Draft:James L. Busby

James Louie “Jim” Busby is an American businessman, engineer, and inventor. He founded Quality Micro Systems (QMS), a computer hardware company based in Mobile, Alabama, in 1977. Under Busby’s leadership, QMS developed printer-controller technology and grew into a publicly traded manufacturer of printers and related equipment. He later founded CentraLite Systems, a manufacturer of lighting-control and home-automation technology.

Early life and education

Busby earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama and later an MBA from the University of South Alabama.

Before founding QMS, Busby worked as a systems engineer for Scott Paper Company. While there, he became interested in the problem of producing large, easily readable labels for paper rolls used in industrial facilities.

Quality Micro Systems

While working at Scott Paper, Busby developed technology that allowed computer-driven printers to produce large characters and symbols for industrial labels. He subsequently left Scott Paper and founded Quality Micro Systems in Mobile in 1977, initially financing the company with a $10,000 bank loan.

Scott Paper became QMS's first customer. The company's early technology included computer-controlled printer interfaces and controllers that could control the placement and size of printed characters and symbols.

In 1981, Busby was named as the inventor on U.S. Patent No. 4,254,409, titled Control system for full line variable height and width character and symbol printing. The patent describes a computer-controlled printing system for selecting, storing, positioning, and printing characters and symbols at variable sizes.

QMS subsequently expanded from printer controllers and interface equipment into the manufacture of laser printers and related computer-printing technology. In 1985, Inc. magazine included QMS in its Inc. 100 ranking and described the company as a $32 million operation producing intelligent controllers and interface equipment for printers.

QMS became a publicly traded company in the early 1980s. By 1984, the company employed approximately 300 people and had become a significant competitor in the market for non-impact printers.

Under Busby's leadership, QMS expanded its operations and subsequently became listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company eventually employed approximately 1,500 people at its peak.

Busby retired from QMS in 1997. The company was later acquired by Minolta and became part of Minolta-QMS. Following the 2003 merger of Minolta and Konica, the company's operations became part of Konica Minolta.

CentraLite Systems

In 1997, Busby founded CentraLite Systems, a company specializing in lighting-control and home-automation technology.

CentraLite developed wirelessly connected devices, controllers, interfaces, and software for residential lighting and home automation. Busby served as an executive of the company, while his son James B. “Jimmy” Busby also held a leadership role.

Busby continued to participate in the company's technology development. In 2015, he was named as an inventor, under the full name James Louie Busby, on U.S. Patent No. 9,208,965, Switch cover and control for controllable lamp. The patent was assigned to CentraLite Systems and describes a device for controlling a controllable lamp while preventing an existing wall switch from inadvertently disconnecting power to the lamp.

Recognition

Busby received the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award from the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. The award recognized his career as an entrepreneur and his founding of QMS and CentraLite Systems.

The University of South Alabama has identified Busby as a recipient of its Distinguished Alumni Award and has also listed him among recipients of the Distinguished Engineering Fellow award from the University of Alabama and the Distinguished Business Leadership Award from the University of Mobile.

In 2017, Busby received the University of South Alabama's Distinguished Alumni Award.