Diversified Plastics, Inc. has received the Company of the Year Award by the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the ESOP Association (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Diversified Plastics’ ESOP provides its employees company stock like a typical 401K for an excellent source of retirement income. The employees proudly took ownership of the company in November of 2011 and since that time they have seen the value of the stock increase almost seven-fold.
“Our employees have always thought of themselves as more than just employees. Even before the conversion to ESOP, they took pride in the company and worked hard,” says Annette Lund, vice president at Diversified Plastics. “They are truly dedicated to the success of the company.” Diversified Plastics has a strong commitment to employee ownership through their involvement in the ESOP association and its programs, providing ongoing employee communications, and supporting employee participation, wealth creation, and individual dignity and worth—all criteria for “ESOP Company of the Year”. The award committee was impressed the company invited U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen to visit Diversified Plastics for tours and an opportunity to speak about their support for ESOP companies. Diversified Plastics’ community work was also recognized by the committee, saying it was outstanding for a company of their size.
Diversified Plastics is known for its willingness to take on and complete difficult projects. Becoming an ESOP was yet another challenge. Over the past three years employees have become educated on what it means to be an employee-owner. “It’s been an evolution, but employees have grown to be more aware of offering improvements or suggestions that would help grow the company and what that means as far as an investment to them,” says Roger Vang, chief financial officer at Diversified Plastics. “Our stock value has essentially tripled over the previous year and it was quite fun to see the employee’s reactions when we reviewed their stock certificate statements with them.”
The employees understand that through their hard work, dedication and teamwork they now share in the wealth they all helped create. “When looking at my fellow workers I see how they really want our company to succeed, so what we are doing together as a team will help our company grow and be even better,” explains Joni Davis, sales representative for Diversified Plastics. “Everyone is thrilled for being part of our ESOP company and I also believe this will help us in hiring and retaining good, skilled workers.”
About Diversified Plastics, Inc.
Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 37-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.
