Client Case Studies

Collage of employee-owned buildings and professionals.
A Fireside Chat with Ringland-Johnson

As part of The Menke Group’s fiftieth anniversary celebration, our CEO, Trevor Gilmore, is holding a series of virtual ‘fireside chats’ with our clients to discuss their ESOP journeys. Brent Johnson, CEO of Ringland-Johnson, shared his insights recently. Ringland-Johnson is one of the top industrial and commercial construction firms in the Midwest with a history…

AV Construction Employee Stock OWnership Plan
AV Construction Works with The Menke Group to Adopt the Employee Ownership Model with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

Fountain Valley, CA, April 17, 2024 – The Menke Group, a leading full-service ESOP provider, announced that AV Construction, a renowned healthcare development firm based in Fountain Valley, has become 100 percent employee owned with the help of The Menke Group. The Menke Group will assist AV Construction to extend ownership of the company to…

Matrix HG ESOP Owners
Matrix HG Works with The Menke Group to Adopt the Employee Ownership Model with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

San Mateo, CA, April 2, 2024 – The Menke Group, a leading full-service ESOP provider, announced that Matrix HG, a Concord-based innovator serving the San Francisco Bay Area with commercial HVAC systems, has become 100 percent employee owned with the help of The Menke Group. The Menke Group will assist Matrix HG to extend ownership…

Zepnick Employee Owners in Action
Zepnick Solutions: It starts with an idea.

In 2000, Jody Zepnick, founder of Zepnick Solutions, had an idea. He wanted to create a business that would not only serve a growing niche — manufacturing automation — but would also be a place that people want to work for. Fast forward 24 years, Zepnick has provided engineering solutions and equipment for automation to…

Brown Construction Employee Stock Ownership Plan
Brown Construction Works with Menke to Become 100% Employee-Owned with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

San Mateo, CA, March 12, 2024 – The Menke Group, a leading full-service ESOP provider, announced that Brown Construction Incorporated, one of the largest general contractors in the greater Sacramento area and ENR Top 400 general contractor, has become 100% employee-owned with the help of The Menke Group. The Menke Group enabled Brown Construction to…

Hyperion Employee Stock Ownership Plan
Hyperion Technology Group: A Bright Future in Mississippi

It’s not every day that the Wall Street Journal features one of your clients. The end of 2023 saw that spotlight shine on Menke client Hyperion Technology Group touting it as a success story in an article about Mississippi and the American South. Competitive salaries and benefits burnish Hyperion’s reputation and standing, CEO Geoffrey Carter…

Menke Client Clark-Devon Hardware Highlighted in Chicago Sun Times

A recent Chicago Sun Times article outlined how Menke client Clark-Devon Hardware, a well-established hardware store based in Chicago, has taken a significant step towards empowering its workforce and securing its future by implementing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). By transitioning to employee ownership, Clark-Devon Hardware aims to create a stronger sense of commitment…

Menke Case Study: Kennon Products

Protecting High Value Assets Protecting High Value Assets: this phrase expresses the mission for Kennon Products and the litmus test for decisions on investing the company’s resources. Located in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains in Sheridan, Wyoming, the company’s ability to innovate and excellence in engineering led to its focus on protecting high…

Westland Resources Employee Owners
Client Case Study: WestLand Resources ESOP Embodies History and Innovation

Many businesses like to say that their most valuable resource is their people. WestLand Resources, Inc.’s (WestLand) Engineering & Environmental Services puts that belief into action. The Menke Group is proud to have assisted WestLand with their successful transition to 100% employee ownership through the creation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) at the…

Hansen Plastics ESOP
How Longtime Menke client Hansen Plastics Transitioned to Employee Ownership

At our October 2019 board meeting the younger board members expressed a desire to hear the story of why and how I chose to transition company ownership from me, a sole stockholder, to an “ESOP.” Here is my brief explanation. We started HPC in 1971 on a shoestring, with a used 40 ton molding press,…

Basden Steel ESOP
Client Case Study: Basden Steel Achieves 100% Employee Ownership

The Texas-based Basden Steel group of companies have been providing fabrication and erection operations for the commercial construction industry since 1985. They have built everything from schools to casinos to arenas to military facilities. On January 1, 2020 Basden Steel built a new legacy by turning its 450 employees into owners through the sale of…

Cross Company ESOP
Cross Company Grows and Creates a New Wave of Employee-Owners with Acquisition of Flow-Tech

January 3rd, 2020 Cross Company, a 100% employee-owned industrial solutions company based out of Greensboro, NC, announced its acquisition of Flow-Tech, a Maryland-based process instrumentation and measurement technology sales and service provider earlier this week. All of Flow-Tech’s employees will be eligible to join Cross’s team of nearly 700 associates in participating in the company’s…

Client Case Study: International Wine Management Company Intervine Celebrates Their First Year with an ESOP

In December 2018, Menke & Associates helped Intervine, a Napa, CA-based wine management company serving the travel industry, with the successful transition to 100% employee ownership. A year later, on the first anniversary of their ESOP, co-founders Colleen May and Michael Borck, who continue to serve as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board respectively,…

Ringland-Johnson Construction Secures Its Family Legacy with Menke ESOP

In 1946, Carroll Johnson founded Ringland-Johnson Construction. In 1971, Carroll Johnson handed control of the company to his son, Larry. In 1996, Larry Johnson handed control to his son, Brent. And in 2019, Brent Johnson began the process of handing control of Ringland-Johnson Construction to its employees. Menke & Associates assisted Ringland-Johnson, the largest commercial/industrial…

Client Case Study: Menke ESOP Helps Landscape Architecture Firm MKSK Live Its Values

How can an ESOP help your regional business compete with larger, national firms? The answer: By putting your company’s money where its mouth is. In Q3 2019, Menke & Associates, Inc. assisted innovative landscape architecture and urban design firm MKSK in successfully converting to 100% employee ownership. MKSK was born out of the 2011 merger…

ESOP Conversion for Luxury Goods Company
Client Case Study: Menke ESOP is the First-Class Succession Solution for a Luxury Goods Supplier 

In 2018, Menke & Associates, Inc. assisted a unique, deeply relationship-driven service business with its successful transition to 100% employee ownership. The company’s two shareholders had built a $40 million-dollar entity with a worldwide, disparate supplier network, multiple Fortune 100 clients, and global operations in a heavily-regulated industry and were ready to continue their ownership…