Maine’s oldest and largest retail hot tub company, Mainely Tubs, has announced that it has converted to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) company. Forty current Mainely Tubs employees are now represented by the Mainely Tubs ESOP according to Jim Van Fleet, the company’s previous owner. Van Fleet, who will stay on as the company’s CEO, points out that the ESOP structure allows the same staff to provide the superior customer service that has led to the growth of the Mainely Tubs “family” to over 21,000 customers, and to have the future value of the company accrue to the benefit of all employees.
Founded in 1978, Mainely Tubs was the first business in Maine to use the catchy title “Mainely” in its trade name. Since then, there have been a number of “firsts” for the company. In 2003 it became the largest volume single store dealer in the entire HotSpring Spa network when it sold 888 new hot tubs, and in 2016 it will receive that award for the 13th time. HotSpring Spas, known as Watkins Wellness, is the largest manufacturer in the hot tub/portable spa industry. In 2006, Mainely Tubs was the first two-time winner of what Van Fleet describes as the Vince Lombardy trophy of the hot tub industry – the Locksin Thompson Award – and in 2015 it won the same award for the third time.