VALDESE, North Carolina — Valdese Weavers Inc. has started its second century of business with the sale of the company to its employees. The sale completed in May is called an ESOP, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan that allows each employee to become an owner of shares in the company through grants made to them annually. The payoff to each employee is achieved when the employee retires or leaves the company and sells his/hers vested interest back to the company.  There are also bonus programs in place for all employees. The company has financed the purchase by the ESOP Trust largely through loans from the Shuford Family. Valdese Weavers is one of the largest decorative fabric mills in the world today with a reported $175 million in sales in residential and contract markets, ranking number two behind D’Décor in Mumbai, India at $250 million in sales according to F&FI. Valdese sales in 2016 are said to be robust and the company expects an increase over 2015. The company operates four facilities in Burke County, N.C., and trades under the brand names Valdese Weavers, Valdese Weavers Contract, Circa 1801, Home Fabrics by Wesley Mancini, Valdese International Products (VIP) and Dicey Fabrics. “One hundred years after our company was founded, and eighty years after Harley F. Shuford and his family acquired the company out of receivership during the Great Depression, Valdese Weavers is now a 100% employee-owned company,” said Michael Shelton, President & CEO of Valdese Weavers. “This process began in 1996, when the Shuford family sold a minority interest in our parent company, CV Industries, to our associates through a newly established ESOP,” he added. “On behalf of the nearly 1,000 associates who, through the ESOP, now own 100% of Valdese Weavers, I want to collectively thank the generations of the Shuford family who have given us their support, and have displayed confidence in our stewardship of the company they have owned since 1935,” Shelton added. “The family’s decision to sell their remaining interest to the ESOP marks the continuation of the commitment of Valdese Weavers and the Shuford family to our associates, our community, and our values. This change from a minority ESOP to a 100% ESOP creates a platform for ownership that will propel Valdese Weavers into the future.” Snyder Garrison, a grandson of Harley Shuford, said on behalf of the Shuford family, “There are many options for charting the future of a privately owned, closely held company like ours. The 100% ESOP achieves our family’s objectives for Valdese Weavers to remain an independent, privately owned company with a strong commitment to our local community. In keeping with our values, the ESOP is a great way to recognize the dedication from each of our associates toward achieving a successful, lasting legacy. Employee-owners know that their efforts can help them gain a benefit for their families that is greater than wages alone.” Coincidentally with the establishment of the 100 percent ESOP, Snyder Garrison will retire as Valdese Weavers the longtime CFO and will lead the CV Industries Board of Directors by being named Chairman, Shelton said.