MY BIGGIST MISTAKE… …AND HOW I FIXED IT

Company: Poly-Carb Inc.
Chairman/CEO: Ratanjit Sondhe
Founded: 1973
Headquarters: Solon
Employees: 40

Fledgling owner learned to value worker dedication over experience

By Ratanjit Sondhe, as told to Plain Dealer reporter Marcia Pledger

I started a construction chemicals firm, and we’re continually developing new technologies to create more durable products.

Our company makes high-end polymers used to create bridge deck overlays, industrial flooring, parking deck waterproofing systems and pavement striping. One of our products is a luminous epoxy pavement marking that can be found striped on highways across the country.

We focus more on advanced technology, not just making products. Buy my biggest mistake was not knowing how to get results from my employees. I stated a company without a mission statement based on universal values.

Today, our employees no longer carry titles, and their actions are driven by a set of ethics-based guidelines. But this is an entirely different company than it was 31 years ago.

I came to America in 1968 with several degrees and spent years studying chemical research before I started the former company with two friends.

When I started Poly-Carb, accountants, attorneys and bankers advised me to hire people with lots of experience.

My adviser said that because I didn’t know anything about business I should hire people who were knowledgeable about marketing and sales. It wasn’t bad advice. But it didn’t work for this company.

The people I hired wanted bigger cars, titles, offices and salaries. We had seven secretaries at that time and yet we still couldn’t get a letter typed. Suddenly, there were 55 people working at a company with less than a $1 million in sales.

The rude awakening came when my accountant told me that for all practical purposes I was broke. In that same meeting, my attorney advised me to file bankruptcy. He said, “We can file for Chapter 11, and I can settle your accounts for 10 cents on a dollar. We can do it very quickly without you losing your name or the business or accounts.”

For the fist time in my life I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to cheat people. Instead, I took a hard look at my business. I still had good orders, and realized that I was responsible for 90 percent of the company’s sales.

I decided I had to let go of my entire staff. I realized we didn’t need seven secretaries; just energetic, intelligent people who wanted to add value and work together as a team.

But even though I had good orders, I still needed raw material to fulfill them, and I did not have any money. I contacted my largest supplier and said I needed to visit them in New York. I owed them $500 million, and they told me there was no need to visit – just send a check. Somehow, I persuaded the senior vice president of finance to see me.

I told him that I had legitimate orders from contractors backed by the Department of Transportation. He said, “You didn’t make money before. How are you going to make money now?” He was right. But I showed him the cash flow that had been calculated for my company. I said that people were making those large salaries were no longer on my payroll. I have people who will work about one-fourth of what I was paying.

He said,” Your know, either you are the biggest con artist that I have ever met or you are a really honest person.”

I said, “It takes a con to recognize a con. But it also takes an honest person to recognize and honest person. You tell me who I am.

He game me the money, and we were able to pay off all of our debts within a year in 1980. We’ve been profitable every year since then and now have a second facility in Georgia.

Since that time, we have placed tremendous effort on developing a value system for our company. We hire open-minded people who are willing to learn, take responsibility and multitask. There’s nothing wrong with finding experienced people, but until you find people with values, experience alone doesn’t cut it.