Employee ownership and the success of Westech Engineering

The experience of Westech Engineering, a Salt Lake City-based engineering firm of processes for water and wastewater treatment, has demonstrated the benefits that can be reaped from employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). ESOPs are commonly used by private companies to ensure business continuity, as a tax-effective way to provide employee benefits or borrow money for capital expansion, and as a means to improve corporate performance by making employees more concerned with the company's success and more active in its day-to-day operation. Westech's implementation of ESOP has brought about a tripling of sales. The concept of ESOP is further elucidated here, and its effective implementation is discussed.