. ESOPs are qualified retirement plans.

“Employee ownership transforms employees into stakeholders,” said Cochran. “As such, our employee-owners are motivated to perform at a higher level, which drives the success of their company and themselves.”

“Newton Manufacturing fully believes that ownership by their employees brings out their best by actively engaging employees,” said Nathan Peterson, chairperson of the company’s Employee Owner Advisory Council.

Employee Ownership Month is celebrated each October by ESOP companies across the United States as an opportunity to educate employee owners and the public about the benefits of ESOPs. There are approximately 11,500 ESOPs in place in the United States, covering 10 million employees and total assets estimated to be $901 billion.