Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
All Content > Group or Company Profile > Heartland

Title of entry: 
Wojo’s Greenhouse Employees Go All in With Stock Ownership Plan

Issue or Publication date:
February 2025

Publication name: 
Greenhouse Grower

View Website home page:
https://www.greenhousegrower.com/

Entry URLs

Entry Files

Please note: The links below are the same links as clicking on the Preview images at the top of this column. You may click the links below to view each entry file.

View/download entry file #1

Entry Essay: 
The last couple of years have seen many family-run floriculture businesses being challenged with what to do when the owner begins making plans to retire, even though there’s no one in the family to take over the business. Wojo’s Greenhouse in Ortonville, MI, recently faced this dilemma. The operation, which began its journey in 1983 with a modest roadside stand, has grown into more than 275,000 square feet of greenhouse space, offering a diverse array of homegrown plants, including annuals, perennials, trees, and vegetables. However, rather than close up shop, Wojo’s went in a different direction: it transitioned into an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). This story, the cover story of our February issue, outlines why they made this decision, what they learned along the way, and how it’s succeeded in ensuring employees are vested in the future of the company. Note: we also published a companion piece in the same issue, written by a company that consulted with Wojo’s on the move, that outlines why, with the right planning, an ESOP could be the solution for other companies.