Business View Magazine - October 2018

34 35 If Somat is at fault, we take responsibility for it; we do not try to point fingers. And when I say responsibility, it means financial responsibility, as well. Thankfully, we haven’t had to do it too often. And our clients tell us it is something that they really appreciate about Somat. “The second thing is we are extremely ser- vice-oriented. Our clients tell us that it is always a pleasure to deal with Somat staff because they’re pleasant, they’re professional; they’re focused on solving the problem rather than figuring out who is at fault.When there is an issue, whether it is within the engineering team, whether it is with the contractor, whether it is with the supplier, most of the times, the problem is due to some- thing in the process that was not going right – maybe it was in communications, maybe it was in scheduling, maybe it was in prioritizing, maybe it was financial.Whatever it is, we always focus on the process, and how it can improve. “The third thing that makes us stand out is when we cannot deliver something within the timeframe that was originally expected, we make sure to let the client know that we cannot do it; we give them the reason why; we tell them what we can do instead; and we figure out how to come up with the best possible answers. Some- times, that means getting someone else onboard to assist us, and we have not been shy to do that, when necessary. So, these are the three things that make us stand out, and they all have to do with the character of the company. That was Ramji’s vision and passion– to run a company that does it right and does it the right way.” Those values have made Somat a much sought-after partner. “We don’t spend a lot of money on marketing,” says Patel. “Our work is particularly repeat business, so it’s the work that we do that markets us. But we’re always looking at opportunities and evaluating them. Our latest venture is in the Washington D.C. and Maryland area where we have three small offices.We’re ex- cited about this expansion.We’ve already started doing work there for a few agencies, like the D.C. PREFERRED VENDOR n Highway Service Company Inc. rswap@hscmi.com Highway Service Company is a proud partner of Somat Engineering Highway Service Company, Inc. 26401 Hall Road Woodhaven, MI 48193 Phone: 734 675.1000 Fax: 734 675.3977 SOMAT ENGINEERING, INC. Department of Transportation.We’ve just gotten contracts with D.C.Water; we’ve done work for the Maryland Department of Transportation; and we’ve just gotten a contract with the City of Baltimore.” Going forward, Patel believes that Somat can continue to set itself apart in the marketplace by being very savvy about the future of the infrastructure construction sector and knowing where the sweet spots are in the food chain. Lately, those include more construction manage- ment and inspection services. “Quality assurance oversight is often an independent function, and Somat prefers to work on the owner side as an independent overseer. By owner, I mean the pub- lic agency that is having the airport, or the road, or the building, built.We want to remain flexible and independent, so we find ourselves doing more construction management and inspection work because of the independence of that func- tion.” “I’ve always been fascinated by infrastructure,” says Patel, in conclusion. “And again, we deal with these dense, urban, built environments that are aging and challenging. There’s a lot of work to be done on what they refer to as ‘deferred maintenance’ all over the country. And I believe that infrastructure is a ‘civil right,’ if you will – clean water, operational public transportation. And I think it’s a bigger mission than just our daily nuts and bolts work that we believe in, and that we can bring quality to in the communities we serve.”