Thank You Gifts

J C Huizenga

Just recently, owner J C Huizenga, and his company HUIZENGA GROUP, sold JR AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES to New York equity firm, CRESTVIEW PARTNERS. Since Huizenga Group had purchased the company in 1995, it had grown from 100 employees to 500 and from an annual revenue of $14 million to $170 million. The time had come for the company to move to its next phase of development. The deal also included its sister company, Dane Corporation. The company designs and makes machinery for several different industries. Those are the facts of this transaction.

But what happened between Mr. Huizenga and his employees at these two companies represented an appreciation for the hard work and innovation that went into the companies' growth. You see, Mr. Huizenga shared the profits with his workers, almost $6 million in total.



Why? J C stated, "I'm a son of a garbage man, so I can appreciate people for what they contribute... It was very appropriate, when we sold the company, that the employees should participate in the wealth we created." Individual bonuses generally ranged from $500 to $10,000, with some bonuses of over $50,000, based on how long the employee had worked for the company and their contribution to the company's success. Buyer Curt Bosch, who works for JR Automation, said, "The identity of the company is to give, and he encourages us to do that in the latter, to take what we've been given and pass it on."

The buyers, fortunately, wanted to keep all of the employees. They were a bit concerned that if the bonuses were too high, no one would show up to work the next day. But no worries there. As controller Tim Karsten added, "Our turnover here is incredibly low, you know, and nobody wants to leave." Such gratitude and rewards for work well done is win-win for everyone involved. You see, such recognition actually does promote higher productivity and a great degree of job satisfaction. J C Huizenga puts it aptly, "I would recommend it to anybody. It's great to be a giver."

Employees collecting pennies for a fund drive.

Thanks to this article from CBS This Morning: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/huizenga-group-chair-gives-nearly-6-million-michigan-employees/; and this article from mlive: http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2015/03/jc_huizenga_sells_off_award-wi.html.

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