2026 category · 6 honorees
Employee-Owned Companies
Companies owned in whole or in large part by their own employees, through an ESOP or a cooperative structure. The editors apply the five criteria listed in our methodology.
Full Employee-Owned Companies register · 2026
King Arthur Baking moved north from Boston to Norwich, Vermont, in 1984, and its campus there holds a bakery and a baking school. Its history page says its owners began passing the company to employees in 1996.
Bob and Charlee Moore founded Bob's Red Mill in 1978 to sell wholesome foods, and the company has been employee owned since 2010. Its world headquarters is on SE Pheasant Court in Milwaukie, Oregon.
Graybar distributes electrical, datacom and industrial supplies from more than 350 locations. Its corporate headquarters is on North Meramec Avenue in St. Louis, and its about page credits an employee ownership culture.
Gardener's Supply sells raised beds, planters and garden tools from its home on Intervale Road in Burlington, Vermont. It set up an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in 1986, and its company farms grow food for hunger relief groups.
The Davey Tree Expert Company offers tree care from certified arborists and keeps its corporate headquarters on North Mantua Street in Kent, Ohio. Employee ownership is a core part of how the company describes itself.
Schreiber Foods makes cheese, cream cheese and other dairy foods, with its home office on North Washington Street in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Its company timeline notes the creation of its Employee Stock Ownership Plan.