Employee ownership and industrial innovation

What employee ownership really means

An ESOP is more than a retirement benefit. It's a structure that turns employees into shareholders, aligning their success with the company's success. For our clients, that alignment translates into something tangible: you're working with people who think like owners, not vendors.When you work with an ESOP, you're not getting a team that's optimizing for utilization rates or trying to extend a contract. You're getting a team that's invested in outcomes because our success is directly tied to yours.As Haydee Caldero, a member of TXI's board with deep expertise in employee ownership, said, "A robust ownership culture effectively communicates that the company's success is intertwined with the shared success of each employee." That philosophy doesn't just build better businesses—it builds better partnerships.

Why ESOPs and industrial companies are a natural fit

Employee ownership has found particular traction in industrial sectors, and for good reason:Long-term thinking: Industrial companies often require significant investments that take years to pay off. ESOPs encourage the same long-term perspective—no short-term financial engineering, no quarterly pressure to cut corners. Just patient, strategic work toward lasting results.Skill and knowledge retention: In industries where expertise is built over years, keeping experienced people matters. ESOPs help companies retain that institutional knowledge. It's the same reason many of our clients come back to us year after year—they know the team that understands their business isn't going anywhere.Innovation from the inside: Employee-owners who understand the day-to-day realities of operations are often the best source of ideas for improvement. When we partner with clients, we bring that same mindset: the people closest to the work are the ones who should be shaping the solution.Succession and stability: Many industrial companies are family-owned or founder-led, facing real questions about the future. ESOPs offer a path forward that preserves culture, protects jobs, and keeps companies rooted in their communities—something we understand firsthand.

TXI's ESOP journey: Why we made the shift

In 2022, TXI transitioned to an ESOP after evaluating several options, including sales to private equity firms and strategic buyers. We chose employee ownership because it aligned with who we wanted to be: a company that prioritizes long-term relationships over short-term extraction.Our CEO, Mark Rickmeier, puts it this way: “Because our people are owners, they show up differently. They think like partners, not vendors—and that means making decisions with the long view in mind. True ownership means doing what’s best for our clients not just today, but in ways that build lasting success for years to come.” Three years in, the results speak for themselves. In our most recent valuation, we saw a more than 150% increase in TXI's share price—a direct reflection of the value every employee-owner is creating for our clients and for one another. That growth didn't come from financial engineering. It came from doing right by our clients and treating every project like our business depends on it.Because it does.

What this means when you work with us

Here's what employee ownership looks like in practice:When we say we'll be honest with you about what you actually need—even if it means that you buy some off-the-shelf software rather than have us build a custom solution—we mean it. We don't have external investors pressuring us to hit arbitrary growth targets.When we commit to a project, we're in it for the outcome, not just the deliverable. Our incentive isn't to keep the engagement going indefinitely—it's to solve the problem so well that you come back when the next challenge arises.When we staff a project with senior practitioners who've been around the block, it's because we can. We don't have the same pressure to leverage junior resources to maximize margins. We have owners who care about doing excellent work.And when things get hard—because they always do on complex projects—you're working with people who have a personal stake in making it right.

Looking ahead

Employee ownership is more than a corporate structure—it's a fundamentally different way of doing business. In industries where relationships, expertise, and long-term thinking matter, the ESOP model aligns incentives in a way that traditional structures simply can't.At TXI, we're proud to be part of that movement. And we bring that ownership mindset to every engagement: treating your challenges like our own, staying invested in your success, and building solutions that are designed to last.If you're considering an ESOP transition or curious about how employee ownership could fit into your company's future, we'd love to share what we've learned. And if you're looking for a partner who thinks like an owner—because they are one—let's talk. Happy Employee Ownership Month from all of us at TXI. Here's to building better businesses—together.