BALTIMORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H), an investment fund that finances the conversion of companies with substantial low-income workforces and workers of color into 100% employee-owned businesses, today announced it has converted underground utility construction firm Consolidated Construction Services (CCS) into a 100% employee-owned enterprise, creating shared ownership for over 65 employees. A&H will stay on the Board and provide strategic guidance and ownership training to the workers and management, helping the company and the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) evolve into a self-governing enterprise poised for long-term resilience and success.
Based in Reisterstown, Maryland, CCS employs a diverse workforce to deliver utility-scale sewer, water line, storm drain, and electrical conduit installation for private and municipal customers. It was founded 37 years ago by Steve James and Cathy Kozoidek-James, who have grown their small company into a Baltimore metro powerhouse.
“Our success has been seeded in our belief that the employees have always been the company’s most valuable asset. Through their sweat equity, dedication and loyalty, CCS has survived and thrived for nearly four decades,” said Steve. “We deliberated for a number of years on what the future would look like for CCS. We determined we did not want to hand off this great business to some private group or competitor who would change the culture of what we have created over the years. The succession plan had to be what was best for our employees and our customers. A&H’s employee-led buyout model made it easy to do the right thing and turn the company over to our employees.”
The ethos of CCS, honed by Steve and Cathy, has always been focused on quality and transparency. CCS believes in “bid once and deliver a quality job promptly.” This philosophy has assured CCS a growing book of business, repeat customers while remaining profitable. The management team has also made it a priority to ensure CCS is a great place to work, and that is why the average tenure per employee is over 10 years.
Among other projects, CCS is active in building out Tradepoint Atlantic, a major strategic initiative of the State of Maryland, where it employs superb union workers from the International Union of Operating Engineers, Locals No. 37 and 37R, AFL-CIO. Regarded as a pivotal hub for ocean cargo and railroad trade, Tradepoint Atlantic is recognized as one of the most strategically significant intermodal global logistics hubs in the region. The site spans 3,300 acres and hosts significant facilities, including distribution centers for major companies and acting as a depot for global automotive leaders shipping vehicles into the United States. But CCS is also involved in smaller scale projects, including new residential developments, malls, gas stations and the like. CCS is committed to supporting and improving community welfare and local economic development in addition to building out major infrastructure throughout the region.
“A&H is proud to have made our first investment in the DMV region,” said Todd Leverette, co-founder and Managing Partner of A&H Capital. “We were also delighted to work with David Macdonald at Woodforest National Bank (WNB) who provided senior credit facilities – WNB is an innovator in the financial field, and are themselves an ESOP. This is the second ELBO they have financed with us. We are very excited about the prospects for CCS and hopefully helping them expand into adjacent markets.”
“We believe CCS is poised for substantial growth, and we’re thrilled to help their loyal and hardworking employees claim their share of the immense value they create,” said Jason Ollison, A&H Partner and new CCS board member. “Governor Moore and his Administration like to say that Maryland is focused on ‘workers, wages and wealth’ for Maryland’s families. This transaction will help a great Maryland company stay local and thriving, and also assure that the profits of that business stay in Maryland workers’ pockets. We look forward to propelling broad-based ownership for working folks here in Maryland in the years ahead.”
About Apis & Heritage
Apis & Heritage Capital uses a novel “employee-led buyout” (ELBO©) structure to provide workers in essential industries with the most powerful wealth building tool in the nation: ownership shares in a thriving business. A&H finances the acquisition of great companies from retiring owners/founders and converts them into 100% employee-owned enterprises. Because A&H is dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap, it searches for companies that have large workforces of color, and low- and moderate-income workers generally, so that the benefits of ownership will be broadly realized. A&H’s ELBO© structure utilizes an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) model for employee ownership, which has over 50 years of bipartisan political and regulatory support.
Contacts
Media:
Natalie Shutts
nshutts@theblissgrp.com
646-586-8952
