Polyhose focuses on long term despite pandemic

CHENNAI, India—When an unforeseen crisis like the coronavirus pandemic strikes, the tendency can be to try to resolve immediate rather than long-term issues.

The key, according to the leadership team at Polyhose Inc., is to strike a balance between the two philosophies, one that prioritizes the safety and well-being of its more than 2,000 employees, yet remains flexible enough to keep its operations, and its bottom line, afloat during volatile times.

"Polyhose has a long-term commitment, even during a global financial crisis," said Senior Vice President Jonathan Pressler. "Polyhose will always keep a long-term perspective. This really is a plus. The company's expenditures into research and development and their commitment to quality doesn't waiver during this time of financial volatility, and that's very refreshing."

The global hose manufacturer also demonstrated its commitment to its work force during the pandemic, as a majority of Polyhose's employees live in northern India and are housed at the company's campus in southern India for periods of time. All of the company's manufacturing is done across 1 million square feet of production space in India.

There have been no cases of COVID-19 at any of the company's facilities, either in India, New Jersey, South Carolina, Europe, the Middle East or Asia, according to Polyhose President Fatima Mohammed.

When the pandemic struck, the Indian government instituted a "Section 144," which essentially put in place a curfew for everyone in the country, where no more than five or six people could congregate at a time, said Raja Rajagopalan, the firm's senior vice president of distribution and sales.

Polyhose closed for 40 days, with many of its workers relegated to their campus homes.

"Even when we were allowed to open, we maintained protective gear for all our employees," Rajagopalan said. "But Polyhose really went above and beyond, as we provided masks for both our employees and the local community. Since the stores were closed, we got veggies and food for the workers housed near the plants and placed the food on their door steps."

Polyhose reopened in India in mid-May, and is operating at between 80 and 85 percent as it ramps up once again, Mohammed said.

"They wanted to ease restrictions up earlier, but then things shot back up again," Mohammed said. "But now, this week and the end of last week, we have started to function fully, more or less."

Some employees returned to their Northern India homes for various reasons—health concerns, concerns for family members—and have not yet returned to Polyhose in the south, but most of the work force is back on the floor, Mohammed said. No staffing changes are anticipated because of the pandemic, according to Polyhose.

"The company is taking measures to ensure their safety," she said.

While the pandemic's impact in Asian and European markets—namely oil and gas—was "significant," the company remains strong financially, with cash on hand and proper liquidity, said Mohammed Millwala, vice president of operations at Polyhose.

"Financially the company is very strong," Millwala said. "We were able to support employees while managing our overhead and associated costs."

Some orders in the aforementioned markets were unable to ship due to shutdowns farther down the supply chain, and the timing of the oil "war" between Saudi Arabia and Russia "could not have come at a worse time," Rajagopalan said.

But in North America, the hose market remained strong, buoyed by Polyhose's foresight to keep capacity (mainly for the paint spray industry) on hand in New Jersey and South Carolina. And as the construction industry goes, so goes the paint spray market.

"North America really was unaffected for us, given that the paint spray industry business—focused in construction—remained at the same level in North America throughout the pandemic," Rajagopalan said.

With stock on hand before the pandemic hit, it was easy to meet customer orders when other markets became strained, he said.

"There was no expectation of shipments coming from India (where all the manufacturing is done)," he said. "That's one of the key aspects of the locations in North and South Carolina, and one of the main reasons we are investing in North America. We want a piece of the pie."

And Polyhose sees even those strained hose markets, such as transportation, returning before long to meet the booming agriculture and construction segments.

"Polyhose is positioned to capture growth in all these markets," Rajagopalan said. "Once again, Polyhose maintains a long-term view. The company is very sound. Pandemic or not, Polyhose has been a leader in the field. The best part of private ownership is it is in the DNA of the owners within the company. The financial 'quarter mentality' is just not there. It is a long-term view."

U.S. expansion moving forward
For Polyhose, an expansion into Pender County, N.C.—and the overall U.S. and North American markets, the largest in the hose industry—can be attributed to the company's strong standing within the global hose community, according to company officials.

The hose manufacturer is looking to build a warehouse and assembly center just outside of Wilmington, N.C., bringing 51 jobs and investing nearly $8 million in the facility over the next several years. Phase I will comprise a 50,000-sq.-ft. facility, set to begin in the fourth quarter of 2020 or early in 2021, while Phase II will include another 50,000-sq.-ft. addition in the coming years.

In addition, a satellite facility is planned for the hose maker's warehouse in South Carolina in the coming years, said Pressler, who will be based at the Wilmington location.

"These spots are all centrally located in the U.S., with very good access to transportation and infrastructure," Pressler said. "North Carolina is a great state for business with a quality work force, compared to other areas. There exists a very good local government, community college and other amenities."

Rajagopalan said the company's willingness to keep capacity on hand in North America allows Polyhose to serve all types and sizes of customers with its hose lines.

"When you look at North Carolina and the warehouse," he said, "we believe in carrying stock in North America so we can cater to smaller distributors—not selling by containers, but rather allowing customers to draw from our volume and buy product quickly with access to what's on the shelf there. This is just a much different approach to business."

Polyhose's innovative thinking perhaps is best demonstrated by its $5 million per year investment in research and development.

"There is constant investment every year with product lines," Millwala said. "Some companies specialize in certain things, and Polyhose can offer these items at a high quality and excellent price. Manufacturing in India allows us to be competitive with quality. It's just part of the culture to do that."

Prioritizing R&D has given the company one of the more diverse product portfolios in the hose industry, from rubber and thermoplastic hoses to PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, or Teflon) and stainless steel, often used in hydraulic fluid transfer systems.

Millwala said the company has developed hoses for specialty applications, such as extruded, 3-channel medical tubing for its relatively new medical division.

There is a wide range of hose sizes offered at Polyhose as well, Rajagopalan said.

"The range and quality control is phenomenal, there is a true culture of innovation and quality that permeates the entire organization," he said. "It's why we continue to invest in innovation."

The North Carolina facility will be built in an industrial corridor along U.S. Route 421, for hose assembly and distribution. Infrastructure already is in place, Pressler said, and Wilmington has the added benefit of being a seaport.

Wages for the employees at the Pender County location will average $38,216 per year, according to a news release from the North Carolina governor's office. A $75,000, performance-based grant from the One North Carolina Fund will assist Polyhose with its operations.

Polyhose, which began with a lone thermoplastic division in 1996, maintains contracts with Boeing, Caterpillar, Graco and Wagner SprayTech, among many others, according to the company.