On April 1st, I was fortunate enough to have sold my company, which I have been building for over 26 years, to Nalco Company. We are a wholly owned subsidiary now and our official name is Res-Kem LLC although we will continue to go by Res-Kem General Water.
As with every privately held business in America it is imperative to have a succession plan in place. As responsible business owners, my business partner and husband Bob Hader and I developed a business and team that would continue to thrive whether or not we are able to work. The team of people who work at our company are the best at what they do and I’ve worked hard to make sure no one was irreplaceable, including me.
I know things don’t always go as planned. I wasn’t looking to sell the business, we had a great 2009 in spite of the recession, but we were at a point where it was time to consider the next steps. These steps always include investing money in the business and it was time to consider all of my options. During the past year I’ve explored all the options and and was lucky enough to have been approached by Nalco during this evaluation.
My goals were to:
1. Continue to grow the business and secure the employment of my co-workers. As a family business, my coworkers include two brothers, a nephew, and many people who are like family. Those of you in small businesses know what I’m talking about.
2. Continue to take care of all of customers in the same fashion. We have a reputation to uphold. We are a business to business company but most importantly we’re a people company. We work hard for and like our customers.
3. Expand the company so rewarding manufacturing jobs will be available for the next generation.
4. Sell the company to people who would like for me to continue operating it. I may be in denial about my age, but I’m still not old enough to retire!
5. Make a deal with people I like – I had to like the people I would sell the company to.
So here’s the bottom line. I have accomplished all my goals and am excited for the future. As I said before the acquisition, we are not a chemical company. We distribute, service, and assemble water treatment equipment including service DI. I want to assure each of our customers using a different chemical company that we will continue to do business as always and not be bringing in the local Nalco rep. We are simply doing for Nalco the same things we’ve been doing for years – supplying equipment, services and SDI.
As with every privately held business in America it is imperative to have a succession plan in place. As responsible business owners, my business partner and husband Bob Hader and I developed a business and team that would continue to thrive whether or not we are able to work. The team of people who work at our company are the best at what they do and I’ve worked hard to make sure no one was irreplaceable, including me.
I know things don’t always go as planned. I wasn’t looking to sell the business, we had a great 2009 in spite of the recession, but we were at a point where it was time to consider the next steps. These steps always include investing money in the business and it was time to consider all of my options. During the past year I’ve explored all the options and and was lucky enough to have been approached by Nalco during this evaluation.
My goals were to:
1. Continue to grow the business and secure the employment of my co-workers. As a family business, my coworkers include two brothers, a nephew, and many people who are like family. Those of you in small businesses know what I’m talking about.
2. Continue to take care of all of customers in the same fashion. We have a reputation to uphold. We are a business to business company but most importantly we’re a people company. We work hard for and like our customers.
3. Expand the company so rewarding manufacturing jobs will be available for the next generation.
4. Sell the company to people who would like for me to continue operating it. I may be in denial about my age, but I’m still not old enough to retire!
5. Make a deal with people I like – I had to like the people I would sell the company to.
So here’s the bottom line. I have accomplished all my goals and am excited for the future. As I said before the acquisition, we are not a chemical company. We distribute, service, and assemble water treatment equipment including service DI. I want to assure each of our customers using a different chemical company that we will continue to do business as always and not be bringing in the local Nalco rep. We are simply doing for Nalco the same things we’ve been doing for years – supplying equipment, services and SDI.
