Lexicon said the decision comes after a comprehensive review of long-term succession needs and reflects the leadership’s commitment to preserving company culture.
Chief Executive Officer Patrick Schueck said no one knows the company better than the employees who work for it.
“When I thought about the future of the business my parents built from nothing — and that I’ve been privileged to help grow — it became clear that the only way to protect our legacy was to place it in the hands of those who built it with us,” he said. “Our employees have always been family, and making them owners is an honor and a joy.”
Schueck led the move as a way to preserve the values and legacy of the company his parents founded in 1968, according to a company news release.
The move to employee ownership was done through the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
The transition, which took place in late 2025, marks a strategic investment in the people who have built the company and will lead it for decades to come, according to Lexicon.
Schueck said the plan allows Lexicon’s more than 3,000 employees a chance to have an ownership stake in the company. The plan will also provide a path for employees to build equity and wealth over the long term.
Lexicon said the plan functions similar to a retirement plan, where shares are held on behalf of employee owners until they retire or leave the company.
The transition does not change any company roles, leaders, or work. Lexicon said compensation, benefits and the existing 401(k) plans will remain the same.
“My family has always insisted that Lexicon’s people come first,” Schueck said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”
In March 2025, Lexicon announced an expansion in Little Rock that would create 60 jobs. The expansion, a $37.6 million capital investment, involves work on its headquarters and steel fabrication operation.
The company said at the time the four-phase expansion will take two years in total. It includes construction of a 6,165-square-foot production facility and a 46,000-square-foot expansion of the company’s fabrication facility at the Port of Little Rock. The company will also add some 5,000 square feet to its corporate office on Fourche Dam Pike and remodel its facility on Sloane Drive.
The Arkansas Economic Development Commission offered Lexicon two incentives for the expansion: the Tax Back Program and five years of the Create Rebate program. The first program allows for sales and use tax refunds on the purchase of building materials for businesses. The second provides annual cash payments to the business based on a company’s annual payroll.
The company has more than 2,000 employees in the country, with 523 of them in Arkansas. Jobs that will be added by the expansion include machine operators, welders, fitters and shop supervisors.
Read more in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
