Manufacturing firms’ owner surprises entire staff with $1,000 holiday bonuses

ST. PETERSBURG — Rahul Shukla, owner and CEO of S.S. White Technologies and Shukla Medical, which make airplane and auto parts and medical devices, respectively, has awarded a $1,000 holiday bonus to all 113 employees of the St. Petersburg-based companies.

Shukla, who joined S.S. White in 1973 and bought it in 1988, broke the news in a Dec. 16 company-wide meeting, according to a news release, and personally handed each staff member a check.

"When we received a PPP loan last year, we used the money for its intended purpose,” Shukla states in the release. “Even when the sales were down by 50%, we were able to retain every single employee. We made sure each employee received his or her annual raises.”

He adds, “During most of the past year, we increased everyone's pay with our 'COVID bonus'; all employees received an additional dollar per hour. I also decided that come holiday season, we would give a substantial bonus to each employee.”

S.S. White Technologies, the release states, is one of the country's oldest manufacturing companies, having been founded in 1844. After being a unionized workplace for decades, employees voted in 2006 to leave the machinists’ union. In 2018, Shukla moved the firm from New Jersey to St. Pete.

"In this tough economy, our company is doing well," Shukla states in the release. "It's only right to appreciate the employees with tangible gifts, not just with words. I run the company with my heart, not just my head.”