Henny Penny at a glance
What: Designs and manufactures commercial grade foodservice cooking, holding and display equipment for restaurants, supermarkets and institutions around the world.
Founded: 1957
Headquarters: Eaton, Preble County
Employees: About 600 in Eaton
Preble County’s largest employer will remain a privately held company headquartered in Eaton now that Henny Penny’s employees are owners of the food-service equipment manufacturer.
Henny Penny announced Thursday at a meeting with more than 600 workers that the company had become employee-owned through the sale of its stock to a newly formed employee stock ownership plan.
The transaction, effective Dec. 30, 2014, includes Henny Penny and Wood Stone, previously owned by the Cobb family. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This gives us an opportunity to remain privately held, remain headquartered in Eaton, and continue the success that we’ve been able to enjoy,” said Steve Cobb, the company’s chairman.
Henny Penny workers were transported by 10 buses to the meeting at Eaton High School and not made aware in advance about the meeting’s contents. They were “very excited with the news,” Cobb said.
The National Center for Employee Ownership estimates there are about 7,000 employee stock ownership plans covering about 13.5 million employees. About two-thirds of ESOPs are used to provide a market for the shares of a departing owner of a profitable, privately held company.
Employees leaving the meeting declined comment. Each employee left with a silver box that contained a commemorative gift and information about what it means to be part of an employee-owned company.
Henny Penny designs and produces commercial grade cooking, holding and display equipment for clients that include KFC, McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A and Chicken Licken restaurants. The company employs about 600 workers at its world headquarters in Eaton, where it was founded in 1957.
Henny Penny also has facilities in Paris, France and Suzhou, China.
In January 2014, Henny Penny acquired Wood Stone Corp., a global manufacturer of stone hearth cooking equipment headquartered in Bellingham, Wash. Wood Stone’s customers include California Pizza Kitchen, Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Wolfgang Puck restaurants.
Officials said there will be no changes in leadership or operations for either Henny Penny or Wood Stone.
Rob Connelly, who in October was named Henny Penny president and chief executive, will continue in that position, as will all current members of the company’s senior leadership.
Kurt Eickmeyer, Wood Stone president, also will continue in his role, along with current members of that company’s senior leadership.
In September, Henny Penny announced a $7.5 million expansion to its Eaton headquarters. The expansion will add 44,000 square feet of new office and manufacturing space to its 450,000-square-foot facility.
Cobb said the stock transaction closed Dec. 30, but the company was able to keep the news quiet for 10 days in order to announce it face-to-face to employees.
“It was a big surprise to them and it’s all good news for our customers, for the community and for the employees,” he said.
Employees learned about the meeting Wednesday, which led to speculation that it might involve layoffs, leadership retirements, a company acquisition or Henny Penny being part of the popular reality television series “Undercover Boss.”
“Actually, no one guessed this news, so it was a wonderful experience, a wonderful day for us,” Cobb said.
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