Control Devices Showcased for Cultivating a Culture of Inclusion on Living St. Louis

Control Devices was delighted that James Norris and Khalid Bakhtyar were recently featured on Living St. Louis with Nine PBS. Ruth Ezell did a spot-on capture of our team members Jim and Khalid and accurately reflected the culture of inclusion that Control Devices has intentionally cultivated for many years.

Khalid is an early career assembly employee for CDI. He came to the U.S. with his family from Afghanistan in 2020 through the Special Immigrant Visa Program. Khalid’s family qualified for the program because his father was a soldier working with U.S. forces. Khalid is the oldest of six children and is grateful for the opportunity to start fresh in St. Louis, away from the more challenging conditions in his native Afghanistan. In addition to his core responsibilities as an assembler at CDI, Khalid also serves as a translation bridge between management and his fellow Afghani colleagues whose English is less fluent.

Jim Norris, President and CEO of Control Devices, is the newly appointed leader of CDI but a veteran of the company. He and his team utilize visual tools to assist all workers regardless of English proficiency to ensure safe working conditions. Jim also makes sure that work shifts are structured to address transportation priorities for immigrant workers. The diversity of the Control Device's workforce illustrates the company's experience incorporating people born outside the United States. A substantial amount of that experience is derived from successfully integrating the local Bosnian community into the workforce over the last two decades, many of whom are now US citizens and remain with the company today.

Control Devices is pleased to have our culture of inclusion reflected in this piece.

Afghan Immigrants Find Careers Through the St. Louis Mosaic Project | Living St. Louis - YouTube