King Arthur Flour Company:
Mixing Tradition with New Inventions
Steve Voigt, President & CEO
Sarah McGinley-Smith, Employee-Owner
Moderator: Diane Stoneman, Dir. of Consulting and
Training, Winning Workplaces
Start Time: 10 am CT
Audio: Dial toll free: 866-740-1260 Access Code: 3289796
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Winning Workplaces
• Founded in 2001 by co-owners of Fel-Pro
Auto Gaskets
• Committed to small enterprises building
healthy, productive work cultures
• Triple bottom line: Business, People,
Community.
Winning Workplaces
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conference Oct. 1& 2 in
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Jump Associates
King Arthur Flour Company
Landscape Forms
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Resource Interactive
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The Redwoods Group
2008 Winners at a Glance
• Steady rate of growth, 2005-2007 = 23%.
• Revenues range= $8-$107 mil.; average $36 million.
• Employees ranges from 48 to 477; average 154.
• Average tenure= 6 years; average turnover rate 13%.
• Stable leadership: avg. CEO tenure = 17 years.
• Long term business: average 42 years.
• 10 out of 14 firms= employees share in ownership.
Our Agenda Today
• King Arthur Flour History
• Evolution Over Time- Two Perspectives
• Lessons Learned
• Audience Questions
Meet our Presenters
Steve Voigt
President & CEO
Sarah McGinley-Smith
Employee-Owner
King Arthur Flour History
1790: Henry Wood began importing flour to Long Wharf in Boston
1896: Owners gave product a new brand name: King Arthur Flour
1984: Then-owner Frank Sands moved company to Norwich, Vermont
1990: Mail order catalogue established
1992: Baker’s Store opened
1995: King Arthur Flour’s new headquarters, Camelot, was built.
1996: Frank Sands decides to sell his company to his employees
2004: King Arthur Flour becomes 100% employee-owned
2007+2008+2009: Ranked in top 5 for best places to work in Vermont
Snapshot of Growth
1990
Employees:
3
Products offered: 142
Annual catalogues: 125,000
Annual emails:
0
Facilities (sq. ft):
4000
2008
160
1500
5,800,000
25,000,000
62,000
King Arthur Flour Today
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170 employee owners
$73 million in sales
Flour: grocery, Bakery Food Service
Direct: web, catalogue, retail store
Education: Baking Education Ctr,
LifeSkills, Traveling Baking
Demonstrations
Company Transformation
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Challenges
Culture
Leadership during change
What went right
Employee Involvement
at time of transition
• Employees already acting like
owners- now actually owners
• Stock price decrease
• Ownership vs. operational
involvement
• Maintaining culture after original
owners phase out
Employee Involvement Today= Teams
• Safety
• ESOP
• Stewardship
Employee Involvement Today=
Brown Bag Lunches
Employee Involvement Today=
Owner Meetings
Employee Involvement Today=
Intranet/Tablespoon/Wiki
Employee Involvement Today=
Brain food Classes
Ingredients for Success
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Involvement (the Round Table)
Quality
Fun and Celebration
Pride
• Open Book
Lessons Learned
– Succession is tricky (it was in the
days of kings as well)
– Developing leaders from within to
match pace of new opportunities
– Communication even more critical
ROI Impact of Transformation
Questions or Feedback?
Steve Voigt
President & CEO
Sarah McGinley-Smith
Employee-Owner
Upcoming Webinar
Engaging Fresh Young Talent in the Workplace
Featuring:
Dave Schmitz, General Mgr, The Steppenwolf Theatre,
Tom Walter, CEO, Tasty Catering, Elk Grove Village, IL
October 20, 2009 @ 10:00 a.m. CST
Thank you for joining us.
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