Transportation Bill

WESCO honors employees for prestigious award

The WESCO distribution center in Byhalia celebrated receiving its company’s 2004 U.S. Distribution Center Award last week.

On hand for the occasion was WESCO’s director of distribution, Larry Mosier, who praised the facility’s employees for raising productivity and improving efficiency at the Byhalia plant.

He met with WESCO associates for a pep talk, lunch and to hand out perks Tuesday.
“ Y’all hit the ball out of the park,” he said.

He said improved productivity at the Byhalia plant kept the company from having to hire additional employees and improved job security for employees.

Mosier touted the Byhalia facility for increased productivity while maintaining safety.

Only one OSHA reportable incident with no loss of days worked was reported last year, according to Don Gilmore, distribution center manager.

He said incentive pay and employee driven innovation helped the plant move to the top spot in the company last year.
Collectively employees garnered $37,000 in paid out incentives last year which amounted to about a one week’s additional pay check during a two-month period, he said.

Gilmore said employees have to meet efficiency goals and safety ratings to get incentive pay. He said employees contribute to improved efficiency by bringing their suggestions to management.

Mosier said WESCO leads the industry in terms of productivity of employees which contributed to a 14 percent increase in sales growth last year.
About 7 percent of the branches grew sales last year while 30 did not grow their sales, he said.

Mosier praised WESCO for being a strong company with over 300 plants worldwide. He said the company will stay that way with employees “giving their best shot every day to keep the company strong.”
“ Show up, work safe, be efficient every day and find a better way to do your job,” Mosier said. “Be a positive influence on the work environment, but most important, have fun.”

WESCO International Inc. is a publically traded Fortune 500 holding company, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Penn. WESCO is the leading distributor of electrical construction products and electrical and industrial maintenance, repair and operating supplies and is the nation’s largest provider of integrates supply services. The 2004 annual product sales reached approximately $3.7 billion

The company employs approximately 5,300 people, maintains relationships with over 24,000 suppliers, and serves more than 100,000 customers worldwide.

WESCO operates five fully-automated distribution centers and approximately 350 full-service branches in North America and selected international markets.

-The South Reporter