Solar Communications

This company is going out of business forcing a lot of long term employees to be unemployed without Insurance, retirement plan, severance, nothing. They lied to their people all the way until they told them it was over.

Just Terrible!

This company was run into the ground by brothers Frank and Peter Hudetz and their next in command (puppet master) Lynn Lockwood who mis-managed it down to the end.

I urge everyone not to consider hiring this trio of idiots.

I worked there for 15 years

Everything you said is correct. They spent all the company money and drove the employee stock down on machines that would never run.

At least Lynn got something out of it, she got to travel around and sleep with other managers.

What about the way pretty much every company is moving currently...downhill? Has anyone read a paper lately?????

This is really a shame and the employee owners of this company need to hold the negligent Board of Directors accountable for allowing Peter and Lynn to grossly mismanage such a legacy company.

Doseofreality wrote:

This company is going out of business forcing a lot of long term employees to be unemployed without Insurance, retirement plan, severance, nothing. They lied to their people all the way until they told them it was over.
Just Terrible!
This company was run into the ground by brothers Frank and Peter Hudetz and their next in command (puppet master) Lynn Lockwood who mis-managed it down to the end.
I urge everyone not to consider hiring this trio of idiots.

Solar was a great place to work, a lot of good managers and hard worker people. People that work hard hoping they can retire with some money from their ESOP....now everything is gone. I remember when Frank used to go to the ESOP meetings lying how good the company was doing, and spending money in new equipment we never had work for...What happened Frank, Peter & Lynn?????....Just terrible managment!!!

They bought so much new equipment ($$$$$$$) that there wasn't even work for. They said they needed to find a new road for Solar to Travel down, who new that it would end up at a dead end. My ESOP is gone, in a matter of one year it dropped $25,000, now obviously there is "0". It was at that point I new I needed to leave. I saw good friends getting let go weekly. Solar had so much potential, I don't feel the need to bash anybody for this, there were alot of good people that worked there, and I had a blast working there for as long as I did,just something went really really wrong. The whole thing about Lynn sleeping around..........GROW UP YOU F&@#%KING IDIOT. Got to love the Gossip.

Cracks me up how forgiving people are as millions are lost due to POOR DECISIONS. Someone needs to be bashed. These are peoples lives they were making decisions about. Let's not forget these people are also without health insurance (no COBRA!)

I got out too but don't think high payed executives should just get a pass. People need to know and this.

As for Lynn, if you had seen the travel buddies like I have I doubt you would defend her - certianly her husband wouldn't.

I received a letter from Frank explaining how the shareholders will receive nothing as the company value is now zero.

Stock plan for rewarding my years of loyalty is zero. My fault, I believed what they had told me.

Who's stock idea was that? oh yea, Frank and Peter! As I will probably lose my house and have to sell my car, I hope people understand how these people were paid huge amounts of money off the backs of their employees and now my family will suffer for it.

Just makes me sick (but I have no insurance)

just curous wrote:

What about the way pretty much every company is moving currently...downhill? Has anyone read a paper lately?????

Obviously you never worked at Solar...this company has been on the down hill slide long before the current economic crisis. The problem was poor management and executives lying thru their teeth to the employees. And John Hudetz's children thinking the golden goose would be there forever while they were pulling vast amounts of money out of the company and rewarding one female manager who did sleep around with anyone who would help her climb the corporate ladder. This was a great company until John Sr passed away then the kids ran it into the ground.

Solar is OVER!!!!
The auction was a joke...so much work for nothing....

Why was the auction a joke?

It was sad to see all the equipment Solar bought for millions, one of them I think over 3 millions, it was sold under a 1 million (somewhere around 800). Very sad! Ah $500 entrance fee.
I hope all former Solar employees got a job by now.
Good Luck!

I agree the employees of Solar were screwed. Having to use vacation time up at the end instead of being paid for it. Being told no more layoffs weeks before the closing. Very poor mgmt and I'm sure they were all taken care of and won't be losing their houses. LOL about Lynn and her traveling buddies....

I too worked there . I never understood why they would have a board of directors who never actually spent time in the shop to see who things were run. Back in the early days we had meetings where employees offered ideas for better efficiency. That worked, and people were excited to come to work & see their ideas at work. The brothers & Lynn got too greedy. They would lie & backstab customers, employess, or even each other. Sad, There was a tremendous amount of talent in that facility. The legacy is over, and too many lives affected due to horrible management. I am sure Lynn will keep doing what she has to to claw her way to the top..

Sad to see many who didn't deserve to find new jobs did, and those who did deserve them cannot. For a while it was a great, forward thinking company, only to seel-out to the same companies it was once competing with and winning. Short-sighted management was definately the cause. As for who slept with who, they will be judged separately on that one. Just very sad for all of those with ESOP money that left with nothing. So sad...

There should be a state wide pension fund instead of each company promising a comfy retirement, so long it stays afloat. Employees are now competing against each other between companies, just to secure a retirement. Let the executives compete, employees should have security. The state for fixed retirement funds, banks for pension services.

I'm sure the executive team got a nice retirement package out of the closing. Funny we were an ESOP company but, we never had a say in anything.

I just hope Frank and Peter can sleep good at night. Lynn was just pawn like the rest of us.
Did everybody for get about Peter's Puppet "Terry".

How about going into politics, the lot of you? You are all bitching about how the system is set up, using these execs as the whipping boys for what they did.
Get elected.
Change the system.