Davey named to Employee Ownership 100

KENT, Ohio – The Davey Tree Expert Company has been named as one of the 100 largest majority employee-owned companies in the country.  Davey is also the largest employee-owned company based in Ohio.

The list is compiled annually by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), a private, nonprofit membership and research organization in Oakland, Calif.

Davey, which was established in 1880 by John Davey, was purchased by its employees in 1979.

“Employee ownership at Davey has been a tradition for the past 30 years.  It has also been an essential part of our company’s success,” says Karl J. Warnke, Davey chairman, president and CEO.  “But perhaps more importantly, employee ownership will serve as a catalyst for Davey’s future endeavors.  The employee commitment will help drive the company through our next 30 years.”

Overall, there are about 11,400 companies in the U.S. with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), the most common form of broad-based employee ownership. About 13 million workers participate in these plans.  About half of these plans own a majority of the company’s stock.