20 Years of Employee Ownership: Celebrating the People Who Make FBG What It Is

This October, FBG Facility Services is celebrating 20 years of something that has shaped who we are as a company: 100% employee ownership.

For FBG, employee ownership is more than a benefit or a line in our company history. It is a part of our culture. It means that thousands of employee owners, past and present, have had a stake in the success they help create every day.

As we celebrate this milestone, we’re celebrating the people behind the work, the customers we serve, the communities we support and the legacy we continue to build together.

A Legacy of Ownership

FBG’s commitment to employee ownership began long before we became 100% employee-owned.

In 1992, FBG founder Wayne Simmonds introduced employee ownership to the company. That decision planted the seeds for a culture built around giving employees a greater connection to the company and its success.

Nearly four decades later, FBG became 100% employee owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP.

This year marks 20 years since that milestone.

Twenty years of employee ownership represents countless hours of hard work, thousands of customer relationships, new ideas, challenges overcome and successes shared by employee owners across FBG.

What Does Employee Ownership Mean?

At FBG, employee ownership means having a personal stake in the company we help build.

Our ESOP provides eligible employees with an opportunity to earn company stock at no cost to them. FBG fully funds the ESOP contributions, meaning employees do not have to purchase their ownership.

Eligible employees can participate after meeting the plan’s requirements, and as they become vested, their ownership in FBG becomes an important part of their future.

But ownership at FBG is about more than an ESOP account. It’s a mindset.

Being an employee owner means taking pride in your work because you know your work matters. It means caring for the equipment you use, looking for ways to better serve a customer, helping a teammate and taking responsibility for the role you play in the bigger picture.

When everyone takes ownership of what they do, the entire company benefits.

The Power of Employee Owners

Every day, FBG employee owners are making a difference in ways big and small.

They are the Cleaning Specialists making sure a facility is clean, safe and ready for the people who use it. They are the supervisors supporting their teams and helping employees grow. They are the operations managers working with customers to solve problems. They are the people behind the scenes keeping operations moving forward.

Across our districts and the many communities we serve, our employee owners bring their skills, experience and commitment to their work.

That collective effort is what makes FBG what it is today.

Employee ownership gives us a shared reason to care about the success of our company and one another.

20 Years of Shared Success

Over the past 20 years, FBG has continued to grow while maintaining the values that have been part of our company for generations.

Today, FBG has more than 1,300 employees and operates across the nation. But no matter how much we grow, our success still comes down to the people who show up every day and do the work.

That is what makes 20 years of 100% employee ownership such an important milestone.

It isn’t simply a celebration of a date in our history. It’s a celebration of the people who are weaved into our success – past, present and future.

People who have joined FBG and become employee owners. People who have spent decades building their careers here. People who have trained the next generation. People who have retired after years of service. And the employee owners who are continuing to shape FBG’s future today.

Looking Ahead

As we celebrate 20 years of being 100% employee-owned, we’re also looking toward the future.

Our ownership culture challenges each of us to think beyond our individual roles and consider how our actions contribute to the success of the entire organization.

What can we do better?
How can we better serve our customers?
How can we support our fellow employee owners?
What kind of company do we want to leave for the next generation?

Those questions are at the heart of employee ownership.

The next 20 years will be shaped by the people who are part of FBG today and those who will join us in the years ahead.

Celebrating Our Employee Owners

Throughout October, FBG will celebrate Employee Ownership Month with gifts, trivia and other celebrations across our districts.

And while October gives us a special opportunity to recognize employee ownership, the spirit of ownership is something we carry with us every day.

Here’s to the past 20 years, the employee owners who helped build our story and the future we will continue building together.

Happy 20th Anniversary of 100% Employee Ownership, FBG!