Business View Magazine Feb 2023

152 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 % d F Founded in 2000 by Davis Lee, AlaTrade Foods is a poultry service supplier with plants in Albertville, Phenix, and Boaz, Alabama. In 2020 furthering his commitment to upholding a company culture that puts employees and customers first, Lee created an Employee-Owned Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), selling 100% of the company and making it so that the employees of AlaTrade Foods are also the owners. As the largest ESOP in the state of Alabama, CFO Andrea Elrod shares,“It was a win-win. Our owner was looking for an exit strategy, and it turned out that the ESOP was the best way for him to exit financially and personally, with some satisfaction for the legacy that he built would continue. It’s good for the company also because of the tax advantages that come with an ESOP and also the employee- owner mentality of giving people the opportunity to pour their hearts and souls into their company to create wealth and invest in their futures.” Aside from the tax advantages, she notes that the company has benefited from a decrease in employee turnover, saying,“It just brings a feeling of teamwork and unity to a company that it would be difficult to do without the employee ownership.” As for how the ESOP works at AlaTrade Foods, Elrod explains that employees who have been with the company for more than a year receive shares, which are weighted based on their total wages.“At that point, it becomes a federal retirement program, and PUTTINGEMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS FIRST PROPELS ALA TRADE FOODS INTO A LEADINGPOSITION IN THE POULTRY BUSINESS BEST PRACTICES & INDUSTRY LEADERS INESOPS & EMPLOYEEOWNED COMPANIES