What is an Employee-Owned Company and Why Does it Matter?

Showplace is a 100% employee-owned company. What does that mean and why does it matter? Let’s take a deeper look at what it’s like to be an employee-owner and why that benefits you when you purchase Showplace cabinets.

First, the history… Since its beginnings in 1999, Showplace Wood Products (now doing business as “Showplace Cabinetry”) has been one of the fastest growing cabinetry brands in America. From the start, this success has been grounded in Showplace people: A team of hardworking, results-oriented workers, managers and directors who care about what they do. In a world of seemingly endless choices, their creativity and hard work has made Showplace the brand of choice for 1000+ dealers and thousands of customers around the country.

In the time of constant mergers and acquisitions by distant holding companies, the founding shareholders of Showplace chose a different path. They were determined to perpetuate Showplace in a way that protects its employees and dealers from a large corporate entity that doesn’t share their vision. The founding team also sought to reward Showplace employees for their personal contributions to its ongoing success.

As a result, Showplace now exists as a 100% employee-owned company through the creation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The move to an ESOP ensures the stability of Showplace into the future, while keeping the current board of directors, management, and day-to-day control unchanged.

What’s it Like to Be an Employee Owner?

Employees take ownership in decisions that affect their daily jobs and are involved in evaluating and improving those processes to ensure that we are as efficient as possible.

We hear from visitors that tour our facilities that, “Everyone’s always smiling. They must really like their jobs.” Yes, it’s true! We love what we do! And, knowing that Showplace truly cares about all employees and their futures is part of the many reasons why we smile from ear to ear.

How Do You Benefit?

Purchasing products from an employee-owned company means that you are supporting the present AND the future of our employees. But, that’s not all. Here are more benefits of buying cabinetry from employee-owned Showplace!

Cutting Department Employee

Made with Pride

Our employees own 100% of the company, so we care about the success of our company and take pride in our work because our name is on each and every cabinet that leaves our facility in South Dakota.

Cutting Team Group Photo

Involvement

To ensure that we do our absolute best to take care of our commitment to ship quality products on time, we are proud to be involved in decisions that improve our production workflow and efficiencies. These improvements benefit our dealer-partners and you.

Green Kitchen

Efforts Come to Life

We appreciate seeing the end result of our hard work through photos shared by our dealers. Seeing how our cabinets help to transform homes into something truly magical inspires us to keep doing our very best. And when we do our best, we all benefit.

Here’s a peek at a recent home remodel project using Showplace Cabinetry to completely transform the space into a contemporary kitchen of dreams!

Showplace: American Made Cabinetry

Showplace is a 100% employee-owned company, that means the people building the product, OWN the company……the whole company! There are no private equity owners, no outside shareholders to impress, just rock solid American workers from the Midwest producing great products out of parts and pieces made right here in the USA! The over 650 employee-owners at Showplace represent the best in American manufacturing. Hard-working, dedicated people building the finest American made cabinetry and shipping it to customers in all 50 states from Maine to Hawaii.

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We pride ourselves in being a South Dakota manufacturing company built on midwestern values. Our culture is one that focuses on our customers and our employees, we are constantly striving to deliver fine products, on time & complete while at the same time showing great appreciation towards the dedication of the entire Showplace Team!

Our assembly factories in Harrisburg, South Dakota are fed cabinet doors and drawer fronts from our super-efficient door plant located in the small community of Beresford, South Dakota. Our factories are some of the largest employers in these small cities and we take that responsibility very seriously when it comes to supporting these communities.

Smiling employee in our small parts department

Employee-Owned

Our employees take pride in their work because they own the company through the Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP).

Building a cabinet frame

MIdwest Values

Our hard-working employees embrace the effort it takes to make high-quality product that will be part of homes across America.

Smiling employee carrying wood panels

Community

Not only do we take care of our employees like they’re family, but we take care of those in need in our community by volunteering and providing financial support to nonprofits and charities in the communities surrounding our factories.

Showplace offers several cabinet lines including framed construction (overlay and inset), and frameless.

Included in the 1+ million combinations we offer are 86 door styles, 13 wood species, 34 standard paints, almost unlimited custom paint colors, 26 stains, several specialty finish packages, and more!

No matter what style of cabinetry you are looking for, Showplace can deliver!