Joining Great Lakes is an opportunity to advance your career at a strong, stable Western New York-based company who has been an innovative industry leader for more than 50 years.
Great Lakes was founded in 1965 and has grown from a 2-person orthodontic lab to a 200+ employee-owned company. We’re still growing and are currently looking for exceptional people to join our team.
At Great Lakes, each one of our employee-owners is vital to our growth and success. We provide ongoing professional training and development, we offer competitive benefits and compensation, and we encourage an environment that promotes wellness and work-life balance.
One of the best thing about Great Lakes is opportunity. What they afforded me was the opportunity for a career instead of a job. At my previous job, I just felt like I was at a standstill. I wasn't going anywhere. I don't feel stuck here at all. I feel comfortable here. All of our employees, you know, really care about what we do that goes into our quality and our relationships when we develop them with with customers. You know, because we're an employee owned business and they could see that, you know, we really care and we're dedicated to what we do. Being an employee owner is very special. Giving a voice that's very rare that you even find a company that's like that anymore. So it's very valuable not only for you now, but for your future. There is There is a lot of Being an employee owner, it means a lot. To be frank, diving right into orthodontics. I knew nothing about, you know, when I started here, the training, you know, the people that I've worked with, the people that I've been blessed with in terms of helping me learn about the business and the company, and they continue to do so. You know, it's it's just a wonderful place to work. Well, working here with my mother. It's been awesome. I also have two sisters that work here, so it's nice to not only have family here, but people who have gotten really close with who are also known as family. I've been here 20 years, so I've had a lot of really close relationships with people here, and it's nice to have that. It makes me feel proud that we have a great team here at Great Lakes that helps achieve great quality. There is a lot of respect for coworkers. You work so well together. There are people here from all walks of life. You're so close. You're interdependent on each other. One function follows another. The respect there helps everything flow that much better. The quality is great. The customer service is amazing. Coworkers always treat everybody with respect. We always try our best. We always do our best. Everyone here cares. I like what I do. I enjoy what I do. it’s really just trying to provide the best service that I possibly can in the most politest manner, I don't feel stressed out when I walk through that door. The work life balance here is incredible. You know, everybody's very just polite and friendly. We work hard, but we also we play hard. I've worked at a lot of laboratories, and I came back here and I saw my former coworkers still here, which helped to tell me this is the best lab that I've worked for. And that's why I ended up back at Great Lakes.
Take ownership of your career. Become an Employee Owner.
What is the Great Lakes Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)?
The Great Lakes Dental Technologies ESOP is a tax-deferred retirement plan. To establish the ESOP, the company created a trust that holds the assets, including stock. Individual accounts are maintained in the trust for each ESOP participant.
As a Great Lakes employee and participant in the ESOP, you have beneficial ownership in Great Lakes. You benefit from the value of the shares in your ESOP account. As you continue to work at Great Lakes, shares accumulate in your account through company contributions. At the conclusion of employment, your vested ESOP balance is distributed, according to plan guidelines and based on your financial objective and strategy.
Great Lakes ESOP increases the value of our company. It contributes to how we make decisions for our customers and our coworkers, how we work together to develop strategies, set goals and ultimately how we meet and exceed our own expectations.
The Advantages of Employee Ownership
Beneficial ownership interest in the vested value of stock allocated to your account at no cost to you
Stock value in your account is based on the financial results of Great Lakes
Being a part of a team whose actions and decisions impact Great Lakes’ financial results and the future value of the company
“Many employees come to work at Great Lakes thinking of it as a stepping stone towards something else. And, we’re okay with that because many of those same employees end up staying, advancing within the company, and enjoying a long successful career here.”
