With the goal of improving corporate culture, President and CEO of HB McClure Bob Whalen chose a path that was unexpected by his board and sold the company to his employees using an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 2010. According to a recent article in Forbes, the board agreed but “thought [Whalen] was crazy.”
The ESOP at HB McClure, a heating, ventilation and air conditioning firm based in Harrisburg, PA, proved to be a resounding success, and you can read more about the increases in sales, employee head count and stock price in the Forbes piece. Principals at SES ESOP Strategies have been fortunate to work with HB McClure and its senior leadership team on several ESOP-related acquisition transactions over the years, and these transactions have helped fuel the growth of HB McClure and its affiliated entities. You can learn more about HB McClure and its affiliated companies by visiting http://hb-global.com/.