Employee Ownership: Reinforcing Our Commitment to Our People, Our Customers and Our Future

For nearly four decades, Pro Services has partnered with industrial and commercial customers to keep their operations running strong. From complex mechanical projects to ongoing maintenance and skilled workforce solutions, our teams have built a reputation for showing up ready to solve problems and deliver results.

Today, we are proud to announce an important milestone in our journey. Pro is now an employee-owned company through the creation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

This transition reflects a guiding principle that CEO Mike Vandemaele established when he founded Pro Services in 1987. The people who do the work should share in the success they help create. “Having the right people, the right tools, the right information, the right materials and the right leadership is how you grow a company from a pickup truck and $10,000 in a neighborhood pole barn," says Vandemaele.

Employee ownership allows us to invest in our people, protect the culture that defines our company and strengthen the commitment we bring to the customers who depend on us every day.

A Step That Strengthens Our Values

At Pro, our culture has always been grounded in our core values:

Safety – We lead by example, eliminate hazards and hold each other accountable to ensure everyone goes home safe.

Integrity – We do the right thing, always. Our actions reflect uncompromising ethical and moral principles.

Pride – We take ownership of our work, celebrate success and protect our reputation by delivering excellence every day.

Teamwork – We win together. The best solutions and results come from working as one team.

The transition to employee ownership strengthens those values in a meaningful way.

Through our ESOP, the employees who build our projects, maintain our customers’ facilities and support our operations now have a direct stake in the company's future. Ownership connects the effort people bring to work each day to the organization's long-term success.

When people know they are helping build something that they share in, it changes how they approach the work. Decisions are made with lasting results in mind. Teams collaborate more closely. Everyone understands that their contribution matters.

Employee ownership reinforces the culture that has guided Pro for decades. It encourages our teams to think like owners because they are owners.

A Strategic Investment in Our People

Pro has become what it is today because of the people who commit themselves to solving problems, serving customers and delivering excellent work year after year. 

“Whether you drive a truck, work in the shop or work in the field, everybody has their role to make the whole company work,” says Vandemaele. “Obviously I couldn't build it by myself and it was built by great employees doing the right things for the customers.”

Becoming employee-owned allows us to recognize and reward those contributions in a meaningful way. Our ESOP provides employees with a financial stake in the company’s performance over time. As the company grows and succeeds, the value created is shared with the people who helped make it happen.

This structure also helps ensure that the company’s future remains in the hands of the people who know it best. The team members who understand our work, our customers and our values will continue to shape our direction for years to come.

A New Standard of Excellence For Our Customers

For the industrial and commercial organizations we serve, our shift to employee ownership reinforces the commitment they have come to expect from our team. 

Employee ownership creates a mindset where every project matters because the success of the company is shared by the people delivering the work. Our people already approach each job with a high level of responsibility and care. Our ESOP strengthens that commitment and sets the stage for new levels of excellence going forward.

Pro’s customers can expect the same grit, precision and reliability they have trusted for years, supported by a team that is even more invested in the results we deliver.

A Structure That Secures Our Legacy

As organizations grow and evolve, leaders must make decisions that protect the culture and values that made the company successful in the first place.

We made the decision to become employee-owned with that long-term vision in mind.

Employee ownership helps us preserve the culture that defines who we are. It creates continuity for our customers and opportunities for our employees. Most importantly, it ensures our future remains connected to the people who carry our values forward each day.

This structure allows us to keep building on the foundation that has grounded Pro for nearly four decades while preparing for the next generation of leadership and growth.

For Vandemaele, this decision carries personal weight. After spending most of his career building Pro from the ground up, employee ownership ensures the company’s legacy is one built on shared success rather than a single name on the door. "ESOPs are set up in a lot of different ways, but I wanted to extend it to every individual working in the company,” he says. “I just wanted to leave that as my legacy — give something back to the trades and give something back to the employees who helped build this company."

A Future We Build Together

Employee ownership marks an exciting new chapter in the Pro story, but it does not change the core mission that has always driven our work. 

We remain focused on helping our customers solve tough challenges, complete critical projects and maintain the systems that keep their operations moving forward.

We remain committed to supporting industrial and commercial organizations with reliable Project Delivery, Maintenance Services and Workforce Solutions.

Most importantly, we remain committed to the people who make that work possible.

Now, as an employee-owned company, our future is shared by the team that works every day to build it. When our people succeed, our customers succeed. And together, we will continue delivering the performance and partnership our customers have trusted for decades.

Experience the Difference Ownership Makes

At Pro Services, we’ve always had what it takes to deliver. Now, every person on our team has a personal stake in your uptime, efficiency and success. 

If you’re ready to move away from "business as usual" and partner with a team that truly owns the results, we’d love to talk. Contact us today and discover how Pro can help you build the same kind of world-class maintenance organization we have.