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NewsLitecontrol Becomes 100% Employee OwnedOn December 31, 2007 Litecontrol announced that it purchased the final shares of the company from the Danforth family, and is now100% employee-owned. This event, originally scheduled for 2014, completed a change in ownership that began in December, 1999. Litecontrol experienced fantastic growth from 2004 through 2007, which enabled the company to accelerate the purchase by nearly 7 years. “This event marks the culmination of a dream that began in 1986, when Bob Danforth first proposed that Litecontrol was destined to become an employee-owned company,” said Veda Ferlazzo Clark, President & CEO since 1999. Litecontrol was founded by Wallace Danforth and Irving Jennings in 1936 and was subsequently owned by the Danforth family from 1979 until 1999, when Robert Danforth, then President, elected to set-up an Employee Stock Ownership Plan for the employees at Litecontrol. “Litecontrol has been an important part of our family for generations, and the ESOP allows us to recognize the contributions of our employees and ensure Litecontrol’s future for years to come,” commented Danforth. “In a time when many niche lighting manufacturers are being purchased by larger competitors, Litecontrol has chosen a different route,” notes Clark. “Our ability to provide top notch service to our customers will be enhanced by ensuring we remain independent and that every one of our employees has a stake in the customer experience. Employee ownership is very consistent with our management philosophy at Litecontrol. We are known in the industry for the strength of our people. This is just another way we want to invest in this important asset,” said Clark. The management structure and team remains as it has been for several years: Tony Caruso, VP of Manufacturing and Facilities; Brian Golden, VP of Sales and Marketing; Adrian Grundy, CFO, and Bob Thomas, VP of Product Development and Engineering. Litecontrol has an external Board of directors: Veda Ferlazzo Clark, President & CEO of Litecontrol; Jack Brennan, President of Green Mountain College; Bob Ackerman, Partner at Watermill Ventures; Joe Milligan, retired from Milligan & Associates; and Art Hall, President of Claremont Flock. An Employee Stock Ownership Plan is a qualified defined contribution plan governed by ERISA, developed in 1974 as a means to supplement Social Security for employees. An ESOP is operated through a trust that accepts tax-deductible contributions from the company to accumulate company stock, which is then allocated to accounts for individual participants. There are more than 11,000 ESOP companies, covering 10 million employees or 10% of the U.S. private sector workforce. Total assets owned by U.S. ESOPs amount to $600 billion, approximately 4% of the total value of U.S. corporate net worth. |
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