BELLEVUE (WTAQ-WLUK)- From employees that have been working at KI for two years like Betsy Bianchi.
“Now, that it’s 100 percent it brings that to the next level,” she explained.
To employees with three-decades under their belts, like Mike Hogan.
“I’ve been going around shaking people’s hands saying this is really a big deal,” he told FOX 11.
KI’s more than 1,500 U.S. employees’ can now call themselves owners.
CEO Dick Resch made the announcement earlier this week, “It’s about time for me to step down. I’ve had a good run; it’s been a very successful company.”
Resch says making the business employee-owned was a way to ensure it remains in the area,“That provides stability for the company, the fact that KI will remain a Green Bay company which is important to me.”
He says the plan to transition into an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, has been in the works since August.
Resch says the deal, which was paid for with the help of five separate banks, was finalized Friday, “It was also a big effort to get it done, we’ve been working on it about seven to eight months.”
When asked if he’ll be giving up the corner office, Resch explained, “When’s the last day in the office? I don’t know 4 to 5 years out. But I’ll still keep a pulse of the company.”
And the new owners say they’re excited for what the future holds.
“KI isn’t going anywhere, that’s a comfort to know,” said Bianchi.
“I’m an owner, I’m an owner, you know kind of like the Packers,” said Hogan.
Most of KI’s employees are based in the U.S., with 700 employed in the Green Bay area.
