Ana-Lab ups ownership level for employees

Employees of Ana-Lab Corp. are now owners of 70 percent of the corporation.

Dr. Charles H. Whiteside, founder and president of the Kilgore-based organization, signed papers in December which gave employees an additional 20 percent of the organization, upping the ownership level by employees from 50 to 70 percent.

This is the third transfer of ownership by Dr. Whiteside. He initiated the program in 2005, giving the employees 30 percent of the company. This was followed in 2007 with an additional 20 percent transfer in ownership.

Through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Dr. Whiteside has placed in a trust fund 70 percent of the corporate stock and with the transfer making some 80 employees of Ana-Lab stockholders. There are 500,000 shares of Ana- Lab stock, which are privately held.

Employees with three or more years with the company have shares of stock. An employee is vested after five years of employment.

Today, Ana-Lab has 105 employees, including 83 in the Kilgore office, with the remainder is regional service centers in Amarillo, Austin, Arlington, Houston and Brownsville in Texas as well as locations in Huntsville, Ala., Shreveport, La., and Norman, Okla.