EMPLOYEE OWNED - EMPLOYEE BUILT

With the new century arriving, the two brothers contemplated how to plan their upcoming retirement and still have the company continue and prosper. The method they decided upon is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). This plan would allow the company to continue to operate with the same management team in place and utilize the strong reputation of the company the employees had all been a large part in creating. An IRS approved plan was implemented in the fall of 2002 and since then ownership of the company has been incrementally transferred to an ESOP Trust, which then annually allocates shares of stock to qualified employees with in the company. When the final payment is made to Bill and Jim Oftedal in December of 2009, the company will be 100% employee owned.

This is a very exciting time for the company as all our employees are realizing the value of the ESOP, and how it relates directly to the performance of the company and ultimately to their personal financial well being.