Joe Hayes, Principal Hydrogeologist of Weber, Hayes and Associates, announced that his company has formed an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), and joined the growing list of companies whose employees are stockholders. Weber, Hayes and Associates is a Watsonville-based engineering and water consulting company, providing environmental testing, soil and water cleanup, and water well design services for over 15 years.

When the ESOP transaction is completed, said Mr. Hayes, the employees of Weber Hayes and Associates will own 40% of the company. Joe Hayes said, "Our success is due to having great people work here, and this ESOP is intended to help reward and keep that talent. I know it was a great motivation for me to own part of my own business."

The company began as a local geology consulting business started in 1988, just prior to the Loma Prieta earthquake, by Mr. Hayes and UCSC Earth Science professor Gerald Weber. Dr. Weber retired from the firm in 1994, and their technical focus has shifted from faults and landslides to water and environmental projects. Weber, Hayes and Associates is now completing the cleanup of a large MTBE release in a regional aquifer in San Luis Obispo County, and has designed water supply wells for the City of Seaside and for the Pajaro Valley’s Harkins Slough Recharge project. Last December, Mr. Hayes presented a technical paper on the Pajaro Valley’s seawater intrusion issues at a UNESCO Water Conference in Valencia, Spain. "I learned that Spain has all of California’s water problems, including intensive pumping in coastal aquifers, growth pressure in areas with limited water supplies, and water fights. Our technical solutions are being considered as a model for other countries" said Mr. Hayes.

Basically, an ESOP operates through a trust to which a company sells part or all of its stock. The employees are beneficiaries of the trust. Employees are encouraged to improve the company, since the Company’s fortunes are reflected in the value of the stock the trust holds. An ESOP also has tax incentives for the company, including the ability to deduct dividends paid by the corporation on stock held in an ESOP, reducing corporate taxes while benefiting employee/shareholders.