What Makes Engineering Industries a Great Place to Work: The Employee-Owned Advantage
A Great Place to Work, Built by Employee Owners
At Engineering Industries, Inc. (EI), ownership isn’t a title or a line in a handbook. It’s how people show up every day. Pride in the work. Respect for the process. A willingness to do things the right way: together. That shared mindset recently earned EI their fourth consecutive Great Place to Work® certification, a recognition built entirely on what employees had to say about their experience.
For a company that’s spent more than sixty years building partnerships and solving tough manufacturing challenges, the award confirms what has guided EI from the start: people come first, and everything good follows from there.
Ownership You Can Feel
EI has been 100% employee-owned since 2006, giving every person in the company a real stake in its success. Shares are earned through years of service, creating a long-term connection between the work people do and the future they’re helping to build.
That ownership changes things; decisions carry more weight, wins feel more personal, and when someone improves a process or helps a coworker hit a deadline, it matters because everyone benefits. The structure builds accountability, but it also builds trust. People know the person next to them cares just as much about the outcome.
Culture That Builds Capability
Growth here doesn’t happen by accident. EI’s management philosophy revolves around empowering people to think, question, and contribute. Ideas move freely between departments, shifts, and generations of employees. A journeyman toolmaker might trade insights with a new engineer. A press operator might suggest a tweak that saves hours of downtime. Those everyday exchanges are part of what keeps EI improving year after year.
Training and mentorship keep that cycle going. Employees have access to continuing education, certifications, and on-the-job learning designed to stretch their skills. The company also partners with the UW Engineering Co-op Program, giving students a firsthand look at modern manufacturing and a path to build long-term careers.
Recognition That Means Something
The Great Place to Work certification carries weight because it came from employees themselves. Surveys measured trust, respect, and pride, and the responses told a clear story. People feel valued. They feel heard. They believe in what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with.
EI takes that feedback seriously. Leadership views it as a responsibility to keep improving, not a reason to coast. Programs like profit sharing, ESOP participation, tuition reimbursement, and volunteer time off are part of that effort. They reflect a culture where success is shared and balance matters.
Where Ownership Meets Outcomes
Customers benefit from that same mindset. The pride employees take in their work shows up in every molded part, from precise medical components to rugged industrial housings. Projects stay on track because people care about the details. Problems get solved faster because teams communicate openly. And quality stays consistent because no one cuts corners when their name – and their ownership – is on the line.
That’s the real advantage of an employee-owned company. The people making the parts are also investing in the future of the business. Every decision circles back to the same goal: doing right by the customer and by each other.
Building What’s Next
EI has spent decades growing through teamwork, adaptability, and pride in the craft of injection molding. Employee ownership strengthens those roots and keeps the company focused on progress. The Great Place to Work certification is a milestone worth celebrating, but it’s also a reminder of what makes EI unique: a group of people who take ownership in every sense of the word.