More than 500 workers at a Louisiana manufacturing company called Fibrebond received unexpected six-figure bonuses this year after their CEO insisted employees share in the proceeds of a multibillion-dollar sale.
Fibrebond, a modular construction firm based in Minden, was acquired earlier this year by power management company Eaton for $1.7 billion. As part of the deal, former CEO Graham Walker required that 15% of the sale price — roughly $240 million — be set aside for the company’s 540 full-time employees, even though none held company stock.
Walker, 46, told The Wall Street Journal that the condition was firm. “The requirement was non-negotiable,” he said, explaining that longtime employees who helped the company survive repeated downturns deserved to benefit from its success.
Under the agreement, workers are receiving bonuses averaging about $443,000 per person, paid out over five years. Employees with longer tenures are receiving significantly more, according to the newspaper.
In June, employees were given sealed envelopes detailing their individual awards. The reaction, Walker said, was immediate and emotional. Some workers cried, others sat in silence, and a few initially believed the news was a joke.
One of them was Lesia Key, a 29-year veteran of Fibrebond who began working at the company in 1995, earning $5.35 an hour. Now 51, she oversees facilities across the company’s 254-acre campus and manages 18 employees. After opening her letter, she broke down in tears.
“Before, we were going paycheck to paycheck,” Key said. “I can live now.”
Key used her bonus to pay off her mortgage and launch a clothing boutique in a nearby town. Other workers used their money to eliminate debt, purchase vehicles outright, cover college tuition, or boost retirement savings. One employee took their extended family on a trip to Cancún.
Hong “TT” Blackwell, 67, who worked more than 15 years in Fibrebond’s logistics division, received several hundred thousand dollars and chose to retire immediately. “Now I don’t have to worry,” she said. “My retirement is nice and peaceful.”
Though taxes took nearly $100,000 of her payout, Blackwell said the remainder was still transformative.
The influx of cash quickly spread through Minden, a town of about 12,000. Mayor Nick Cox told the Journal that local businesses noticed an immediate increase in spending. “There’s a lot of buzz about the amount of money being spent,” he said.
Fibrebond was founded in 1982 by Walker’s father, Claud Walker, and survived a factory fire, market collapses, and near-bankruptcy before rebounding with a high-risk pivot into data center infrastructure.
That gamble paid off as demand surged during the pandemic. Walker said every potential buyer heard the same condition. When asked why he chose 15%, he replied simply, “It’s more than 10%.”
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