Torch Technologies Ranked on the NCEO’s 2023 Employee Ownership 100 List

Torch Technologies is pleased to announce that we have been added to the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) 2023 Employee Ownership 100 list. NCEO is a nonprofit research and membership organization supporting the employee ownership community since 1981.

The Employee Ownership 100 list includes the largest broad-based employee-owned companies in the US that the NCEO could verify using governmental or other credible third-party sources. Most are ESOP-owned, and one is a cooperative. To be on the list, companies must be at least 50% employee-owned; most on the list are 100%. Collectively, these broad-based plans employ close to 685,000 people.

Employee ownership generally and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) more specifically have a long history of showing tangible benefits to both companies and employees while creating a viable model for business succession. In 2019, total contributions to ESOP accounts were $89 billion (or an average of $6,420 in contributions per participant). The average ESOP account balance is more than double the average 401(k) account balance at a closely matched non-ESOP company offering only a 401(k) plan; in addition, a large majority of ESOP companies offer a 401(k) plan alongside the ESOP, further amplifying the benefits.