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Succession Stories continued partner with Howard Bargreen to form Bargreen-Ellingson in 1960? Who were his industry heroes? The bearer of the best advice he'd ever received? How did he successfully manage the Tacoma store with a skeleton crew? If he could change anything - anything - what would it be? And without skipping a beat, he replied, "I retired too young," says Ellingson. "In large part, it's been a good ride. We've grown the business a lot and it pays its bills. It's well capitalized, employing over 400 people and we keep winning industry awards. Dad's very proud of it and he wishes he'd been a part of it more. But at the same time, back then, he wasn't willing to take on the risk and some of the gamble it took to get there." His sons, on the other hand, were all about growth. "We had nothing to lose and everything to gain," says Ellingson, who joined the company in 1976, six years after his brother Paul, the then company president. "Dad owned his change, the two have been preparing for years to pass the business on to the next generation. To that point, last year the brothers (the only two shareholders in the company) set up "a stock and split," says Ellingson. "We gave 40 percent of it to my heirs and 40 percent to Paul's heirs, and then Paul and I retained 10 percent each. So we've basically given the company to the kids." Since that time, the group has had two family meetings—one to discuss the gift, itself, and the brothers' expectations. The second was to discuss strengths and weaknesses and the allocation of roles. "It's always been about succession planning and getting anyone who's interested involved," says Ellingson. Over the years, he's the one that's taken on the role of family coordinator. Roughly 17 years ago, it was Ellingson who officially reached out to the family's eight grandkids, on company letterhead, encouraging them to consider a career at Bargreen-Ellingson after graduating from college. At the time, the youngest in the group was 13 and the oldest, house and his kids were raised. He didn't care about being a big business or having lots of stuff. We wanted to grow it and that really frustrated him because growing meant taking risks." The acquisition of its Seattle branch in 1989 is what finally prompted him to retire at 66. "That one just about tipped him over because it required borrowing lots of money," says Ellingson. "He wasn't comfortable with the stress, he didn't like the new computers, and he didn't like the new rules." So he sold the business to his sons for "significantly less than it was worth," according to Ellingson, who more than anything admires the fact that his dad was willing to turn over the company for the greater good. "He took what he thought he needed to live and that was it," he says. "More than anything, he was concerned about the business growing and staying intact than he was about himself." Legacy is something that both Ellingson and his brother Paul also care deeply about. From estate planning to readying senior management for transitional continued on page 34 Replace those inefficient incandescent lights in your hood with LED-40000 bulbs. ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, SAFE AND EFFICIENT, EASY TO INSTALL... LED LIGHTS FOR KITCHEN EXHAUST HOODS* *Component Hardware offers the only lamps that meet the stringent UL high temperature certification at 75º C and exceed those standards with a rating of 80º C (176ºF). A BRILLIANT CHOICE Energy efficient At just 12 watts, LED-40000s use far less energy than incandescents and last 50 times longer – 50, 000 hours.** Easy Installation Our LEDs fit any standard Edison-style base. Simply screw the bulb into existing fixture – no adapter required. Environmentally friendly Lamps are encased in hard-to-break polycarbonate plastic. No mercury, no glass, less landfill waste. Instantly brighter LED lights come on immediately. There's no ballast to warm up, no flickering or buzzing. Our LEDs provide 960 lumens of light. The 120 degree beam angle floods the workspace with light. ** That's 11.9 years based on 12 hours/day - 7 days/week Make the brilliant choice - call today to find out how much you can save by switching to LED-40000s. ® Tel. 800-526-3694 • 732-363-4700 • Fax. 732-364-8110 • www.componenthardware.com 32 FEDA News & Views by Component Hardware Engineered for safety, performance, © Copyright 2013, Component Hardware Group, Inc. 11/2013 efficiency and code compliance