When private equity firm KKR announced the $3 billion sale Monday of C.H.I. Overhead Doors to steel company Nucor, it created a windfall for hundreds of hourly workers at the plant in tiny Arthur, Illinois, who will receive between $20,000 and $800,000 each when the transaction closes.
Jamison, a 17-year veteran of the garage door company, learned about the sale and her six-figure payout at an all-employee meeting last week. The payouts vary based on seniority and salary, with some long-tenured truck drivers — the highest-paid hourly workers — hauling home upward of $800,000 from the sale.More than 630 hourly workers and truck drivers will receive an average of $180,000 through the sale, the company said.
The program has been rolled out by New York-based KKR at 25 companies in its portfolio since 2011. The garage door manufacturer, which generated KKR’s highest return on investment in more than 30 years, proved the value of the equity plan for both ownership and employees. allocated $1 million per year for enhancing the factory, investing in everything from air conditioning to new break rooms and a cafeteria.