Local Manufacturer Gives Surprise Bonus to all Employees

SEMINOLE, Fla., Nov. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The employees of S.S. White Technologies and its subsidiary Shukla Medical in St. Petersburg, Florida went home happy last Thursday. In today's cost-cutting climate, most small to medium size manufacturing companies in Florida are struggling to make the ends meet and do not have much cash left to give workers a raise much less an unexpected cash bonus. At S.S. White, at a monthly employee town hall meeting, the CEO, Rahul Shukla, announced that their September sales exceeded all prior months.

The company relocated its entire headquarters from Piscataway, NJ to St. Petersburg, FL in January of 2018 and brought with them 125 jobs. When S.S. White purchased the Essilor building on Sheen Drive in Seminole and moved 40 truckloads of machinery, the employees and the management expected to take many months to get to normal production. "We not only got settled in beautiful Florida in record time but this month we broke our all-time monthly billing records," said Shukla to the employees. Then he said something that the employees had not expected, "To thank you just with words is not enough. At the end of my speech, we will give a cash bonus of one hundred dollars to every employee."

There was a thunderous applause in the meeting room. The employees had a smile from ear to ear and some even got misty eyed. "This company treats us like a family", said Mike McKeever, Shipping & Receiving Supervisor. "I've worked in warehousing for over 20 years and have never seen anyone share good news this way. I love this company."

"The money will help." said David Kleer who works as a CNC operator, "But for the owner to reach into his pocket and give this bonus to every worker is unbelievable. He will be blessed for this."

At the end of the speech, the HR Manager, Sheryl Sheppard, and her HR team were standing ready with $12,000 in crisp one hundred dollar bills and handed out one bill to each employee. They reminded the employees that even though the bonus was paid in cash, it will be duly reported as their income through payroll.

"This is not the only time the owner has surprised us", said Nancy Santiago who joined S.S. White in January. "At that time, he called us all in a meeting and told us that the company will pay 100% of the premium for medical, dental, and life insurance. I nearly cried."

S.S. White Technologies, founded in 1844, is one of the oldest manufacturing companies in the USA. They make highly engineered products. They proudly state that 98% of all the airplanes made in the world have at least one S.S. White part on them. Their subsidiary Shukla Medical, also in the same building, makes orthopedic surgical tools designed to extract worn or broken implants. S.S. White has subsidiaries in UK and India.

S.S. White purchased the Essilor building in Seminole that was unoccupied for over five years. The company has several unique distinctions, one being, it is one of the oldest manufacturing companies in the country. It was founded by legendary dentist Samuel Stockton White in 1844. Its original products are displayed in Smithsonian. In 1973, Shukla, after finishing his studies, took a low-level factory job at S.S. White. Fifteen years later, he ended up buying the company. Today, S.S. White is considered the world's number one company for flexible shafts and orthopedic extraction tools.

When asked why they paid a surprise bonus, Shukla replied, "This was our way to tell employees that they all can celebrate our successes."

Sheryl Sheppard, HR Manager said, "Since moving to Seminole, we have hired over 75 factory and office employees from the local market and we are still hiring."

For additional information
Sheryl Sheppard
Human Resources Manager
(727) 626-2831
sheryl(AT)sswhite.net
For more information on these companies:
http://www.sswhite.net and http://www.shuklamedical.com

SOURCE SS White Technologies