Hannah Belmont started in the manufacturing industry as a technical writer and journalist, covering industrial markets from aerospace to automotive. In 2020, she joined her family’s injection moldmaking business managing marketing strategy and supporting business development.
In addition to leading recruitment, HR and talent development at Westminster Tool, she works closely with state and national organizations to support workforce initiatives, such as the CT Manufacturing Innovation Fund, CBIA Manufacturing Coalition and Eastern Advanced Manufacturing Alliance.
Her advocacy includes sitting on various boards promoting STEM career opportunities, advocating for diversity in manufacturing and securing funds for statewide technical education programs.
What have been your biggest professional accomplishments so far?
Some of my biggest accomplishments span workforce initiatives inside and outside my family’s business. I worked with state organizations to help distribute over $15 million last year in funding for manufacturing growth and workforce development, including technology adoption for small businesses.
At Westminster Tool, I implemented a tuition reimbursement program, removing the financial burden to build a technical skill foundation, and expanded our internal training academy to provide clear career roadmaps for employees to grow in their roles. I also helped elevate Westminster Tool to national recognition for its leadership in both company culture and plastic medical device manufacturing expertise.
What’s the next big goal you want to accomplish professionally?
Westminster Tool has certainly come a long way in terms of shaking up the stereotypes of what a small manufacturing shop looks like, but there is still a lot of work to be done on the local level in our community to bring more diverse representation in manufacturing careers.
My aspirational goal is to have the workforce of small manufacturers like us truly represent what our community looks like, in terms of age, gender, race and more. Without diversity you can’t have innovation and I still feel like that’s lacking in a lot of manufacturing teams.
What’s one of the biggest professional challenges you’ve overcome?
Telling our story. What we do at Westminster Tool is really hard to describe to outsiders, whether it’s from the perspective of our training and workforce efforts, or even describing what we do from a technical perspective.
One thing I’ve learned about marketing and business growth is you cannot build new relationships outside of your company without having a clear story. That’s one thing I’ve worked really hard on refining, is a clear message of what we’re most proud of, our people and our process.
How are you involved in the community?
One thing I’ve learned from the leadership of my father and sister is the serious responsibility we have to our community. We teach each Westminster Tool employee how to be a good ‘corporate citizen’ because it’s embedded in our culture.
This means giving back to our community through acts of service, promoting career opportunities and supporting education at all levels. It’s not just about charity, but for me it’s actually bringing in young people (starting in first grade), bringing in families to see what we do, educating them on career paths we and others offer, and serving as an unwavering champion for the local schools.
This is why we make donations to Makerspace programs at the local elementary schools, why I serve as an advisor for technical school programs and the YMPI (Youth Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative), and why I host over 300 local students and faculty a year at our facility in Plainfield.