Long-Term Employees are Key to Bishop-Wisecarver’s Success
“How has your business remained successful for so long?"
Bishop-Wisecarver president, Pamela Kan, is asked this question often and answers that passionate, long-term employees are key to the company’s nearly seven decades of success in the industrial automation industry. In a time where the majority of employees are expected to leave a company after just a few years, Bishop-Wisecarver is keeping employees engaged, motivated and learning long beyond the norm.

And this commitment includes all employees, from those directly involved in manufacturing to those that help keep the business running smoothly. Today, we are highlighting Joe Lusby from the accounting department, as his long-term commitment to BW and providing a Signature Experience for customers, helps the company remain a reliable, trusted team member for our 20,000+ customers.

About Joe Lusby
One of many long-term BW employees is Joe Lusby, who joined the company in 2006 and now serves as the Assistant Controller. Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in Business with an emphasis in Accounting from Humboldt State University.

Q: What is your job function at BW?
JL:
As the Assistant Controller, my duties include mentoring team members, managing the general ledger, financial analysis, coordinating and managing the yearly review, working to remove friction points in processes, and other recurring accounting processes.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
JL:
The people at BW are great and are like a second family. Assisting others and solving problems are what I enjoy the most.

Q: What has been one of your most challenging projects at BW and what was the outcome?
JL:
The most difficult challenge was understanding how our commissions process works. It was a process that was never fully documented so it was challenging to figure out the multiple nuances involved and then communicate that clearly to the team.

Q: Why did you choose a career in accounting?
JL:
I chose accounting because I truly love to solve problems.

Q: Who was your mentor and how did they best help you?
JL:
My mentor is my current boss, Miguel Danao, the VP of Finance at BW. His experience has been a tremendous asset to the company and to me personally. He consistently has new ideas on how to improve our department, and his implementation of Adaptive Insights has opened the possibilities of what we can do going forward.

Q: What advice would you give students interested in manufacturing?
JL:
I would advise them to get involved in any, and all, activities related to manufacturing. Students should join peer groups such as LinkedIn and follow manufacturing companies such as ours. In addition, they should try to attend as many local manufacturing events as they can. Lastly, students should never stop learning and should explore getting certified in areas such as Six Sigma and lean manufacturing.

Q: What do you consider the best attribute of the manufacturing industry?
JL:
The best attribute of manufacturing is the creativeness. In the manufacturing industry, employees are constantly challenged to create new processes or products that will increase the company’s performance. This creativeness, linked with technology, is what makes manufacturing companies succeed in these times.

Q: What are your interests outside of work?
JL:
My interests outside of work include comic books, sci-fi, gardening, and spending time with my family.