Ingersoll Rand Inc., the global industrial products and technologies company, has awarded a $150 million equity grant to its16,000 employees, equal to 20 percent of their annual pay, the company announced on Monday.

“This is a $150 million investment in our employees,” CEO Vicente Reynal said in a statement. “We are not aware of any other industrial company our size having done something like this; it’s a meaningful way to build an ownership culture where all employees can benefit from creating value as they all contribute to our success.”

The philosophy of allowing employees a piece of ownership in the company goes back to Gardner Denver, which gave an equity grant when it returned to the public markets in 2017. At the time, then-CEO Reynal and Pete Stavros, private equity firm KKR’s co-head of Americas private equity, authorized a $100 million grant to Gardner Denver employees. Those who held on to their shares saw an 80% appreciation.

“It’s an obvious but often overlooked point: employees are the single most important driver in building stronger companies. Today, we are thrilled to continue to invest in Ingersoll Rand’s future by investing in and empowering Ingersoll Rand’s employees,” Stavros, now chairman of Ingersoll Rand, said.

Gardner Denver finalized its merger with Ingersoll Rand Industrial in late February and began trading as Ingersoll Rand in March.

Shares of Ingersoll Rand (IR) were last trading 4.46 percent lower near $34.30 on Monday.