Kumar Elastomech

Down in Chakan, at A/20, things are always moving and the trucks are always honking. Kumar Elastomech is where we deal with rubber and mechanical parts. It’s a tough environment because Chakan gets really hot and the heavy machines add to that heat. The smell of raw rubber is something you get used to after a week, but visitors always notice it right away. We don't have a big sign or a fancy lobby with a sofa. It's just a gate and a workshop where we get our hands dirty. We spend our time molding things and checking dimensions over and over. Sometimes the batches don't come out right because of the humidity, and we have to start over, which is frustrating but that's just part of the process. We have a few guys who have been working these presses for over a decade. They can tell if a machine is running wrong just by the vibration on the floor. We don't have a marketing department or anyone to write fancy brochures for us. Most of our work comes from people who know we’ve been here at A/20 for a long time. The lunch break is usually spent sitting outside on some crates if there’s a breeze, just watching the traffic go by. It’s a simple setup. We focus on getting the measurements right because if a rubber seal is off by even a tiny bit, it won't work. That’s pretty much our whole day, from morning until the last light.