Somerville Plating’s New Owners Meet Old Traditions In Servicing Customers

Much like politics, Kandarp Patel knows that all electroplating is local.

Kandarp PatelKandarp PatelSo when he and his partners began searching for a business they could buy and run, their focus quickly turned to the surface finishing industry after seeing a trend among other manufacturing sectors.

The result was the purchase in mid-2024 of Somerville Plating in Melrose Park, Illinois, a Nadcap-certified operation that has over 44 years in the finishing industry.

“We were looking for something in manufacturing, and we realized that a lot of it has been moving around because of the competitive risks of moving it to Mexico and China,” Patel says. “However, plating is a very local business, and it seemed that this business is always needed for the local industry, and there's never a risk of outsourcing that.”

Feeling Connected and Passion in Finishing

New owners Kandarp Patel and Shalin Amin took over Somerville in 2024.New owners Kandarp Patel and Shalin Amin took over Somerville in 2024.Those who have owned finishing operations since the 1970s may disagree with that — especially after the 2008 recession when many finishing operations were shipped to China — but Patel and his partners knew an opportunity when it presented itself with Somerville Plating.

“We were looking for plating as a subset of opportunities to pursue within manufacturing,” he says. “And then this opportunity came about. We looked at the numbers and spoke to the business owner, and we felt connected. We felt that he was passionate about the business, and he took care of that business.”

That would be Randy Hauslein, who bought the former E.J. Somerville Co. in Chicago in 1990 and moved it to Melrose Park. He was previously the plant manager at the company, starting in 1982; before that, he worked with Hausner Hard Chrome.

Hauslein has stayed on as Director of Quality Control, and his wife, Lori Hauslein, remains the Head Of Operations for Somerville Plating as Patel and his business partner, Shalin Amin, get to know the business better.

Patel and Amin have extensive manufacturing experience; Patel was Director of Industrial Strategy for Philips, which makes medical products for consumers, and before that, was a Senior Program Manager at Eaton.

Prior Expertise in Aerospace and Defense

Somerville provides hard chrome and electroless nickel finishes, among others.Somerville Plating provides hard chrome and electroless nickel finishes, among others.Somerville specializes in hard chrome plating, electroless nickel, and grinding and polishing services. Its website lists clients such as Tesla, Eaton, Gleason, Morrisey, and other manufacturers.

“We thought it was the right platform for us to jump in and bring in our expertise,” Patel says. “I had expertise in aerospace and defense, and this business was operating in that realm. We thought we could easily scale it up, and then we also thought there were other industries we could steer the business towards.”

Patel says the 5,500-square-foot facility has several large national accounts but also caters to the Chicago area's local machining and grinding business. Melrose Park is located just south of O’Hare Airport, so it has many opportunities for business in the region, especially in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Patel and Amin are focusing on bringing in customers who manufacture medical devices.

 “We don't have a lot of presence in medical now, but we continue to scale in aerospace and defense,” Patel says. “It seemed to be a great opportunity before, and we are four months in, and we continue to believe that it is a great opportunity for us.”

Patel and Amin looked at various manufacturing operations before entering the surface finishing industry. When they met Hauslein, they liked that he was committed to finding someone to take great care of the family business and its employees.

“ He was passionate, and he wanted to make sure that whoever took this on could provide the necessary support and knowledge transfer,” Patel said. “We are four months into this transaction, and he's still helping and supporting us. He's already got his check and is being paid, but he still comes in, takes a look, and helps us out wherever he can, which is great. We feel we made the right decision to bet on this gentleman and that couple who wanted to transition out.”

Transferring Knowledge to New Owners

Randy HausleinRandy HausleinNeither Patel nor Amin had direct prior experience in surface finishing in their past careers. Still, they each understood the processes and knew that the knowledge from the previous owners could be transferred efficiently.

 When they went through a site visit with the Hausleins, Patel and Amin said they realized that it wasn't a complicated process they needed to learn. More importantly, the Hausleins reassured them that he could teach them the processes and transfer the knowledge.

