Every year, an Exxel Pacific employee goes home with a squirrel trophy.
The competitions vary from year to year, but they’re all part of the Bellevue-based general contractor’s annual celebration of its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, which provides ownership and retirement benefits to its workforce. The Bellingham-based contractor also offers training and certification assistance, an employee assistance program and a 401(k) matching program with no salary cap, among other benefits.
About Exxel Pacific
Category: Large (150-499 employees)
Rank: 3
Headquarters: Bellingham
Top local executive: Geoff Stodola, president and CEO
Washington headcount: 155
Score: 91.06
What the company says:
“Exxel Pacific being 100% employee-owned allows our employees to take ownership of their roles in a unique way. Our team comes together to celebrate the Employee Stock Ownership Plan every September, with friendly competition amongst the teams to win prizes and a squirrel trophy. In 2025, the competitions included a construction hard hat sticker design and mini golf hole-building challenges. Employees got creative and got to vote on the winners. Teams worked together to create hard hat stickers related to what working for Exxel Pacific and being a member of an ESOP meant to them. Additionally, each team built a mini golf hole, and all of the holes were set up at our ESOP barbecue, where everyone played the mini golf course. Exxel Pacific truly believes in putting our people first and prioritizes team building and both personal and professional development. We understand that the success of our company depends on the satisfaction, health and safety of all our employees.”
What employees say:
“Best place I’ve ever worked. We are a family here, and from the first week, I got to know my coworkers and created friendships. That led to feeling like family and relying on each other to make sure we are helping where needed, sometimes without even asking. It’s special, also, to be part of a 100% employee-owned company! We bleed purple here.”
“Exxel has a very strong culture centered on its people and works hard to keep people satisfied in their roles, provides strong peer feedback and communicates what it will take to get to the next level of responsibility and title. The company has clearly been strategically planning for transitions in executive leadership and it feels that the company is very careful and strategic in its financial goals and growth targets.”
“Exxel Pacific has a great sense of company culture and truly practices daily the core purpose of ‘building enduring relationships’ and core values. It is a team atmosphere from top to bottom and a fun place to work.”
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