Our company is employee-owned and employee-grown
What does employee ownership mean to us? Just listen to our employees.
What sets Van Meter Inc. apart? Simply put, it's our people.
Van Meter became 100% employee-owned on January 1, 2005. This means everyone working for our company is an owner with a stake in our future. As owners, our people are empowered to make decisions, take educated and calculated risks and do what they feel is right to best serve our customers.
What does employee ownership mean at Van Meter?
All employees of Van Meter…
- have ownership in the company.
- share in the risks and rewards of being an owner.
- influence future success of the company.
- own an interest in the company at no cost to them.
- share in financial results.
How does employee ownership benefit our customers?
- Customers speak to an employee-owner with decision-making power every time they call.
- Customers receive service from employee-owners who have a vested interest in their success.
What is an ESOP?
An ESOP, Employee Stock Ownership Plan, is a retirement plan. To establish an ESOP, a company must create a trust. Each year, the company contributes cash that is used to make payments on the loan used to acquire the stock. The company may also contribute stock directly. Individual accounts are maintained within the trust for each ESOP participant. Unlike a 401(k) plan, employees do not contribute to the ESOP; Van Meter makes all contributions to the ESOP account. ESOP companies may be partially employee-owned or, like Van Meter, be 100% employee-owned.
How do employees learn about ownership?
The Van Meter ESOP Committee was formed in 2003. It is a group of employee-owners who represent various divisions and regions of Van Meter and are committed to improving the understanding of the ESOP by all employee-owners. The purpose of the ESOP Committee is to make ownership at Van Meter meaningful to all. The mission of the ESOP Committee is to maximize the value of ownership in Van Meter.
To learn more about ESOP companies, please visit The ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership websites.
