Associate-owner shareholders of the Jasper Holdings Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), including employees of the Jasper Engines facility in Willow Springs, were recently presented with what company officials have declared “outstanding news.”
Jasper Holdings Chairman/CEO Doug Bawel announced a new all-time record price of $1,123.90 per share based on the company’s performance and market conditions. This exceeds 2022’s record-breaking value of $873.48 by just over $250 per share, despite continued turbulence attributed to inflation, and increased interest rates, he pointed out.
“On average, our associate-owners added an additional 19.7% of their 2023 compensation into their ESOP accounts through new share allocations and forfeitures. This does not include the increase in their existing account balance of 28.7%,” Bawel said. “Our ESOP has truly been a game-changer for our associate-owners in their retirement strategy.
“Today we have a total of 3,332 active associate-shareholders and have distributed over $609 million of stock in the past 15 years,” Bawel added. Of all associate-owners, 1,735 or 52% have greater than $50,000 in stock, and 1,236, or 37%, have greater than $100,000 in stock, he noted, pointing out, “This is in addition to our matching 401K retirement plan, which has over $315 million invested in a fully-funded trust fund with a match of $6.9 million in 2023, another all-time record.”
The company’s current market capitalization exceeds $1.6 billion, a $361 million growth over 2022, he said.
“In just 15 years we have grown to be the 33rd largest ESOP in America,” Bawel commented. “Our Jasper family has been truly blessed by great customers who have been very patient through these material and labor shortages.”
Attributing the company’s success to employees and their commitment to “do it right in these challenging times,” Bawel concluded, “We have been blessed with great associate-owners who have continued to stay focused on what is in our control, a never-ending commitment to improvements in safety, quality, productivity, customer service and reduction of waste. We are extremely thankful and humbled with our success.”
