Van Meter Industrial named 2011 ESOP Company of the Year

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Van Meter Industrial, an employee-owned company based in Cedar Rapids, has been named 2011 ESOP Company of the Year by The ESOP Association, a Washington, D.C., trade organization.

Founded in 1928 by R.L. Van Meter and R.W. (Pete) Lemley, Van Meter Industrial is owned by its more than 350 employees through an employee stock ownership plan. When most businesses were failing during the Great Depression, the Cedar Rapids area's first electrical distributor thrived. The company's success has been attributed to the belief that owners, employees, and customers should be treated as family.

Van Meter Industrial, 850 32nd Ave. SW, competed against 17 of The ESOP Association's Company of the Year Chapter winners.

Van Meter Industrial representatives received national recognition at The ESOP Association 34th annual conference in Washington, D.C.