Bob’s Red Mill Goes Employee-Owned (VIDEO)
February 19th, 2010 By Paula Crossfield
In the age of corporate consolidation, one business owner has refused to sell his multi-million dollar company, and instead has handed it over to his 209 employees this week, who he considers a ‘second family.’ Bob Moore, owner of Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, started his business selling organic whole grain products in Portland, Oregon in 1978.
“Its the only business decision that I could make,” Moore told ABC News. “I could not sell the company. I don’t think there’s anybody worthy to run this company but the people who built it.” He continued, “There is a lot of negative stuff going into business today. There is a good old basic Bible lesson, and that is that ‘the love of money is the root of all evil.’ And unfortunately our entire philosophy today to get as much money as you can any way that you can has caused people to do a lot of things just for money that they feel in their hearts is just not the right thing to do. I’ve just truly tried to set some of that aside and do what I thought was the best thing for the group of people who made this all possible.”
Here is a video by ABC News featuring Mr. Moore and his company:
by Holly
On February 19, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Go Bob! That is the most wonderful thing you could have done! Thank you for trusting in your employees.
by Gail
On February 19, 2010 at 8:32 pm
How to be a Human Being
A man who learned Wisdom and how to bring out the best in people
by Ed Kelly
On February 19, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I know exactly how you feel about your company and its admirable the lord blessed the world when you put you on this earth. I’ve been using your products for years I use it every day and it does my heart good to know what you’re doing. This country wouldn’t be in the condition it’s in if there were more people like your. Best of luck to you and all your employees and everyone has done a great job thank you.
by James
On February 20, 2010 at 5:04 pm
I think I will stick with Bob’s products (excellent quality) for this decision.
J
by What About Bob? (Video) « Ukiah Blog Live
On February 21, 2010 at 1:00 am
[...] to Civil Eats for video here→ ~~ ▶ No Responses /* 0) { jQuery('#comments').show('', change_location()); [...]
by Dan in Portland
On February 21, 2010 at 9:19 am
I live just a few miles from Bob’s Red Mill corporate headquarters and restaurant. I have been taking my family for breakfast at their wonderful restaurant/store for a few years now. Bob is always there sometimes having breakfast, sometimes greeting people, sometimes driving up to the store in his model-T with his wife and wearing his red cap. He’s always there to charm my 2 girls (6 and 8 now). He always engages us in some way. I knew this was a different kind of business. It feels different than most businesses you walk into. Now I know that it really is different.
I encourage everyone to buy Bob’s Red Mill products. If you can’t get his products where you live, ask for them at your grocery store. Or go to his website. (Note: I don’t work for Bob. I only know him from the times he’s engaged my family in small talk at the restaurant. I’ve just been a loyal customer for years. I buy his scottish oats by the 4 pack!)
by Food For Thought – Monday, February 22nd « Save Your Fork… There's Pie
On February 22, 2010 at 8:08 am
[...] on, Bob! No corporate whoredom here, Bob Moore, of Bob’s Red Mill had turned over ownership of the multi-million dollar company to his 209 [...]
by I Want to go to There « Shaecation
On February 22, 2010 at 12:45 pm
[...] entirely too rare to see a company that truly cares about its employees and sees them as partners, this story will give you the warm fuzzies. The owner of Bob’s Red Mill has decided that rather than [...]
by Greenhoof » Blog Archive » Organic grain miller goes employee-owned
On February 22, 2010 at 1:32 pm
[...] Miller’s crossing: Bob Moore creates a progressive institution. For years, Oregon-based Bob’s Red Mill products have a been a staple of food co-ops and natural-food supermarkets. The company puts out a variety of top-quality, stone-ground organic grain products: from flours to grits to “bear mush” hot cereals. Now that CEO/founder Bob Moore is ready to start thinking about a succession plan, he probably could have cashed in nicely by selling out to some conglomerate looking for organic cachet—and a slice of one of the food industry’s few true growth areas. Instead, he did something infinitely more interesting—and better for the Milwaukie, Oregon, community where the company employs 209 people. He took the company employee-owned, ABC News reports. In doing so, he’s creating a durable, national-level institution whose profits remain and percolate broadly within a local economy. Moore is creating a model wherein national-level food businesses can generate broadly distributed wealth within communities, whereas now they mainly extract wealth from communities and concentrate it in the hands of a few shareholders. I’ll be commenting on this more soon; for now, watch the video. (Hat tip to Civil Eats.) [...]
by Susan
On February 22, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Thank God for people Bob Moore. US companies should take a lesson from this man. There would be less greed and more cooperation if people worked together for the common good! This is the best video I have watched in a very long time!
Susan ~ Boston
by Marisa Avalos
On February 23, 2010 at 12:15 am
Absolutely fantastic!!! THIS IS WHAT AMERICA SHOULD BE ABOUT!!! Its pathetic and a shame that Americans are clueless about their food and where it comes from, and its production. Conglomerate America has bought and paid for this country for so long now, join in the fight to win it back, DONT BE STUPID about what is happening all around you. DO SOMETHING, anything: educate yourself, advocate, pay attention!!
by juil
On February 28, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Would I consider a corporate video production?
The question is can I afford not to!
Its not about staying ahead of your competitors anymore, its about keeping up with them.
by Bob’s Red Mill going employee owned! « It's Not Easy Being Green
On March 3, 2010 at 7:01 am
[...] another similar happy tale: Bob’s Red Mill is going employee-owned. Bob is retiring, and while like many similar businesses he could have made a tidy bundle selling to [...]