Why is BPA Employee-Owned ?

When BPA's former owner decided to sell the firm in the early 1990s, the employees decided that becoming 100% employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) would be the best reflection of our inclusive corporate culture. As owners, BPA's employees are especially motivated to provide customer satisfaction and improve the company's overall performance. Even before the ESOP, BPA was managed in a collaborative way, with input welcomed from staff on all subjects. The ESOP formalized our commitment to employee participation. In addition, ESOPs enjoy some significant corporate tax benefits, thereby reducing our overhead and increasing our competitiveness.

What Does "Employee-Owned" Mean ?

BPA employees "own" 100% of the shares of BPA through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and Trust. The philosophy behind ESOPs is that employees should participate in the success generated by their labor. The ESOP Trust is a legal entity that holds all of the company's shares in beneficial trust for the participants. Shares are allocated to individual participant (employee) accounts according to a formula based on each individual's compensation as a percentage of the total compensation of all participants. Participants elect the Board of Directors by voting their shares, and four seats on the six-member Board are reserved for employee-owners. The Board of Trustees, which oversees the Trust, is made up entirely of employee-owners.

The ESOP is also a qualified retirement plan, and after an employee leaves, the Trust "repurchases" that employee's shares by paying him or her the current value of the shares. The repurchased shares are then re-allocated among current staff.

If you would like more information about ESOPs and employee ownership, please visit the websites of the National Center for Employee Ownership (http://www.nceo.org) and the ESOP Association (http://www.esopassociation.org).