A renewed partnership
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December 8, 2025
WAUSAU – Wausau Supply Company recently marked 10 years as an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) business – a shift Communications Manager Cassandra Ambrosius said began in 2015 when Company President Ron Klimisch sold his remaining shares to employees, making them full owners of the company.
Ambrosius said the process took 14 years, with Klimisch starting the initial steps toward an ESOP in 2001.
“Today, all of the shares are owned by employee owners, so we really take to heart that everyone has a vested interest in doing well in everything we do for the company,” she said. “Every action contributes to a successful company, and when the company thrives, we all thrive.”
Klimisch said ensuring a smooth succession plan was one of his key goals ahead of retirement.
“That began the idea of starting the ESOP,” he said. “Trying to convince a 20-something-year-old employee that this was going to be a long-term retirement program for them when they reached the age of 65 seemed to be something from the other side of the world for them – it was hard to convince them.”
Fortunately for Wausau Supply, Klimisch said the economy, particularly the housing industry, took off during that time.
“We went from 1.5 million houses a year to more than two million houses per year,” he said. “Wausau Supply grew with that. I still receive letters from former employees thanking me for what we did – that’s very rewarding.”
Brian Miller, current president/CEO of Wausau Supply, said ownership isn’t just a word for the company.
“It’s our way of thinking, how we work, how we grow and how we win together,” he said. “When we transitioned to employee ownership, it wasn’t just about changing structure – it was about strengthening culture. We wanted to create a place where people feel invested, both financially and emotionally.”
With more than 1,000 employees domestically and another 100 in Canada, Ambrosius said many have been with Wausau Supply for decades.
“We have several employees who have been with the company for more than 30 years,” she said. “It’s those employees who have been through all of those different stages of the ESOP process.”
In chatting with the company’s long-term employees, Ambrosius said when Klimisch first began the ESOP process, some were unsure how it worked.
“Now, those same employees would tell you [converting to an ESOP] was life-changing,” she said. “People who have recently retired didn’t know the value at first, but now that they’re in retirement, they have seen how impactful it can be.”
Ambrosius said some employees have been able to retire earlier, thanks to having a more secure financial future.
“Retiring earlier also means they can spend more time with their families, and really, in turn, it has bought them time to do what they want to do with their lives outside of their careers,” she said.
How it works
As an ESOP, Ambrosius said Wausau Supply employees “literally own shares of the company” – with the company conducting a yearly stock evaluation to assess the value of each share.
“As employees grow in their tenure with the company, they gain more shares of the organization,” she said. “Once they retire, change careers if they want to or decide to leave, they’re able to start cashing in some of those shares and sell them back to the organization.”
Ambrosius said the ESOP offered to Wausau Supply employees is in lieu of a 401(k)-match program.
“We offer a 401(k), but we don’t do a match like traditional organizations might do,” she said. “We’ve determined the value of this [ESOP] tends to be about 4% better performing than a traditional 401(k). It also adds about 5% of additional compensation benefits to their overall compensation package.”
Ambrosius said as Wausau Supply acquires more distribution centers and grows its footprint and distribution of product, the share value increases.
“Therefore, their shares are more valuable in the long term,” she said. “One of our core values is integrity, so we really see a lot of people holding each other accountable, especially in the safety area. All of the employees want to make sure the company is performing at its highest level. That involves everyone.”
With the ESOP at Wausau Supply, Ambrosius said employees realize it’s not simply to pay the top executives of the company more money.
“This really comes back to how it benefits you for your ESOP as well,” she said. “Because of this, we see a lot of pride in the company. We see a lot of ownership and responsibility when it comes to what people want to do daily.”
More on Wausau Supply
Ambrosius said Wausau Supply is represented in about 40 states through its distribution centers and manufacturing facilities, which include five locations in the U.S. and one in Canada.
“We have two manufacturing facilities in the Schofield area, one in Michigan, one in Iowa and another in South Dakota,” she said. “The remaining distribution centers allow us a footprint for most of the United States.”
Ambrosius said the core of Wausau Supply’s legacy is being a trusted distributor.
“That’s been [about] finding ways to expand products into areas that were a bit harder to reach,” she said. “We’re talking about having to utilize rail systems in the past – our company has been around since 1947. As we expand our distribution centers, we have capacity for faster delivery times, more reliability and a better connection to the customers we serve in those locations.”
Wausau Supply, Ambrosius said, produces four proprietary products across some of its manufacturing sites, including:
- ChamClad ®
- Diamond Kote ® Siding System
- Waudena ®
- Taylor Entrance Systems™
“Diamond Kote is on LP Smart Siding, and it has a 30-year, no-fade warranty,” she said. “The wood grain is basically printed onto the siding, so it’s very innovative. We kind of have our own KFC-special-recipe sauce, of sorts, for siding.”
Ambrosius said Taylor Entrance Systems and Waudena are door manufacturers.
“In West Branch, Michigan, Taylor Entrance Systems is a steel door manufacturer,” she said. “Its biggest customer is Waudena, which is located in Scofield – they’re the pre-hanger. All of our Waudena doors are custom from start to finish. I think with all of the inputs someone can select for a door, there are about seven trillion possibilities between colors and different elements.”
Ambrosius said ChamClad produces PVC cladding for homes at a Canadian facility Wausau Supply recently acquired.
“It looks like real sustainable wood,” she said. “Cladding is an external layer or skin applied to the outside of a structure. It’s more than an outer finish and goes beyond aesthetics.”
Community give-back
Ambrosius said the Wausau Supply team takes its role in the community “very seriously.”
On Veterans Day, Ambrosius said the company donated $1,000 to the Man of Honor Society – an organization that provides veterans with essential services like heating, housing and car repairs.
She said the organization has raised more than $800,000 over the past 23 years, helping over 1,000 veterans in Central Wisconsin.
“Being a Schofield-based, Central Wisconsin-based organization, we find it very important to make sure we’re giving back to the communities in which our employees live,” she said. “Because we have locations across the country, we have a community giving program that empowers each location to determine programs and initiatives in their communities they value and want to give back to.”
Other examples of the company’s giving, Ambrosius said, include supporting United Way and organizing drives for Toys for Tots and local food pantries.
“We know the importance of being involved in the community and giving back where we can, so we’re definitely very passionate about that and finding causes that resonate with our team members, versus just picking things to pick things,” she said.
Ambrosius said Wausau Supply’s community involvement has grown stronger in recent years.
“It’s definitely something we want to continue to grow,” she said. “For example, with the Man of Honor, a few of our employees are with that organization. They basically put in an application, and if everything aligns with our values and what we’re trying to achieve, we donate. I’d say our [give-back] has become more intentional in the last few years.”
For more information and to stay up to date on its community give back, find Wausau Supply Company on Facebook.
