Kumar left Wall Street to run thermoforming companies

HOLYOKE, MASS. — Small town living is sitting quite well with Jay Kumar.

Take a dinner outing he and his wife, Pia, made to Cal's Wood-Fired Grill & Bar in nearby West Springfield soon after he purchased Universal Plastics Corp. Kumar ordered his favorite whiskey, 10-year-old Laphroaig. Unfortunately, Cal's did not stock the brand despite its extensive list of spirits.

The Kumars returned to Cal's a month later. When seated, a staff member — without prompting — informed them that Laphroaig is now on the menu. The former JPMorgan Chase trader who worked for years in Manhattan left impressed, another small reason he feels good about his family's new path.

Kumar's introduction to plastics is uncommon. He bought Universal Plastics with his father, Sunil Kumar, in 2012. Later that year, he bought out his dad who was looking to retire. In 2013, he added Universal's long-time rival Mayfield Plastics Inc. from nearby Sutton, Mass., to take advantage of its customer base. Together, the two thermoforming facilities primarily serve the aerospace, medical and industrial industries.

“I was on Wall Street,” said Kumar, who earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Cornell University in 2001. “It was a relatively ivory tower-style job. Reading research reports you think you're better than everyone else. You think you know the companies better than the CEOs themselves because you read the research report on it or whatever. But [my Dad's] the one who showed me there's a lot more to manufacturing than what people think.”

Kumar is young (36) and full of energy. He rises at 5 a.m. and begins his work day from home. Kumar has wisdom, too. He allows his staff of thermoforming experts to run the manufacturing operations. Specifically, he leans on CEO Joe Peters, whose family launched Universal in 1966. Doing so allows Kumar to concentrate on what he does best — build infrastructure and develop long-term plans to grow the business.

“My Dad ran several businesses or divisions throughout his life and he always came home with a smile on his face and had dinner with us and played with us. Then he would go to bed and wake up early and work out and go the office and come home at 5. He made it look so easy. It's actually not. It's insanely hard. There are so many things you have to deal with constantly,” Kumar said.

Luckily for Kumar, he has help  close at hand. His wife serves as the company's director of corporate development, managing recruitment, marketing and websites. Pia Kumar, who graduated from Northwestern University and worked in New York at JPMorgan Chase and American Express, does this while raising their 2-year-old daughter and expecting the couple's second child any day.

Would Jay Kumar advise working side-by-side with a spouse?

“Keep the roles very separated so you're not in each other's mix every day,” said Kumar, who admitted the situation was a challenge at first. “Set up clear rules as to when it's work time and when it's not work time.”

Kumar has big plans domestically for Universal and Mayfield. His five- and 10-year plans involve both growth organically and through acquisitions. Either way, his customers will be at the forefront of his decisions.

“The thing we focus on as a company is that we are an integral part of our customers' success … and we are never ever a hindrance to our customers' ability to succeed. What keeps me up at night is the fear that we might be doing that to a customer,” Kumar said.

Mostly, Kumar seems happy in manufacturing, far away from the bright lights of New York City.

“I can feel a tangibleness to what we do here and I can see us solving real-world problems and providing real-world value to people around us. That's something that I didn't really see in my previous career. It makes me feel good to see that,” he said.

What Keeps You Up At Night: Jay Kumar