Wright-Ryan celebrates 10 years of ESOP and named Best Place to Work in Maine

Portland, ME Wright-Ryan is celebrating two significant milestones this October: the company has once again been named one of the 2026 Best Places to Work in Maine, while also celebrating 10 years as a 100% employee-owned company through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The dual achievements coincide with Employee Ownership Month, a nationwide celebration of the benefits employee ownership creates for workers, businesses, and communities.

For Wright-Ryan, these milestones represent more than recognition and opportunities for reflection. They affirm a decade-long commitment to building an organization where employees have a personal stake in the company’s success, where long-term thinking guides decision making, and where clients benefit from working with employee-owners who are directly invested in project outcomes.

“Ten years ago, Wright-Ryan made a deliberate decision to preserve the culture, legacy, and independence that had defined the company since its founding,” said Alan Sparn, president of Wright-Ryan. “Becoming 100% employee-owned ensured that the people building the company every day would shape its future. Today, that ownership mindset continues to strengthen our team, our partnerships, and the value we deliver to clients.”

Wright-Ryan transitioned to employee ownership in October 2016, joining a growing movement of businesses across Maine and the United States using ESOPs as a strategy to reward employees, preserve company culture, support succession planning, and create long-term economic opportunity. 

At the time, company leadership cited four priorities: ensuring the company’s long-term sustainability, preserving its culture and commitment to clients, rewarding the team responsible for its success, and accomplishing the ownership transition without placing undue burden on the business.

A decade later, Wright-Ryan’s employee ownership model has helped the company maintain its focus on collaboration, accountability, and relationship-based construction while growing to serve clients throughout Maine and Northern New England. The company today employs 117 professionals and has earned recognition for both its workplace culture and project excellence.

The timing of the anniversary aligns with increasing national attention on employee ownership as employers seek solutions to workforce recruitment, retention, and retirement readiness challenges. According to research from the National Center for Employee Ownership, employee-owned companies frequently report higher employee retention rates and stronger retirement outcomes. Recent research also indicates that employee ownership can contribute to measurable improvements in organizational productivity and resilience.

Those trends are particularly relevant in the construction industry, where competition for skilled talent remains a priority and succession planning has become a growing focus for many privately held firms. Employee ownership offers an approach that helps companies remain locally controlled while creating opportunities for employees to build long-term wealth through ownership participation.

“Our employee-owners understand that every decision matters,” Sparn said. “Whether it’s serving a client, supporting a project partner, mentoring a teammate, or strengthening our communities, employee ownership creates a level of accountability and pride that benefits everyone connected to our work.”

The company was recently named among the 2026 Best Places to Work in Maine by the Maine State Council of SHRM, Best Companies Group, and BridgeTower Media. The statewide program recognizes organizations that excel in creating engaging workplaces and positive employee experiences. Wright-Ryan was recognized in the medium employer category.

As Wright-Ryan celebrates Employee Ownership Month and this 10-year milestone, the company remains focused on its mission of building exceptional projects, fostering meaningful careers, and creating lasting value for employees, clients, business partners, subcontractors, and the communities it serves.