One of the best things about working at Bridgeview is our team. We are incredibly picky about who we hire because the person who joins Bridgeview has to fit in with our team seamlessly. A strong team works hard, produces a quality product, and is loyal to the company. We have been so blessed with amazing team members and we make sure they know just how much we appreciate and value them.
We look for three things in prospective team members: humility, drive, and interests. We want people who aren't afraid to ask questions or admit mistakes. We want people who are driven to succeed by staying late, learning new skills, and jumping in to help others. We also want people who share our same interests; nerds are welcome. A sample of what is discussed in the shop amongst the team during a typical week: - Favorite fractal - Playing electric guitar vs playing acoustic guitar - Which would win in a fight: an ork or a troll? - Best poker hand ever - The appropriate response to a sneeze - Latest video game played A fun work environment plus the drive to get the job done makes for an amazing company. We don't ever want Bridgeview to be boring and we don't ever want our people to feel they have to dull their shine. Our team is one of the things that makes Bridgeview special and they are one of the reasons we succeed. Below: Richard (left) is our resident music nerd. He's been to over 200 concerts and is also am amazing photographer. Charles and Peter (right) crack up after Peter tells a Dad joke. Bad jokes, puns, and useless trivia are constantly being shared in the shop.
0 Comments
We made it! 2024 is behind us and 2025 stretches before us, promising to be a great year. We ended 2024 with the busiest December we have ever had and we now enter January with the busiest January we've ever had! We've absolutely hit the ground running and we couldn't be happier.
What goals does Bridgeview have for 2025? - We are working towards getting ISO 9001 certified and hope to complete the certification process by the end of the year. - We are working towards getting ITAR compliant as well. - We are going to be attending two trade shows this year, one in Milwaukee, WI in May and another in Portland, OR in October. - We are hoping to expand our injection molding department. - We are going to be expanding our sales department to reach out to small business who are overlooked by larger contract manufacturers. We have so many goals for 2025 and we have already gotten started! Go Bridgeview! Below: Ben (left) and Charles (right) are hard at work soldering assemblies. We've been working nonstop and are having a great time supporting our customers! 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. Below: 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. Below: 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. Below: 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. Below: 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. Below: Some of the pictures Kevin used in his training. We have an amazing, strong team. We have spent countless hours developing our team, making sure the right people are in the right position, making sure everyone knows and buys into our mission, and supporting their work in whatever way will help them succeed. Because of that, our team is loyal, dedicated, and willing to do what it takes to get the job done.
In the past, we have had team members that just don't fit. They complain, they gossip, they drag their feet, and they contribute to a negative environment here in the shop. Those people had to go. We are a bunch of go-getters and our positive attitude towards work has helped our company grow and support our many customers. What does it take to work for Bridgeview? It takes someone who is friendly, who is genuinely interested in getting to know everyone. It takes someone who is humble enough to know that they don't know everything but confident in what they do know. It takes someone who likes to work, who is driven to accomplish the task placed in front of them. It takes a special person to work here and, even though we do seem picky, we have found that the right people are worth waiting for. Below: It really is better to give than to receive. Each year in November we look into the coming year and make decisions on which nonprofit organizations we'd like to support in the new year. Every month we donate 2% of our gross sales to a nonprofit organization and we want to make sure those organizations reflect our core message and values.
One of our favorite organizations to give to is St Jude Children's Hospital. This organization has helped thousands of families who have children diagnosed with cancer. They offer cancer treatments for free and the support they give not only the patient but also the families is life-changing. This organization truly cares for people and it's an absolute pleasure to support them. Giving as a company encourages the feelings of teamwork, of unity, and of making a difference. We already have a passion for lifting up American manufacturing, but the reason we care so much about it is because we see the people, not just the companies. Anything we can do to make the lives of others better means we are winning in our mission. Below: Thank you gifts from various organizations we have donated to in the past. Every company needs a set of values to help guide them in their decision-making, their goals, and in their company culture. Without a defined set of values, a company might not really know who they are, leading to dissatisfaction amongst team members and a lack of direction from leaders.
While there are a great many things we value, we spent some time recently narrowing down those values to five core values that we believe truly represent who we are as a company. Those values are honesty, communication, teamwork, resourcefulness, and hungry, humble, and smart. They guide our company culture, help us know who to hire, and guide us in the many decisions we make on a weekly basis. Below: Seth (left) and Kevin (right) are inspecting completed assemblies. They're working together to make sure we send out the best quality product possible. |
AuthorsChristina and Kevin Hayward Archives
January 2025
Categories |