T&T Tinting Specialists forms Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Honolulu window film company T&T Tinting Specialists Inc. has implemented a plan to make the nearly 40-year-old kamaaina firm wholly owned by employees.

The company, founded in 1982, has set up an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, allowing employees to earn shares of company stock over six years at no cost.

Tommy Silva, T&T’s 61-year-old CEO, said the plan will allow employees to accumulate tax-deferred retirement wealth on top of an existing 401(k) retirement plan while helping sustain a long-term future for the company.

“Legacy was a critical factor in selecting this ESOP transaction, but equally as important was ensuring that anything we did as owners would directly motivate and help the employees continue to succeed,” Silva said in a statement. “We want our employees to feel that they ‘own and operate’ their own business which fosters tremendous pride and aloha resulting from owning actual stakes in the company.”

As employees retire, their stock shares are cashed out and redistributed. Also, new shares can be issued as the company grows. Currently, T&T has 33 employees and two locations on Oahu.