From Sheffield to the World: Gripple, Loadhog and GoTools Celebrate Employee Ownership Across Borders
This year marked a major milestone for the GLIDE Group, as all three of its member businesses across its global sites came together for the first time to celebrate Employee Ownership in unity.
Gripple, Sheffield-based manufacturer of wire tensioning systems, was joined by Loadhog, a global supplier of transit packaging, and GoTools, a UK-based manufacturer of bespoke tooling solutions, in a joint, cross-continental show of common values, purpose, and ownership.
And though borders, oceans, and time zones separated them, parallel celebrations took place in parallel for all 1,200 employee owners at 15 sites in eight countries and three continents. From Sheffield HQ to Europe and far beyond, teams came together – in spirit – to mark what it truly means to have a say and shape the future of business.
GLIDE Group – established to formalise the employee ownership structure across the companies and their global operations – focused each of the celebrations on recognising and celebrating people-powered growth and creating happy, lasting memories for all employee owners.
Many of the location hosted an on-site BBQ, bringing colleagues together over a feast – with GLIDE representatives manning the grills and cooking up thousands of hotdogs and burgers worldwide!
“It’s easy to feel connected when you work side-by-side,” said Sushant Ambavane, Area Sales Manager at Gripple India and elected representative on the GLIDE Board, “but today was about feeling that same connection across countries and time zones.”
The day also included mindset sessions aimed at building a shared mindset of innovation, collaboration, and trust – giving teams at Gripple, Loadhog, and GoTools the tools to think and act like true owners.
“It’s one thing to be an employee owner, but it’s another to truly understand what that entails and to make the most of that role,” added Vanessa Kazic, People & Culture Manager at Gripple Europe and elected representative on the GLIDE Board. “Here, we’ve been given all of the skills and confidence to make a real, positive impact on the company.”
“Employee Ownership Day has always been a highlight in our calendar,” said Michael Hodgson, GLIDE Chair. “But this year was different – we celebrated not just as individual companies, but as a global group united by employee ownership, and shared growth, culture and values.”
This model, still used by just 2,250 UK businesses, has been shown to increase innovation, resilience, and staff engagement, resulting in an average increase in productivity of 8–12% per employee. For Gripple, which started its venture into employee ownership in 1994 and became fully employee owned in 2011, and for Loadhog and GoTools, which have been employee-owned since their inception in 2003 and 2012 respectively, employee ownership is far more than a structure – it’s a way of thinking, innovating, and growing together.
“It’s what enables us to innovate faster, support each other better, and build a sustainable business with a healthy balance sheet and a strong future,” added Michael. “But it’s not just about our own successes – we want to see more businesses in the UK and beyond embrace this model. We’ve seen first-hand how employee ownership transforms businesses – and we’re proud to help others start their journey. As an official Employee Ownership Ambassador, we also actively contribute to the efforts of the National Centre for Employee Ownership in the US and Employee Ownership Canada.”