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40 | I NSIGH T • D e c e m b e r 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m I N S I G H T O N CONSTRUCTION B y M a r g a r e t L e B r u n S ince the announcement e Boldt Company is transferring its ownership from the Boldt family to its employees, one cannot help but ask Oscar C. Boldt, chairman, if at age 91 he might retire. "What would I do?" he asks, in his characteristic dry wit. He's sticking around, of course. So too, will Chief Executive Officer Tom Boldt and President and Chief Operating Officer Bob DeKoch. "e three of us are here to stay for a while, and we're committed to see this next phase through," DeKoch says during an interview with Oscar at Boldt's Appleton headquarters, along with Tom calling in from the road. "e organizational changes we're about to set up are to add responsibility to existing executives to prepare them for future leadership as this company continues to grow." e Boldt Company has been family owned since it was founded 126 years ago. In a move long planned by the Boldts — but something of a surprise to employees — company leaders announced mid-October they are transferring ownership to their employees. e Boldt Co. is creating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and equivalent management plan (MSOP) starting in 2016 that will eventually put 70 percent of company ownership in the hands of 450 salaried employees and 12 executives. An ESOP holds company stock for employees as a retirement plan. In the plan, ownership of the company will be divided over a period of years into a 30 percent share for the family, 45 percent share for employees and 25 percent share for management. Given the financial strength of the construction services company, the plan is solid, says Oscar Boldt. e Boldt Company is growing at a compounded annual rate of 10 to 15 percent and is expected to reach $1 billion in annual revenues by next year. "We have no internal debt at this point, nothing borrowed from the bank, so this is a wonderful time to make this animal fly," Oscar Boldt says. Aer employees had a few weeks for the news to sink in and to understand what an ESOP means for them, many were pleased. "It puts skin in the game," says Lauren Hintz, assistant risk manager at Boldt. "Each thing you do and succeed in, you know it's helping the company." At age 28, she feels fortunate that she will have time to prepare for her financial future. "It speaks volumes for the generosity of Boldt; it adds to Boldt's story and speaks to how caring the Boldt family is," she adds. "I think it's exciting, it could be a really good thing," says Chris Waldron, project manager for Boldt. "I don't anticipate the culture of the company changing at all because we'll still have the Boldt leadership, which is a good thing. is gives us the opportunity to capitalize on the success of the company a little more directly than in the past." Other options for succession were considered, but none seemed to fit the Boldt culture as strong as employee ownership, Tom Boldt says. With his own two children still teenagers, it would be years before the fih generation would be ready to become involved if they wanted to. Selling the company was an option but not one they seriously entertained. "On a very regular basis we were approached by individuals representing different entities asking if we were, in fact, for sale," Tom says. "At times it got very distracting. We just rejected that out of hand. at wasn't something New owners for Boldt Construction company announces ESOP plan P H O T O B Y S H A N E V A N B O X T E L , I M A G E S T U D I O S Oscar C. Boldt, chairman, The Boldt Co.