‘ A story of so much providence ’
Venki Padmanabhan ’ s path to Cullman was a winding journey years in the making
By Amy Henderson
8
“ I grew up around really , really strong women . I find it just horrendous that women have anything less than an equal take on life . In my limited life , in my limited existence , I want to give an unreasonable opportunity for women to fix things .” — Venki Padmanabhan
Salute 2020
Cullman County ’ s manufacturers - more than 150 total - are a combination of homegrown corporations , national and internationally based businesses .
Among the international manufacturers is REHAU , a polymer products company named for the German town where the business got its start . Now headquartered in Switzerland , the company has locations around the globe , where they manufacture windows , doors , cabinetry , plumbing and automotive parts .
Venki Padmanabhan , the general manager at REHAU ’ s automotive parts plant in Cullman since January of this year , said his story is the “ classic American immigrant story ,” that followed a path paved by generosity and providence .
Born in India , where his first teachers were Jesuit priests , he and his friends aspired to the American dream as they saw it through the filter of movies and American products . “ There ’ s like 15-20 years of this drumbeat in your head - through engineering school and everything - going ‘ America , America ,’” he said .
But his family didn ’ t have the resources to send him to the United States . “ The only way out was to get a scholarship to come to school here ,” he said . And it was generally understood that American colleges and universities would not give scholarships to foreign students for undergraduate degrees . “ The perception was ‘ Are you kidding ? No one is going to pay you a scholarship for undergraduate .’ So it was not a choice ,” he said . “ Which is very ironic because my kids , the next generation , are here for their undergraduate degree on a scholarship .”
Padmanabhan went to engineering school in India , and got a scholarship to go to graduate school in the United States at the University of Pittsburgh . “ There is this American generosity and this beacon of light thing ,” he said . “ My dad couldn ’ t believe that anyone would give money out to an unknown quantity from so far away .”
While getting his masters in Industrial Engineering , he taught undergraduate classes and jumped into the American experience . “ The kids