EAST WENATCHEE — A high-tech instrument manufacturer here has become an employee-owned company, the CEO announced Thursday.

Paine Electronics, which makes pressure transducers and transmitters for extreme environments, will begin its employee stock option plan (ESOP) Jan. 1, effectively putting the future of the company in the hands of its 100-plus employees, said company CEO Roy Ferguson.

“We believe that our employees should share in the company’s success in a truly tangible way,” he said. “The ESOP program means that our employees are now part owners of the company and benefit financially from a job well done.”

Ferguson said the ESOP provides a “direct incentive for employees to work hard and take pride in what they do.”

The Ferguson family purchased the 61-year-old company in 2001 and has seen substantial growth and demand for its products, said the CEO. The company has since expanded and, more recently, completed a new research-and-development facility.

The East Wenatchee-based company, with additional offices in Renton, designs and manufactures sensitive measuring devices that stand up to high stresses, high pressures and extreme temperatures for environments such as undersea oil rigs and high-altitude military and aerospace equipment.

For more info on the company, visit paineelectronics.com.