Pembrokeshire-based woollen mill and shop Melin Tregwynt has marked its 110th anniversary by transitioning to an employee ownership trust (EOT).
Current owners Eifion and Amanda Griffiths have handed over ownership to their 42 employees, though they plan to remain in the business on a part-time basis.
By giving all employees a stake in the future of the business via a trust, the Griffiths said they aim to preserve the traditional skills and knowledge gathered since the business was founded in 1912.
Melin Tregwynt was supported in the transition by the employee ownership Wales team at Social Business Wales, and was advised by Geldards on the establishment and structure of the EOT.
Eifion Griffiths said: “Amanda and I inherited the business and have grown it substantially over the last 35 years but now we want to take a step back.
“It was important for us that Melin Tregwynt remained a viable business and part of its local community, and employee ownership provided the perfect solution for us.
“We will guide the new management board through the transition, but most importantly the 42-strong workforce will keep their jobs, and skills and knowledge will remain here and be kept alive.
“We are still very much a family business, just not in blood, but in ethos, belief and tradition. Many employees have worked here for decades, and we even had three generations of one family as part of our team. I am proud to be passing on the company to the new employee board who I know will take the business to new levels of growth.”
Louise Clarke, retail manager at Melin Tregwynt, added: “We are proud to be taking over this business and to have Eifion and Amanda here to help as we as take our first steps is great.
“Melin Tregwynt has such a strong base here in West Wales, it would have been a tragedy to see it bought out by another company and possibly changed forever, so we are honoured that the Griffiths family has chosen to trust us as employees with their family business. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us at Melin Tregwynt.”