About Us

Blue Water Sorting & Packaging (BWSP) out of Lakeport, Michigan is approximately one hour from Detroit. This year, we will be celebrating over 30 years in business. BWSP has serviced companies all over Michigan and the U.S., and has worked with companies as far as England and Canada.

BWSP was founded by Ed and Noreen Matthews in 1986. In 1999 BWSP was registered as QS 9000. We are also ISO 9001:2015 certified.

“ . . . Registered ISO 9001:2015 . . . ”

Ed was driving a truck around the metro-Detroit area in 1986 and was servicing a lot of companies for a heat-treating company. As Ed was waiting for his truck to be unloaded, he couldn’t help but notice the people that were sorting screw machine parts. As Ed was watching this process, he kept getting ideas about how he could do this and make it more cost effective.

Ed came home and talked with his wife, Noreen, and decided to start a sorting business out of his home and pole barn. Ed wasn’t sure how it would work out, so he kept his driving job and moonlighted sorting parts.

“  Great customer service and communications -- B.D. Quality Engineer  ”

In five years they had outgrown the pole barn. Ed had already quit his driving job and had his eyes on a 6,400 square foot building that had previously been used as a wholesale live bait shop. As Ed and Noreen looked at the building, they knew that it was where they wanted to relocate, so they could increase their business volume. Within the next year they added a warehouse and shipping docks totaling 2,900 square feet of new space. From the time they had started, their business had doubled. Ed was now serving companies located all over Michigan. The reason that BWSP was so successful is that Ed himself had his eye on every part of the business operation. Things like price, quality, and turnaround time had to be watched. Because Ed’s goal was to keep cost down, quality up, and his customers satisfied, the business just kept growing. They added on more space in 1997 for a total of 21,000 square feet.

“ . . . 21,000 square feet of space . . . ”

Ed wanted to make sure that the quality of his company could stand up to changing times. In 1999 Blue Water Sorting was QS9000 registered. Also that year his son, Mark, joined the team as general manager. BWSP works with suppliers of the automotive industry, which includes the big three.

“  BWSP is dedicated to helping their customers -- T.S. Quality Tech ”

With Ed’s experience as a truck driver, he incorporated that immediately into his business as a service to his customers. They now have a fleet of trucks that service the thumb and greater Detroit area daily.

Why should companies use BWSP instead of doing their own sorting? Because we are an economical cost effective choice and our continued approach to customer service and quality work. BWSP has ample lighted work areas along with the space needed to sort our customers’ products. BWSP does not place just anyone in our jobs; our inspectors are highly trained professionals who follow the instructions set forth by our customers. This ensures we keep the quality standards as high as we have become known for and worked so hard to achieve.

“ . . . We are a cost effective choice . . . ”

So if you asked Ed and Mark what they would like to say to any new businesses out there,