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.

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.

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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.


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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. 

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Seth (left) and Kevin (right) are inspecting completed assemblies. They're working together to make sure we send out the best quality product possible.

With a new Mission Statement, we felt that we also needed a new Vision Statement. What is a Vision Statement and how does it differ from a Mission Statement? A Mission Statement describes your "why" and sets boundaries around what your company is and what it isn't. A Vision Statement is what the world would be like if you accomplish your mission. 

Our Mission Statement is, "Bridgeview Manufacturing, LLC produces custom wire harnesses and cable assemblies, and provides engineering support to promote the success of small American manufacturing." So what would the world look like if we were to accomplish our mission?

We envision an America where manufacturing is booming again. Where every single state would have hundreds, if not thousands, of manufacturing companies producing the items we consume.  Where workers have good jobs, are treated with dignity, and are proud of the work they do supplying their neighbors with quality goods.  Where companies succeed and give back to the community, strengthening the very places their workers live, play, and worship. So how does Bridgeview fit in?

By providing our customers with high quality wire harnesses and cables assemblies, and supporting them with our engineering expertise, we can be a part of the resurgence of American manufacturing. That is our vision.

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Some of our team members: (left) at our annual retreat, (right) teamwork!

Following this article about Meta employees getting fired for abuse of benefits (https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/17/tech/meta-employees-fired-meal-credits-layoffs/index.html), we discussed employee benefits at our team meeting today.

Yes, benefits are important and things like health care, retirement contributions, and even meal allowances are important for the moral of employees and to fairly compensate them for their work. But what about the personal benefits a person receives by working for a company and being immersed in that company's culture all day? If a person works for a company with a toxic work culture, they carry that toxicity with them and, unfortunately, sometimes that spills over into their personal lives, affecting those around them. If a person works for a company with a respectful and encouraging culture, they carry that positivity with them and, hopefully, it will allow them to not only succeed at work but to also succeed in their personal endeavors.

When we asked our team what benefits they received by working at Bridgeview, some people said they learned flexibility, patience, and confidence. They learned how to collaborate, how to communicate clearly, and how to celebrate achievements. Some people said they never had a boss that didn't yell so working for Bridgeview taught them that a boss can be a kind servant and not a scary dictator. Some people said they never knew they were capable of doing the work they do (like assembling complicated wire harnesses) but they feel pride at how much they have learned and how well they do their work. A grateful attitude allows us to open our minds to the many blessings we have and all the benefits we receive by being in the work environment we're in.

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Peter and Kevin (left) and Richard (right) work hard to build various wire harness assemblies. They take pride in their work and welcome opportunities to learn.

We've got a lot of personality here at Bridgeview. 

While all of our team members have different personalities that makes for a fun work environment, our company itself also has a personality. We believe it's that personality that sets us apart from other manufacturers. If you visit as many websites as our sales and marketing department does, you start to notice two kinds of companies being presented through their respective websites. One kind of company uses "corporatese", corporate jargon that says an awful lot without really saying anything at all. The personality of these companies seem boring. They're a dime a dozen. The other kind of company we come across has fun pictures of their people hard at work, interesting blurbs about the history of the company, language that lets you know exactly what they make, and, most important of all, you can understand their "why". These companies don't fit into one kind of personality; some are artistic, some are resourceful, some are noble, and some are helpful.  

In trying to describe who we are, we thought about our personality as a whole. How would we describe Bridgeview as a personality? Words like capable, cooperative, organized, and loyal came to mind. Also faithful, generous, industrious, and optimistic came up. Overall, we're a happy bunch who simply want to be of service. We get excited when small American manufacturers entrust us with their projects and the desire to see them succeed motivates us to work hard. We're not your typical corporation that simply wants to squeeze as many pennies out of their customers as possible. We want everyone to win, including our own team.

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Ben and Seth (left) and Richard and Peter (right) are a few of the crazy characters that work for Bridgeview. 

Every team has a set of skills and abilities that, when used collectively, make the team a powerful one. Individually, we can do a lot; people are capable of a great many things. But if you were to ask very successful people how they did it, inevitably they would admit to having a talented team around them who pooled their skills and abilities to accomplish the main goal.

We have a diverse group of people here at Bridgeview but one thing we all have in common is a drive to succeed. We're all willing and ready to learn new skills, admit our mistakes, work long hours, and keep trying until we get it right. We are skilled in crimping, soldering, assembling, and packaging. We've been teaching our production team how to decipher engineering drawings (no matter how strange some of them seem to be), and not one person on our team has ever uttered the phrase, "That's not my job," when asked to do something like sweep the shop or jump in to cover an absent team member.

One of the things that makes Bridgeview so special is our team. We tell them, "You ARE Bridgeview," because without them we wouldn't have the capability to support the number of customers we do. We treat our team like family and they give of their skills and abilities freely, just wanting to see Bridgeview succeed. 

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Ben (left) has become really proficient at soldering, a skill he really wanted to develop when he first started working for Bridgeview.  Peter (right) is working on circuit boards, something he never attempted before working at Bridgeview. Now, he's an old pro.

This week at our team meeting we discussed what makes a great mission statement. We took at look at mission statements from famous companies and discussed whether the mission statements communicated the "why" of the company.

We compared the mission statement of Toyota ("To attract and attain customers with high-valued products and services and the most satisfying ownership experience in America") to that of Ferrari ("To make unique sports cars that represent the finest Italian design and craftmanship, both on the track and on the road"). Which mission statement is specific and which one is more broad? Which one mentions their products? Which one is geared towards consumers and which one is geared towards share holders? There was no right or wrong answer, just perceptions.

We all appreciated the to-the-point mission statement of Walmart ("We save people money so they can live better") and we were all a little lost after reading DuPont's mission statement ("To create shareholder and societal value while reducing the environmental footprint along the value chains in which we operate").

A mission statement should be clear and should communicate to everyone the "why" of the company. What's the point of the company? Why does it exists? What does it want to accomplish? What is its mission?

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Left: Peter gives a thumbs up to signal he's done with his assemblies and they're ready for shipping. Right: Richard likes to display customer stickers on his vice.  

Our country is going through a hard time right now. Depending on who you ask, you will get various answers about the state of our economy, but all it takes is a trip to the grocery store or gas station for a person to see that prices have increased. It's not for us to explain why, we simply have to ride it out and hope that we have enough of a safety net to weather the storm.

This week at our weekly staff meeting, we discussed a helpful article about recession-proofing your business that had some useful tips. The article can be found at:​ https://www.ansarada.com/recession/business-survival In the article, the author suggests common sense strategies to help a business survive economic uncertainty. Ideas like nurturing your existing customer base, reducing unnecessary spending, and supporting current employees allows small business owners a way to feel like they can be proactive and prepare their businesses for a downturn in the economy.

We're rooting for all of our customers and we're doing our best to take care of our people. We have to hope and pray for the best.

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Seth (left) does a pull test for one of our operators. Even during hard times, you still have to produce a quality product. Richard and Ashlee (right) look up specs for a new crimp they're using. Learning everything we can about our industry helps us to stay sharp and competitive.
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