From employee to owner; new local company sets out with goal of hiring and training future...

Any person who starts a small contracting company in today's business climate will eventually have to deal with two problems: The first is handling the high employee-turnover rate. The second is the dreaded situation where the owner works on construction projects during the day and then does office work at night.

Ed Essex and Diane Wells have a concept that may help solve those problems: Through their company, Montage Holdings, Inc., Essex and Wells founded Masonry Works Inc., a contracting company that will be employee-owned.

Their plan is to start other sm