Recognizing the power of a team of owners

By Central States.  

Being 100% employee owned creates a culture of shared ownership and commitment to building and empowering members of the team. 

At Central States Manufacturing Inc., our workforce owns the company through their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), creating a crew of employee owners. This mindset means that every member of our team is unified behind a common goal and a sense of ownership and responsibility. It empowers individuals to come together and support a common goal — taking care of their customers. Overall, Central States’ employee owner method circles around their core belief that their people are their biggest asset. 

Beyond just having the ESOP program, Central States continues to emphasize its core belief by recognizing and celebrating our employee owners. Recently, our marketing team visited all our sites and made face-to-face connections with the employee owners.  

For some of the team it was their first trip to see the different plants across the country. No matter whether in Texas, Claysburg, St. Peters, Jasper or Hartford — the biggest common denominator for Central States’ success, culture, place as an industry leader is our employee owners. They hold Central States together during the good and the bad. In celebration and during challenges. 

Forget mailmen and the elements they battle. In the extreme heat of Texas to the frigid conditions of the North and East — Central States’ production techs continue to provide our quality products to our incredible customers no matter what and they see those individual employee owners that make that possible.  

The ability to be easy to do business with is all about our Business Development Managers and Territory Sales Managers. Central States has heard the really good conversations and heard the bad. Part of this trip was ensuring their team heard all the voices possible — their people’s honesty, product knowledge and dedication to providing the best to those who Central States serve is invaluable and keeps them going.  

The marketing team wanted to emphasize the importance of every person in Central States. This includes the faces of the company — the drivers. The people that hear the good, the bad and the ugly. They know these are their company’s greatest ambassadors. 

The list goes on and on and each team behind each step of the process is crucial to Central States’ success. The incredible Metal Central Employee Owners know their products and services inside out. They take care of so many people who walk through their doors with a servant spirit and knowledge and are invaluable guides that lead their projects to a successful end.  

On their trip across the states, the marketing team was careful not to forget those that work behind the scenes to build and support the Central States community. This includes their Human Resources department, which strives every day to bring in the best talent. They are the ones that ensure that the communities that their teams work in, live in and serve in know who Central States are and why they are special. They are a key part of the community interaction that drives Central States’ goal to serve and give back. Through sweat equity, compassion and empathy the marketing team saw firsthand how everyone at Central States works to go above and beyond to get the job done well. 

The team wants to reiterate how much of an honor it is to work shoulder to shoulder with the closest thing to a professional family many of them have ever experienced. There truly is a culture of working for each other and working for our families. Their trip around the country only reemphasized what they already knew — Central States employee owners are key to their success and the importance and impact that each of them have every day is not to be underestimated.  

Original article source: Central States Manufacturing Inc.