Being a Nadcap facility helped them with the learning curve because of the stringent documentation requirements.

“We had robust documentation in place,” Patel says. “We were a little more confident that this was something that we could take on and learn on the go, on the job, and at the same time, leverage some of the things that we already knew.”

Shalin AminShalin AminStill, there was a significant learning curve for both Patel and Amin and a few eye-opening moments, especially regarding the equipment used in the finishing processes.

 ”We didn't realize that the equipment we were using required a lot of close monitoring,” Patel says. “And the other thing that surprised us was that — even though this is a Nadcap-certified shop — a lot of this process was manual, and everything was still on paper.”

Moving Shop to Digital Systems

Patel and Amin are in the process of converting Somerville Plating to a digital system and moving away from a manual approach — “Every piece of data being tracked was through a pen and a paper,” Patel says — to something that requires less personal interaction,

“My experience in the industry is that everything was available at the push of a button,” he says. “We get customer calls asking about status, and we have to take the paper onto the floor and see where the product is; there wasn't some system that would tell us, ‘Hey, this product is at this process.’ That was a surprise.’”

In the first four months, they also witnessed the frailty of the equipment, with routine breakdowns that caused issues with production. It quickly became an issue they needed to correct.

“We are making sure that all the maintenance of our equipment and the necessary checks is taking place regularly,” Patel says. “It was something we took for granted; we thought everything would be working and good to go, but it didn't. And so we are closely monitoring both of these areas.”

Another new approach that Patel and Amin are working to bring to Somerville Plating is a different approach to recruiting new employees and adding to the workforce to grow the company.

Empowering Staff with Additional Resources

The Somerville Plating team.The Somerville Plating team.They have been looking around the Chicagoland area for assistance in human resources programs, especially in training their workers.

 ”We are trying to reach out to the local government and see what training resources we could have,” Patel says. “We are trying to reach out to the universities and see what basic chemistry understanding our staff needs. We're trying to empower our staff with additional resources. I had worked with government incentive programs before, and I reached out and leveraged an apprentice program that the city of Chicago was offering. We bring Those things from our background, and we look at everything that comes with that fresh perspective.”

Patel says Somerville Plating will need to grow its workforce to get additional work in the medical device field.

“ I feel medical is a big area where we can play because of some of the same processes and safeguards that aerospace requires in terms of documentation and data gathering,” he says. “Medical devices also need that same background and documentation. They also need those long-lasting units, which our chrome plating can provide. I feel that's an opportunity we are trying to pursue, and we are in talks with a few companies in the medical device arena.”

But Patel wants to ensure he communicates well with current staff and that they know how he and Amin want to take Somerville Plating since the acquisition.

 ”You have to maintain continuity, and any change that you bring has to have that continuity, so it little changes at a time,” he says. “You have to nudge your workforce, and you have to nudge the processes only slightly. You can't do it at a rapid pace because then people get surprised, and they get alarmed.”

Patience is Key for New Owners

somerville 5Instead, patience is the key to growing a 40+-year-old shop like Somerville Plating.

“We have been very patient with some of the changes that we've implemented, and it’s all about communication,” Patel says. “So, for any changes we want to bring in, we've communicated with our staff and got their feedback before incorporating those changes. Our staff has been positive about the changes we've implemented, and they have been on our side, as have the previous owners. They also have been able to assimilate some of the changes that we've tried to implement.”

For Patel, this is the first business he has owned where he is in the driver’s seat, and the decisions fall on his shoulders. So far, the finishing industry has been enjoyable for him and Amin, but it is sometimes a daunting task.

 ”You are the person who's calling the shots,” Patel says. “If there are successes, you get the accolades. But at the same time, people are looking at you to make decisions and want you to make the right decisions. So it's a collaborative approach where we get inputs and then make an informed decision. But 10 people are looking at me for decisions and ensuring their livelihoods are taken care of based on my decisions and impact.”

Visit https://www.somervilleplating.com.

