While employee ownership is available in several modes (such as ESOP), Tallgrass offers the EOT model.
Family-owned Taylor Guitars announced in 2021 the transition to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In business since 1974, and with 1,200 employees, Taylor Guitars is now 100% employee owned.
Background
Headquartered in El Cajon, California, Taylor Guitars was founded in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug. The two first met while working at a hippie guitar shop in San Diego called the American Dream and partnered to buy the business when owner Sam Radding announced he was selling the shop. Though young when they started (Bob was 19, Kurt was 21), their shared passion for guitar making, along with their gritty resolve to make a living doing what they loved, nurtured the company’s gradual transformation from a struggling shop into the leading global manufacturer of premium acoustic guitars.
By 2012, Taylor Guitars had more than 700 employees in two factories in El Cajon, California and in Tecate, Mexico and opened a distribution centre in the Netherlands to serve the European market. In 2014 the company was honored by the U.S. State Department with an Award for Corporate Excellence related to sustainable practices in use of ebony and timber.
Transition to Employee Ownership
In 2019, master guitar designer Andy Powers became a third partner. But when it was time for Taylor and Listug to think of the future of the company and plan for who would succeed them, they turned to an employee ownership model with Powers as CEO.
The new Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) would support the continuity of Taylor’s established leadership, enable the company to remain independent, and preserve its creative culture over the long-term.
At the official announcement of the transition to employees, Kurt Listug explained that every successful company faces the challenge of looking beyond its founders.
“Who will be the best people to guide it forward into the future?” Listug said. “Who will keep our company true to our values and maintain the culture we love? While Bob and I still have many good years left to dedicate to the company, we wanted to make sure we put the company in the best possible position for future success, to give it the best chance to be around for the next 100 or maybe even 200 years.”
Powers, who remained as CEO commented, “My commitment is to spend my working lifetime doing this amazing guitar thing that we love so much. What we do and who we are is unique among the entire history of the instrument world. We have something special here, and together we have an opportunity to keep moving that forward for everyone’s benefit — including musicians around the world.”
“We are thrilled that we get to share this with you all, and that we get to continue to work together just like we’ve been doing,” Taylor said. “I know you will have a new sense of purpose here because ownership is a wonderful thing.”
Today, Taylor employs over 1,200 people and produces hundreds of guitars per day exclusively in two factories. The company maintains an active dealer network, with Taylor guitars sold through hundreds of retail locations in North America and with international distribution to 60 countries — it all adds to delivery on its brand promise, “the best guitar we make is the one we make tomorrow.”
Today, Taylor employs over 1,200 people and produces hundreds of guitars per day exclusively in two factories.
