ICA's MD gives half his company to dedicated staff

Staff dedication has been rewarded in a rare way by the MD of Australian materials handling specialist Industrial Conveying (Aust).

With no direct interest from family members to eventually assume control of the company, Industrial Conveying’s Managing Director, Don Erskine, had no hesitation in handing over half the assets to his loyal staff.

This extraordinary gift will have a positive impact on 120 families living in Bendigo, plus another 30 families associated with the company's engineering design office in Tullamarine, Melbourne.

Considering that many of the staff have been employed by the company for most of its 30-year existence, Erskine believes it was important to reward loyalty and to maintain the ongoing existence of an important Bendigo company.

“This company is in a regional area of Australia and if someone came in and bought out the entity tomorrow there would be no guarantee the jobs would stay in Bendigo," said Erskine. "As business leaders, we are duty bound to make sure that all regional centres of Australia continue to grow economically to provide the nation with decentralisation options.

"Also, if something happened to me without warning it is comforting to know that the company will be controlled and directed by the employees and it will be business as usual.”

Industrial Conveying specialises in the design and installation of materials handling systems and conveying solutions right across the industry spectrum. Its markets include mining, food processing and handling, industrial sorting, general manufacturing processes, parcel and letters sortation and third-party logistics systems.

The company turnover is measured in tens of millions of dollars every year and it enjoys an integral link with the general business supply chain in the Bendigo region. Its market, however, is national, plus it manages export markets in Europe and North America that represent about 15% of its business.

Shares will be distributed according to the length of time an individual has spent with the company. Basically, an average will be taken of the last three years' profit (by percentage) for anyone that is employed by the company and all earnings will be managed by a shareholder trust for employees.