OCALA, FL (352today.com) – An Ocala-based manufacturing company is now 100 percent owned by employees after its founders sold their controlling shares in the company to a plan that distributes them to eligible workers.
On October 5, 2026, the founders of Ocala’s 16-year-old Fidelity Manufacturing, Brad and Wendy Dinkins, announced at a companywide meeting that they had turned over ownership of the company to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), which distributes stock shares to eligible workers as a retirement benefit plan.
“For us, this is about protecting what has made Fidelity successful while creating an even stronger foundation for the future,” said Mitch Twardosky, CEO of Fidelity Manufacturing, in a press release. “We want to preserve the independence, values and culture that have shaped this company from the beginning, while giving our employees a meaningful opportunity to share in the value we create together.”
The transfer occurs as Fidelity, which manufactures backup power solutions such as generator enclosures, fuel tanks and “complete standby power packages” for essential infrastructure like hospitals, prepares to expand into a second manufacturing facility in McGregor, Texas.
In an ESOP, ownership shares are distributed to employees through a trust. The amount of stock given to each eligible worker usually depends on salary and length of service and can increase as those criteria grow. When an employee retires or leaves the company, the company typically buys those shares back.
An ESOP differs from the perhaps more familiar workers’ cooperative, or co-op, style of employee ownership in that an ESOP does not involve the employees in the day-to-day running of the company, which typically retains the usual corporate management structure. (In a co-op, all decisions are made democratically among worker-owners, with each getting a vote.)
In addition to providing retirement benefits and fostering a sense of pride of ownership among employees, an ESOP also incentivizes loyalty and longevity, provides opportunities for promotion from within and helps retain a company’s core values after its founders and principles have stepped away from day-to-day operations.
“Wendy and I have always viewed ourselves as stewards of what God entrusted to us through Fidelity,” said Brad Dinkins, chairman and co-founder of Fidelity, in the announcement. “That included caring for our employees, honoring the relationships we have built with our customers and partners, and preparing the company to thrive beyond us. Employee ownership places Fidelity’s future in the hands of the people who helped build it while preserving the values, independence and commitment to quality and service that have guided us from the beginning.”