“The biggest compliment is when my colleagues say, ‘I want my son to work here.’”
For Shiv Sivakumar (Siv a ku’ mar), who emigrated to America from India when he was 23 years old, hearing comments like that about the company he runs is inspiring and rewarding.
36 years after moving to America, as a successful professional mechanics tools manufacturer, he is respected among TMA members and was honored to be sworn in as the Technology & Manufacturing Association Board Chairman at the Association’s March 2026 Annual Meeting.
Sivakumar’s interest in manufacturing began while he worked in manufacturing businesses. Having studied and graduated in India with a bachelor’s degree in physics, he had a natural grasp of engineering and design that boosted his industry readiness. After living a short time in New York, Sivakumar moved to the Chicago area and began working in a one-man shop that subcontracted with bigger manufacturers.
“We were making tools, and the owner of AJ Manufacturing wanted to me to come and work for him . By then, we had a small, nice little niche business. So I suggested that he buy our business, and we merge together,” Sivakumar told TMANews.
The company merge was finalized in 2006.
“I started as an employee, and because I grew the business, the owner made me a partner in 2014. I was very fortunate because my partner had already laid the ground for the business to do well. We had some challenges, but we had the core built and we had a solid team,” he said. “At the end of any business is the people. I have some excellent people, and they helped grow the business.”
AJ Manufacturing started with 10 industry machines and now they have over 100. Among their customers are Matco Tool and Snap-On. US manufacturing moving elsewhere in the world has not been a real issue for AJ Manufacturing.
“In our case, predominantly our market, our products have always been made in the US. So we never had that much of a challenge [with work going overseas] as far as that goes. We kind of showed the world how things can be made in the US at a cost competitive price. Our material is made five miles down the street in Franklin Park. We are a 100% supply chain made in the USA,” Sivakumar said.
Along the way, AJ Manufacturing has automated a vast portion of their production in their 160,00 square feet of shop and warehouse space. Recently, they added a group of robots to aid in production work.
“We started with more human work, and we’ve now automated almost 80% of our production facility. We design and develop professional mechanics’ tools such as ratchets, extensions, sockets and breaker bars. We are spread across five manufacturing buildings, and have five different warehouses in nearby Bensenville, where these parts are produced parts, then housed and shipped to the customers,” Sivakumar said.
Heading TMA’s Board of Directors is an honor, he says, and one where he hopes to be actively involved in regenerating the Association as it starts its second century.
Sivakumar said one of the main reasons he wanted to serve the Technology & Manufacturing Association was to show appreciation for all the industry connections the Association has provided. He hopes in his year of chairmanship to see TMA events become even more productive and valuable to members. He’d like to see more and more TMA members set aside time to converse with fellow manufacturers because shared wisdom and experience is incredibly valuable to others.
He points to his own experience with TMA over the years: “Manufacturers of equipment give ideas. For me, meeting at the Association was like going to a workshop. I knew that I was going to meet the best brains possible, who are going through almost identical challenges,” he said. “You’re going to get valuable and practical advice which is free of cost. I really use the Association to the biggest advantage, and I always encourage everyone to do that.”
In Sivakumar’s view, business relationships are crucial, and TMA’s history of building relationships set an example more would benefit from following.
“I think we should go back to how it was 100 years ago, when everybody knew everybody. I think that’s the goal for the TMA Team for the next 10 years. How do we bring everybody back on track where they’re more engaged like they used to be? As the emphasis nationally comes back to manufacturing, there’s going to be more of a demand for the manufacturing community as a whole,” he said.
In addition, Sivakumar believes TMA will play a huge role in training the next generation of manufacturers, saying, “Every manufacturing business is going to require trained employees.”
The new TMA Board chairman is excited about the advanced technology TMA will be teaching and using to teach with the Association’s second century training program upgrade.
“I think there’s a new ‘reimagined’ TMA that needs to focus on training more employees that will be more engaged with the TMA members and being more engaged, they will be engaged with members who develop the manufacturing community,” Sivakumar said.
For Sivakumar, finding trained and talented people is the biggest challenge AJ Manufacturing faces – the very reason why he’s so committed to seeing TMA Training be updated and upgraded.
And because finding skilled people is his biggest challenge, Sivakumar views making AJ Manufacturing a pleasant and safe place to work as a critical element to attract and keep that talent.
“AJ Manufacturing employs a lot of people and helps their families. The biggest compliment I would say is when my colleagues say, ‘I want my son to work here.’ That’s the best compliment, to know this is a safe place to be.”
Sivakumar and his wife, Sai, have two adult daughters – one that is living abroad studying languages, and the other living in Chicago, working as an engineer in material sciences.
By Fran Eaton, TMA News Bulletin editor – First published in TMA News Bulletin, Q2 2026