Albion General Construction is proud to announce they are now a 100% employee-owned company via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).  

An ESOP is an employee benefit plan, facilitated through a trust, which provides company stock to employees as part of their retirement benefits. As a 100% ESOP owned company, all Albion shares are now held in trust by the ESOP exclusively for the benefit of Albion employees. 

“We made this decision when we started Albion 18 years ago,” says co-founder and Executive Vice President Brian Newsome. “For 18 years, I’ve told my employees that there will come a day where I won’t be here anymore, and they will run this company. I’m not sure if they realized how serious I was about that. This is the smartest way to keep the company thriving and to recognize the incredible people who work here.”  

Brian notes that while succession plans are notoriously challenging in the construction industry, he previously worked at an ESOP firm and remembers the excitement and energy that came because of that effort.  

 “To me, it’s just a beautiful way to reward the people who are doing the hard work every single day. The reality is that our employees are out there every day, making our clients raving fans, and they need to be rewarded.” 

According to the nonprofit National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), extensive research shows that ESOP companies outperform non-ESOP companies by a wide margin. They have been found to grow around 2.5% faster in productivity, sales, and employment per year, provide twice the total retirement assets, and provide greater job stability than non-ESOP companies. 

To illustrate this point further, Brian says that Albion’s culture “is exactly aligned with becoming an ESOP. We are well suited for an ESOP – we are very much family. There’s no micromanagement here. We allow our employees to create magic in whatever way they can. There’s a sense of trust, and therefore we’ve been incredibly successful.” Brian also attributes the success and growth of Albion entirely to his employees. “We create raving fans here. If you truly embody the concept of creating a raving fan, it changes your thought process and how you deal with people. We’ve created a culture of giving the greatest experience for our clients. In our industry, this is sometimes hard to do because every project has issues. How you respond to those challenges is what differentiates your culture. We’re not looking to be the most profitable. What’s the most efficient way to do something where everyone wins? How can we turn everything into a win for our clients? Those are the answers we look for.” 

As far as leadership change, Brian says things will remain the same for now. “Management isn’t going anywhere. Leadership will remain intact—no big, major changes. We are taking this carefully and thoughtfully,” he says.  

“Albion is a special place to be—the people we’ve attracted, the culture we guard. We’re a careful and thoughtful company. As a rising star in our industry, we’re looking to create a shine.”