Dynamic Tool & Design Inc's owners are not ready to retire, but they have converted the business to be an employee-owned company that will continue once they decide to retire.
The owners changed the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based company to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan as of April 1 and have a management team in place to take over.
“We've looked at succession plans for years and this looked to be a good method,” said Irv Fischer, vice president and co-owner, in an April 21 telephone interview.
“We put together a strong management team and we're confident that we'll be able to do this and that a couple of people will step up,” he said.
There are about 11,500 ESOPs in the United States, according to the ESOP Association, a Washington-based nonprofit advocate group. An ESOP is a trust set up for employees under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act.
Fischer, 68, and President John Lau, 65, started Dynamic in 1976. They financed it by working second jobs for the first eight months or so. Now, they are looking for a smooth transition.
“My partner and I will be here two or three more years so it gives everybody a chance to step into new roles,” said Fischer, who noted that the company has a seven-person management team. He said that a succession plan will be announced at a later date.
The company has 70 employees in a 36,000-square-foot facility. Fischer touted the company's experienced workforce and low turnover: Two employees recently celebrated their 30th anniversary, while many others have 10-25 years of experience.
“Last year was our best year in history. This year there's been a little lull, but it looks like another strong year,” Fischer said. He said the company has invested $1 million annually over the past three years in new equipment.
Dynamic does a lot of work for the packaging and medical sectors, including molds for caps and closures.
Fischer said Dynamic works with its customers during the design and development phases, then builds molds and tests them on its own injection molding presses.
“At the last NPE, we didn't go in to sell molds, but now it is to sell services and the molds come with it,” he said.
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