Hartford Business Journal

22 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 20, 2025 FOCUS | MANUFACTURING The Lists The expectations don't involve prior skills or experience though. Tim Spakowski, who's currently in charge of the polish department, has been at Westminster for a year. He previously worked as a boat builder and restorer, and had no experience in manufacturing. "They keep giving me more and more learning," he said. "They're moving me around the shop. I've been in four different departments already in a year." This cross-training is supported by the company's Westminster Academy, an online learning and assessment program that employees use at their own pace. Workers log when they've practiced or mastered a skill, and supervisors verify their progress. " It's kind of our checklist for new hires," Spakowski said. "It's a really good guide for me to know where I stand." The other core value Westminster Tool stands by is its investment in emotional intelligence — fostering a workplace culture where teamwork, cooperation and civility are empha- sized. Spakowski says it's a totally new experience for him in his work life. " I come from jobs where that wasn't the focus at all, and you start butting heads more than you would really like to," he said. "Here, if you're feeling upset, overwhelmed or stressed … you just take 10 minutes, calm yourself down, breathe, go outside." Everyone in the company — manage- ment and employees — comes together at the beginning of each work day for a 45-minute meeting where they give feedback and talk about how the business can be improved. "Our culture is really what attracts people," said Hillary Thomas, the company's vice president. And by that she means not just poten- tial employees, but also customers. "We're not afraid to roll up our sleeves and talk about problems," she said. "We're not afraid to take accountability. We're not afraid to be emotionally intel- ligent and stay calm. We're trained to be creative thinkers and problem-solvers." Diversification play Thomas — who, like her brother and sister, grew up on the shop floor — returned to Westminster Tool in 2017 after a career in international sales. She initially thought she was coming back to help her father for a couple of years, but eight years later she sees the family business as her future. She's now focused on broadening the company's client base to help reces- sion-proof the business. "We used to have two key accounts, and 20 to 30 accounts that gave us a little bit every year," she said. "Now, we have the majority of our business coming from about seven to eight businesses. And we have enough of them that if one or two drop off for the year, we can replace them." She said this past year was the first time the company has operated at full capacity without any lulls, with sales up 15% over that period. But Thomas sees far more potential for Westminster Tool — much of it achiev- able without major capital investment. Thomas said the company could boost output by an additional $3 million to $5 million simply by making better use of its existing equipment — through added shifts, greater automation, and more efficient use of the machines already on the floor. "We've been working on strategically aligning ourselves to have profitable, repeatable work that drives the busi- ness success versus just revenue," she said. The next few years will also involve implementing a succession plan that may see founder Ray Coombs step away from the day to day, although his daughter said she can't imagine him not being involved in the business in some capacity. Coombs said he has confidence not only in his family leadership team, but also in the young employees they're culti- vating. The average age of his workers has fallen from 52 when he did the business turnaround in 2008 to 31 today. "This young generation, they got it figured out," Coombs said. "Everybody whines about them — they don't want to work 100 hours. Right, they want to embrace their fellow human beings. They want to have some compassion." Westminster Tool is a family affair. (From left) Colby Coombs, chief financial officer; Ray Coombs, founder and president; Hillary Thomas, vice president; Aaron Thomas, IT manager; Hannah Belmont, brand and talent manager; and Micheal Belmont, sales manager. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever Tim Spakowski CONNECTICUT'S TOP FOREIGN IMPORT PARTNERS Ranked by 2024 dollars imported Connecticut's top foreign import partners Ranked by 2024 dollars imported Country 2024 dollars imported 2023 dollars imported 2022 dollars imported Leading products 1 Total worldwide $23 billion $22 billion $21 billion Transportation equipment; primary metal manufactures 2 Canada $6 billion $6 billion $4 billion Transportation equipment; petroleum & coal products 3 Mexico $4 billion $4 billion $3 billion Primary metal manufactures; electrical equipment, appliances & components 4 Germany $2 billion $2 billion $2 billion Machinery, except electrical; electrical equipment, appliances & components 5 Netherlands $1 billion $1 billion $1 billion Petroleum & coal products; machinery, except electrical 6 China $1 billion $1 billion $2 billion Electrical equipment, appliances & components; miscellaneous manufactures 7 United Kingdom $886 million $816 million $897 million Petroleum & coal products; fabricated metal products 8 Italy $583 million $536 million $568 million Machinery, except electrical; processed foods 9 Vietnam $535 million $495 million $563 million Furnitur es; fabricated metal products 10 Switzerland $520 million $478 million $545 million Computer & electronic products; electrical equipment, appliances & components 11 France $435 million $627 million $579 million Transportation equipment; machinery except electrical 12 Singapore $413 million $367 million $306 million Goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports; machinery, except electrical 13 Norway $395 million $269 million $218 million Petroleum & coal products; goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports Connecticut's top foreign import partners Ranked by 2024 dollars imported Country 2024 dollars imported 2023 dollars imported 2022 dollars imported Leading products 1 Total worldwide $23 billion $22 billion $21 billion Transportation equipment; primary metal manufactures 2 Canada $6 billion $6 billion $4 billion Transportation equipment; petroleum & coal products 3 Mexico $4 billion $4 billion $3 billion Primary metal manufactures; electrical equipment, appliances & components 4 Germany $2 billion $2 billion $2 billion Machinery, except electrical; electrical equipment, appliances & components 5 Netherlands $1 billion $1 billion $1 billion Petroleum & coal products; machinery, except electrical 6 China $1 billion $1 billion $2 billion Electrical equipment, appliances & components; miscellaneous manufactures 7 United Kingdom $886 million $816 million $897 million Petroleum & coal products; fabricated metal products 8 Italy $583 million $536 million $568 million Machinery, except electrical; processed foods 9 Vietnam $535 million $495 million $563 million Furnitur es; fabricated metal products 10 Switzerland $520 million $478 million $545 million Computer & electronic products; electrical equipment, appliances & components 11 France $435 million $627 million $579 million Transportation equipment; machinery except electrical 12 Singapore $413 million $367 million $306 million Goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports; machinery, except electrical 13 Norway $395 million $269 million $218 million Petroleum & coal products; goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports 14 Brazil $364 million $259 million $293 million Processed foods; paper 15 Chile $363 million $131 million $134 million Primary metal manufactures; minerals & ores 16 India $326 million $346 million $459 million Chemicals; livestock & livestock products 17 Poland $307 million $172 million $219 million Transportation equipment; fabricated metal products 18 South Korea $254 million $239 million $283 million Transportation equipment; goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports 19 Bahamas $239 million $46 million $83 million Petroleum & coal products; goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports 20 Ireland $229 million $138 million $223 million Chemicals; goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports 21 Japan $226 million $234 million $264 million Machinery, except electrical; goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports 22 Taiwan $215 million $222 million $302 million Goods returned (exports & imports) and reimports; fabricated metal products 23 Sweden $212 million $290 million $405 million Transportation equipment; primary metal manufactures 24 Belgium $202 million $279 million $225 million Petroleum & coal products; primary metal manufactures 25 Spain $187 million $121 million $150 million Chemicals; fabricated metal products Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA) -Compiled by Stephanie R. Meagher, research@nebusinessmedia.com People Power Continued from page 19

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