Seeing stellite as a far more valuable metal, he decided to keep its patent for himself and founded the Haynes Stellite Company in Kokomo to produce the metal in September 1912. Many of his initial requests for the metal were from medical tool manufacturers who saw the alloy as the best for surgical tools. Because his company could not produce enough of the metal to satisfy demand, Haynes issued licenses to several companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe to produce the alloy and pay him royalties. Haynes strictly controlled production, and did not permit the other licensees to sell stellite in its raw form, but to only sell it as specific finished products. In that way, he remained the only vendor who could sell sheets of the metal. As World War I broke out, his company received large government contracts for use of the material. Stellite was found to have excellent applications in airplanes, and because it was non-corrosive and could protect its contents indefinitely, it proved to be the best metal available for ammunition casing. In 1916 alone, the company registered $1.3 million in sales. The rapid growth of the business made Haynes increasingly wealthy and he became a millionaire that year. Despite his large income, he refused to provide his employees a year-end bonus, causing a significant stir in the factory. When a foreman demanded to know the reason that their wages were not raised, he told him, "It doesn't pay to give the working man too much money—it makes him too independent." His statement was widely repeated and, although he claimed to have made it in jest, it alienated a large part of his workforce and began a period of labor problems.