to this year’s 50 Best Places to Work recipients! Congratulations

Many characteristics make a company great. But more to the point, what makes a company a great place to work? Answers to the question may be many: Its leadership, the way it innovates, how it empowers its employees, the compensation and benefits it offers, its culture events.

As you’ll see in the following profiles of the recipients of this year’s 50 Best Places to Work, these are exactly some of the exceptional offerings these companies are committed to providing for their employees.

The list is a sampling of the region’s innovative companies and enthusiastic workforce, which shows people are excited about their jobs and the companies that provide them. That’s good news not only for the businesses that have been nominated, but it’s great news for all of the region’s residents, consumers and managers alike.

If people feel appreciated and are happy in their jobs, they are more productive. If they feel appreciated and valued, they are more apt to go the extra mile. There is less turnover and more innovation. And the end result of that is a better company.

Here are 50 of the region’s best companies that, in large part, were nominated by their employees. Congratulations to all of them!

AE2S

Headquarters: Grand Forks, N.D.

Number of employees: 308

Website: AE2S.com continued on page 22

Description: AE2S celebrates its 30th anniversary this year! Ever since 1991, the AE2S team of professionals has focused on empowering people and enhancing lives. AE2S’s primary focus is to help ensure clean drinking water, safe wastewater management, and smart water resource development through planning, financing, designing, and building infrastructure. We believe by taking care of our clients, we will have the resources to take care of our team and provide rewarding career opportunities. AE2S is proud to be 100% employee owned.