Somerville Plating’s New Owners Meet Old Traditions In Servicing Customers

Somerville Plating’s New Owners Meet Old Traditions In Servicing Customers

Somerville Plating’s New Owners Meet Old Traditions In Servicing Customers

Much like politics, Kandarp Patel knows that all electroplating is local.

Kandarp PatelKandarp PatelSo when he and his partners began searching for a business they could buy and run, their focus quickly turned to the surface finishing industry after seeing a trend among other manufacturing sectors.

The result was the purchase in mid-2024 of Somerville Plating in Melrose Park, Illinois, a Nadcap-certified operation that has over 44 years in the finishing industry.

“We were looking for something in manufacturing, and we realized that a lot of it has been moving around because of the competitive risks of moving it to Mexico and China,” Patel says. “However, plating is a very local business, and it seemed that this business is always needed for the local industry, and there's never a risk of outsourcing that.”

Feeling Connected and Passion in Finishing

New owners Kandarp Patel and Shalin Amin took over Somerville in 2024.New owners Kandarp Patel and Shalin Amin took over Somerville in 2024.Those who have owned finishing operations since the 1970s may disagree with that — especially after the 2008 recession when many finishing operations were shipped to China — but Patel and his partners knew an opportunity when it presented itself with Somerville Plating.

“We were looking for plating as a subset of opportunities to pursue within manufacturing,” he says. “And then this opportunity came about. We looked at the numbers and spoke to the business owner, and we felt connected. We felt that he was passionate about the business, and he took care of that business.”

That would be Randy Hauslein, who bought the former E.J. Somerville Co. in Chicago in 1990 and moved it to Melrose Park. He was previously the plant manager at the company, starting in 1982; before that, he worked with Hausner Hard Chrome.

Hauslein has stayed on as Director of Quality Control, and his wife, Lori Hauslein, remains the Head Of Operations for Somerville Plating as Patel and his business partner, Shalin Amin, get to know the business better.

Patel and Amin have extensive manufacturing experience; Patel was Director of Industrial Strategy for Philips, which makes medical products for consumers, and before that, was a Senior Program Manager at Eaton.

Prior Expertise in Aerospace and Defense

Somerville provides hard chrome and electroless nickel finishes, among others.Somerville Plating provides hard chrome and electroless nickel finishes, among others.Somerville specializes in hard chrome plating, electroless nickel, and grinding and polishing services. Its website lists clients such as Tesla, Eaton, Gleason, Morrisey, and other manufacturers.

“We thought it was the right platform for us to jump in and bring in our expertise,” Patel says. “I had expertise in aerospace and defense, and this business was operating in that realm. We thought we could easily scale it up, and then we also thought there were other industries we could steer the business towards.”

Patel says the 5,500-square-foot facility has several large national accounts but also caters to the Chicago area's local machining and grinding business. Melrose Park is located just south of O’Hare Airport, so it has many opportunities for business in the region, especially in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Patel and Amin are focusing on bringing in customers who manufacture medical devices.

 “We don't have a lot of presence in medical now, but we continue to scale in aerospace and defense,” Patel says. “It seemed to be a great opportunity before, and we are four months in, and we continue to believe that it is a great opportunity for us.”

Patel and Amin looked at various manufacturing operations before entering the surface finishing industry. When they met Hauslein, they liked that he was committed to finding someone to take great care of the family business and its employees.

“ He was passionate, and he wanted to make sure that whoever took this on could provide the necessary support and knowledge transfer,” Patel said. “We are four months into this transaction, and he's still helping and supporting us. He's already got his check and is being paid, but he still comes in, takes a look, and helps us out wherever he can, which is great. We feel we made the right decision to bet on this gentleman and that couple who wanted to transition out.”

Transferring Knowledge to New Owners

Randy HausleinRandy HausleinNeither Patel nor Amin had direct prior experience in surface finishing in their past careers. Still, they each understood the processes and knew that the knowledge from the previous owners could be transferred efficiently.

 When they went through a site visit with the Hausleins, Patel and Amin said they realized that it wasn't a complicated process they needed to learn. More importantly, the Hausleins reassured them that he could teach them the processes and transfer the knowledge.

