What a year 2024 was!  We don't think anyone had current events on their Bingo cards. As a nation, we had a rollercoaster of a year. With natural disasters and an insane political environment, it seemed like everyone was walking on eggshells. This absolutely leaked into the business world as companies either laid off thousands of workers or closed their doors forever.  We can only hope that 2025 will be much better.

Bridgeview certainly had our fair share of challenges but we are ending 2024 on a high note. December is traditionally a slow period for us (after all, our customers are all taking time off for the holidays) but this year we have been absolutely slammed! This will go down as our busiest December ever. We are so grateful and are doing our very best to keep up with the demand for our services. 

Thank you to all our customers, vendors, team members, and everyone who has helped Bridgeview to become the success it has. We are so grateful and we can only hope that 2025 sees this continued amount of work. God is good and has blessed us with so much. We hope to continue to serve our customers for many years to come.


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Duke (left) rests after a session of chasing the ball. Gator (right) shows off the ball he has caught. Our shops dogs are a big part of our team, providing comic relief and snuggles. They help us succeed!

We have friends who used to own a contract manufacturing business that made wire harness and cable assemblies. They have been instrumental in giving advice and acting as mentors. One day they were at our shop and saw the tiny assemblies we were building. They laughed and said, "No, thank you!" They were used to building larger assemblies with thick cables, and seeing our small assemblies with very fine wires attached, they knew they were out of their league!

We love the challenge of building assemblies that use very small components. 28 gauge wire? No problem. A plug that only measures 1/8" across? Great! Does the part have the words "micro" or "mini" in them? Bring it on! By rising to the challenge, we have gained experience and skills and it just makes us a better company for it.

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Peter (left) is working on very tiny fans. He's trimming wires, getting ready to splice different gauge wires onto them. Christina (right) is holding some of the very tiny crimps we use on some assemblies. They're about as big as a grain of rice.

Every now and then we have a team member who wants to share about a book they have been reading, especially if they feel it would help with the success of Bridgeview. Here are some take-aways from The Art of The Deal by President Trump.

* Be patient - Sometimes you are pursuing an opportunity but the terms of this opportunity doesn't suit your company at the moment. Just wait. Circumstances in business changes all the time and by being patient, the deal might come out in your favor.
* Loyalty - There is nothing more important than knowing you have a loyal team. When you can count on your team, and your team knows they can count on you, there's nothing you can't do together.
* Frugality - Wasting money is never glamorous. Sure, you could spend $15,000 on a brand new machine, but you could also buy a 2-year old used version of the machine from a broker for $3,000.  Why not save the money and invest it in your team?
* Treat people with kindness - Rude people are a dime a dozen but kind people are worth their weight in gold. Kind people make the world a better place. You don't have to yell at your vendor to get them to give you a better deal. If you're kind, and genuinely care about people, you will reap what you sow.

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Peter (left) is showing off next to our used, but very functional, injection molding machine. Even though we bought it used, it has faithfully served us without issue. Richard and Ben (right) are a great team that work together to make sure they meet their weekly goals. They are both loyal to Bridgeview and work hard to make sure our company succeeds!

If we were to breakdown Bridgeview's message to 3 main points (or seeds) here's what we stand for:
1. We manufacturing wire harnesses and cable assemblies.
2. We value teamwork.
3. We are proud to be a part of the resurgence of American manufacturing

It's really that simple. When you ask Bridgeview to build your assemblies for you, you're not only getting an energetic, driven team who is proud to work in manufacturing, but you're also getting years of experience and support like no other.  We actually believe what we stand for.  As we have spread our message and planted our "seeds", we've seen our company grow and our customers succeed. People want to know that who they hire is trustworthy and wants to provide a quality product.

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Seth (left) has worked for us for over 2 years and is looking forward to seeing how he can help Bridgeview grow. Richard (right) is proudly showing off his assemblies. He's an expert at soldering!

Kevin has over 25 years of experience in the electronics industry and he has probably crimped close to a million crimps in that time. When Kevin teaches about crimp quality, he knows what he's talking about. Today he gave a training in crimping and everything a team member would need to know when using a crimp tool. He also created a 12-page document that our team members can keep in their work folders and refer back to when they need to. 

When we hire on a new team member, we give them a basic training in crimping and teach them what a good crimp looks like. This training was much more in depth than that. Kevin taught everyone the technical names of the various crimps, crimp tools, wire insulations, and testing equipment. He went through diagrams, charts, and industry standards. Kevin is a natural teacher and he loves passing along the wisdom he has gained in all the years he has worked with wiring. He intends to make this an annual training so that new team members can learn and senior team members can have a refresher each year.

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​Some of the pictures Kevin used in his training.