Employee Spotlight: Matthew Bruss

Rocket Industrial's Employee Spotlight series highlights a different employee every month, offering an inside look at our company culture and the awesome people who work here.

This month's employee spotlight features Accounts Payable Specialist, Matthew Bruss. Matthew has worked at Rocket for 5-years, contributing success to the finance department.

Describe your role.

I review payment proposals, packing slips, and vendor invoices for accuracy. I also code expenses for the correct function of the business for freight and non-inventory invoices. These expenses relate to Rocket's office and warehouse locations for various utilities such as electric, telephone, and internet.

What is something you are proud to have accomplished at Rocket?

I moved from accounts receivable to my current accounts payable role and received payment proposal responsibilities. My favorite milestone includes eliminating prep work for the payment proposal that saved 4-hours of work each week, and there was no value lost as a result.

What are some current packaging trends you are seeing? Anything relating to the goods and services Rocket receives from vendors or suppliers?

Deposit orders are becoming more common, such as paying half-down and paying the rest when the order is received. The increase in deposit orders suggests an increase in equipment orders as our customers are moving towards automation.

Automating time-consuming tasks is another trend I'm seeing. Vendors are incorporating online portals to automate their invoicing process. We are also always looking at ways to automate monotonous tasks internally.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I spend time with family, my two boys, and my wife on the weekends. The boys and I spend most Friday evenings with my mom. We get some fish, and my mom and I have a few old fashioned's (brandy or whiskey sweet with cherries garnish for me).

I enjoy watching sports, specifically football and basketball. Watching football is my favorite because I enjoy seeing how the players work together to execute plays. Discovering new music and watching live shows are other activities I enjoy.

Any other fun facts?

Shortly after my wife and I met, we started going to wineries. Neither my wife nor I drank a lot of wine before we met. We like to focus on a region of Wisconsin for our visits and usually buy 1 or 2 bottles to support local wineries. My wife enjoys sweet wine, and I enjoy wine between semi-sweet and semi-dry.