Being a Nadcap facility helped them with the learning curve because of the stringent documentation requirements.

“We had robust documentation in place,” Patel says. “We were a little more confident that this was something that we could take on and learn on the go, on the job, and at the same time, leverage some of the things that we already knew.”

Shalin AminShalin AminStill, there was a significant learning curve for both Patel and Amin and a few eye-opening moments, especially regarding the equipment used in the finishing processes.

 ”We didn't realize that the equipment we were using required a lot of close monitoring,” Patel says. “And the other thing that surprised us was that — even though this is a Nadcap-certified shop — a lot of this process was manual, and everything was still on paper.”

Moving Shop to Digital Systems

Patel and Amin are in the process of converting Somerville Plating to a digital system and moving away from a manual approach — “Every piece of data being tracked was through a pen and a paper,” Patel says — to something that requires less personal interaction,

“My experience in the industry is that everything was available at the push of a button,” he says. “We get customer calls asking about status, and we have to take the paper onto the floor and see where the product is; there wasn't some system that would tell us, ‘Hey, this product is at this process.’ That was a surprise.’”

In the first four months, they also witnessed the frailty of the equipment, with routine breakdowns that caused issues with production. It quickly became an issue they needed to correct.

“We are making sure that all the maintenance of our equipment and the necessary checks is taking place regularly,” Patel says. “It was something we took for granted; we thought everything would be working and good to go, but it didn't. And so we are closely monitoring both of these areas.”

Another new approach that Patel and Amin are working to bring to Somerville Plating is a different approach to recruiting new employees and adding to the workforce to grow the company.

Empowering Staff with Additional Resources

The Somerville Plating team.The Somerville Plating team.They have been looking around the Chicagoland area for assistance in human resources programs, especially in training their workers.

 ”We are trying to reach out to the local government and see what training resources we could have,” Patel says. “We are trying to reach out to the universities and see what basic chemistry understanding our staff needs. We're trying to empower our staff with additional resources. I had worked with government incentive programs before, and I reached out and leveraged an apprentice program that the city of Chicago was offering. We bring Those things from our background, and we look at everything that comes with that fresh perspective.”

Patel says Somerville Plating will need to grow its workforce to get additional work in the medical device field.

“ I feel medical is a big area where we can play because of some of the same processes and safeguards that aerospace requires in terms of documentation and data gathering,” he says. “Medical devices also need that same background and documentation. They also need those long-lasting units, which our chrome plating can provide. I feel that's an opportunity we are trying to pursue, and we are in talks with a few companies in the medical device arena.”

But Patel wants to ensure he communicates well with current staff and that they know how he and Amin want to take Somerville Plating since the acquisition.

 ”You have to maintain continuity, and any change that you bring has to have that continuity, so it little changes at a time,” he says. “You have to nudge your workforce, and you have to nudge the processes only slightly. You can't do it at a rapid pace because then people get surprised, and they get alarmed.”

Patience is Key for New Owners

somerville 5Instead, patience is the key to growing a 40+-year-old shop like Somerville Plating.

“We have been very patient with some of the changes that we've implemented, and it’s all about communication,” Patel says. “So, for any changes we want to bring in, we've communicated with our staff and got their feedback before incorporating those changes. Our staff has been positive about the changes we've implemented, and they have been on our side, as have the previous owners. They also have been able to assimilate some of the changes that we've tried to implement.”

For Patel, this is the first business he has owned where he is in the driver’s seat, and the decisions fall on his shoulders. So far, the finishing industry has been enjoyable for him and Amin, but it is sometimes a daunting task.

 ”You are the person who's calling the shots,” Patel says. “If there are successes, you get the accolades. But at the same time, people are looking at you to make decisions and want you to make the right decisions. So it's a collaborative approach where we get inputs and then make an informed decision. But 10 people are looking at me for decisions and ensuring their livelihoods are taken care of based on my decisions and impact.”

Visit https://www.somervilleplating.com.