Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 20, 2025 19 FOCUS | MANUFACTURING Westminster Tool Founder Ray Coombs with his daughter and vice president Hillary Thomas on the company's shop floor in Plainfield. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever People Power $10M Westminster Tool builds growth strategy on culture, training and diversification to Westminster Tool's current site, just off I-395 in Plainfield. By 2008, Coombs had 20 employees and a thriving company — until the Great Recession hit and the bottom fell out of manufacturing. The bank called in his loans, and he came close to losing the business altogether. He was saved by one contract from an old friend — his former employer at Ivanhoe. "I don't know how the hell it happened, but they gave me this $100,000 job," he recalls. "We got out of it, and from there on we put all of our profit back into infrastructure to promote human capital and opportunities." It was the turning point for his new approach. Workforce development Today, Westminster Tool has 42 employees and a satellite facility in Ster- ling, and it's still growing. The company is now making its 10th hire of the year. "One of the things that we're known for is how we onboard, and our training programs," said Hannah Belmont, the brand and talent manager. It's something she credits for helping the company reduce employee turnover in the long run. "Our turnover in the first 90 days is close to the industry average, like 30, 40%," she said. "But after 90 days and especially after a year, our turnover is like 5%, 10%." That's because the company holds new hires to high standards during their first few months, and doesn't hesitate to part ways with those who aren't the right fit. "They're evaluating us, too," she said. "Is this what they're looking for?" By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com W estminster Tool in Plain- field specializes in making complex injection mold systems, composite tooling and high-performance components for the defense and medical device industries. But Ray Coombs sees the Quiet Corner company he founded in slightly different terms. "We're not in the manufacturing industry, we're in the opportunity busi- ness," he said. By that he means his company is rooted in its human capital and processes. In effect, given the right people and the right approach, he believes, Westminster could be doing anything. It's a strategy that this year earned Westminster Tool a place in the Manu- facturing Hall of Fame, recognized for its recruitment, onboarding and employ- ee-driven culture — which Coombs views not as a "nice-to-have," but as his competitive advantage. "The only way I'm going to beat every- body is to get the best human beings. Hire for character, train for skill," he said. And some of that human capital is homegrown: the next generation of Coombs family members is now writing Westminster Tool's next chapter. Coombs' daughter, Hillary Thomas, is now vice president of Westminster Tool. Her brother, Colby Coombs, is chief financial officer, and her sister, Hannah Belmont, is the brand and talent manager. The family connections don't stop there. Hannah's husband, Micheal Belmont, is sales manager, and Hillary's husband, Aaron Thomas, is IT manager. "I did not plan on them being part of the company," Coombs said. "But when they came back, the good Lord just stepped in and said, ' okay, this is how it's going to go.'" Westminster Tool splits its business evenly between defense and medical device clients, with about $10 million in annual sales. But it has big growth plans for the future. The company recently acquired a deep-sea fishing tackle maker in Essex, and plans to diversify into indus- trial clients in areas like automotive and HVAC. Turning point Ray Coombs grew up in a farming family in Canterbury, and always loved working with his hands, describing himself as a kinesthetic learner. While pursuing an engineering degree at Quinebaug Valley Community College, he also held a toolmaking job at a company called Ivanhoe in Thompson — work he soon realized was the "love of his life." "It took me six months to get the courage up to tell my father I wanted to drop out of college and become a tool- and-die maker," he said. But he did, and then bought a milling machine and set it up in his basement — following in the grand Connecticut tradition of mom-and-pop manufac- turing. His first client was a company that made automated printing presses, and business gradually expanded until it outgrew the basement and relocated AT A GLANCE Westminster Tool Industry: Manufacturing Top Executive: Ray Coombs, Founder HQ: 5 East Parkway, Plainfield Employees: 42 Annual Revenue: $10M Website: www.westminstertool.com Contact: 860-564-6966 Continued on page 22

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