[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 4, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5033-S5034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CONGRATULATING CARRIS REELS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate Carris Reels 
of Rutland, VT, for receiving the 2008 ESOP Association's ``Company of 
the Year'' award.
  Founded in 1951 by Henry Carris, and bought by his son, Bill Carris, 
in 1980, Carris Reels sells a full line of manufactured reel products 
for a wide variety of industries. Today, Carris Reels has about 550 
employee owners and

[[Page S5034]]

eight locations nationwide. The company became 100-percent employee 
owned in January 2008.
  One of the unique characteristics of Carris Reels is the company's 
steering committee, which goes beyond the basic functions of most ESOP 
committees and takes responsibility for allocations of benefits, 
quality of work-life issues, communications, training, and governance. 
Made up of both management and corporate employees, the Committee keeps 
alive the vision of former owner Bill Carris who moved the company 
toward employee ownership in 1995. Bill has said that organizations 
consist of three dimensions: spiritual, emotional, and physical. The 
strong business his family built and the employees now own is proof 
positive that these dimensions will remain a legacy at Carris Reels.
  Carris Reels also is a strong supporter of the Vermont Employee 
Ownership Center, VEOC, a statewide nonprofit organization founded in 
2001 to provide information and resources to owners interested in 
selling their business to their employees, employee groups interested 
in purchasing a business, and entrepreneurs who wish to start up a 
company with broadly shared ownership. To date, the VEOC has given 
direct assistance to over 60 Vermont businesses, employing over 1,700 
Vermonters. I applaud the VEOC for holding its Sixth Annual Employee 
Ownership Conference in Burlington later this week.
  Once again, I congratulate all of the employees at Carris Reels for 
this well-deserved recognition. They make great reels; they do business 
well; and they treat their employees right--all of these 
accomplishments, I believe, are related.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of an article 
about the award from the June 2, 2008, Rutland Herald be printed in the 
Record so that all Senators can read about the success and admirable 
business practices of this visionary Vermont company.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the Rutland Herald, June 2, 2008]

               Carris Reels Wins `Company of Year' Award

                           (By Bruce Edwards)

       Carris Reels will occupy a special place at this week's 
     sixth annual Vermont Employee Ownership Conference in 
     Burlington.
       The Rutland-based company was recently presented with the 
     national 2008 ESOP Company of the Year award by the ESOP 
     Association--the national trade association for companies 
     with employee stock ownership plans.
       ``Carris Reels is an example of the value and potential 
     that employee ownership can bring to (a) company,'' J. 
     Michael Keeling, president of The ESOP Association, said in a 
     statement. ``The employee owners of Carris Reels strive to 
     make their company stronger each day and it shows in the work 
     they do and in the value they place on the individuals who 
     make up their company.''
       Founded in 1951 by Henry Carris, the company manufactures a 
     line of reels for the wire, cable and rope industries. The 
     100-percent employee-owned company has 550 workers at eight 
     locations around the country.
       According to Don Jamison of the Vermont Employee Ownership 
     Center, the state has the highest number of employee-owned 
     companies per capita in the country. Jamison said there are 
     approximately 10,000 ESOPs in the country, with 30 such 
     companies in Vermont and another 10 companies that are 
     workers co-operatives.
       Jamison said one important benefit of an employee-owned 
     company is that it ensures the company stays local. ``If an 
     owner is exiting (selling) and is concerned about his or her 
     employees, it can ensure that the company will continue as it 
     has been, provided there is a new group of managers to take 
     over responsibilities.''
       He said employee-owned companies also give a direct stake 
     to employees who reap the profits when the company performs 
     well. ``With a combination of participation and ownership, 
     you see a pretty significant boost in productivity gains,'' 
     Jamison said.
       He also said there are tax advantages for an owner who 
     sells their company to employees with the potential of 
     getting a rollover in the capital gains tax.
       As an example of the productivity gains that are realized 
     with an ESOP, Jamison said two recent winners of the Deane C. 
     Davis Outstanding Vermont Business Award, Resource Systems 
     Group and King Arthur Flour Co., are both majority-owned by 
     their employees.
       Jamison said while setting up an ESOP is a complex process, 
     it can be well worth the effort in the long run for the 
     company, its employees and the owner,
       One of the conference's workshops this week is based on a 
     Carris Reels initiative called ``Inclusive Decision-Making.''
       ``They're really trying very hard to make their company 100 
     percent employee governed,'' Jamison said.
       According to the national ESOP Association, a unique 
     component of Carris Reels is its steering committee which 
     goes beyond most ESOP committees and assumes decision-making 
     for a number of functions including: allocation of benefits, 
     quality of work-life issues, communications, training and 
     governance. The committee meets twice a year to review 
     financial information and receives operational updates from 
     the various departments.
       The Carris committee is made up of management and employees 
     who serve three-year terms. In addition, the ESOP Association 
     points out that the committee keeps alive the vision of Bill 
     Carris, the son of founder Henry Carris, who moved the 
     company toward employee ownership in 1995. Bill Carris' long-
     term plan is that ``organizations consist of three 
     dimensions: spiritual, emotional, and physical.''
       The keynote speaker at the Vermont conference at Champlain 
     College is Veda Clark, CEO of Lite Control, an ESOP-owned 
     company in Massachusetts that is known for its employee 
     participation programs.
       The conference agenda also includes the following 
     workshops:
       Social responsibility and the employee-ownership movement, 
     How to successfully lead an employee-owned company, Balancing 
     short- and long-term rewards in companies with an ESOP, How 
     to leverage employee ownership as a marketing tool, 
     Structuring an employee-owned company for inclusive decision-
     making, The differences between ESOPs and worker co-
     operatives and which is best suited for their company, The 
     basics of financing an ESOP; and the keys to business 
     valuation, How to manage an established ESOP, Coping with 
     growth in worker cooperatives, Long-term ESOP sustainability; 
     and renewing the spirit of employee ownership.
       For more information, visit www.veoc.org; e-mail 
     [email protected]; or call 861-6611.

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