NEW BUSINESS: BBL OWNED BY EMPLOYEES

BBL Building and Components Ltd. is now 100 percent employee-owned.

BBL, a company which specializes in three divisions of construction, including roof trusses and custom homes, was founded in 1975 at Biehle as Buchheit Buildings Ltd.

Four years later, the company moved to 754 SEMO Lane -- the southbound outer road along Interstate 55 -- near Perryville,

The goal of becoming an employee-owned company started in 1990. The company name became BBL Building and Components Ltd. in 1990, and employees worked with the ESOP (Embrace the Spirit of Opportunity).

BBL became an ESOP company in December, giving employees stock ownership and a voice in the company's organization and decision making.

Dale Schomel is the newly elected president.

"I want to be a sounding board for all employees and help guide us into the future," said Schomel.

Allen Morris is BBL's operations manager. "Our enormous growth is due greatly to the devotion and hard work of our employees," he said.

Along with post-frame buildings, BBL specializes in roof trusses and the construction of custom homes using engineered structural components.

"Our custom home division is becoming recognized as a leader in this type of construction," said Morris. "BBL is the only provider of these components between St. Louis and Memphis."

There are approximately 10,000 ESOPs in the U.S., with more than 10 million employee-owners, accounting for about 10 percent of the American work force. Many of the ESOPs are majority owned by employees, with only 500 are 100 percent employee-owned.