Indiana Egg Producer Invests in New HQ, Rebranding
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Robotics are used at MPS Egg Farms in North Manchester. (company provided photo)
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Automation to place eggs in cartons at North Manchester-based MPS Egg Farms (company provided photo)
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Aerial view of an egg production facility in North Manchester. (photo provided: MPS Egg Farms)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOne of the largest egg producers in the Hoosier State is making changes that it says better reflect its core business. North Manchester-based Midwest Poultry Services has announced it will now be known as MPS Egg Farms.
The company says the new name is more indicative of its primary business; supplying eggs to leading grocery retailers, food distributors, and foodservice companies.
“We are a Midwest company. But our region, our expertise, is really nationwide,” explained Sam Krouse, vice president of business development. “As we look to increase our customer base and increase our operations, we needed to have a name that can really take us anywhere.”
Krouse says the company ships shell eggs as far west as Denver and as far east as Virginia.
The number one client for MPS is Cincinnati-based Kroger, one of the largest supermarket chains in the U.S.
“We supply Kroger’s private-label eggs, both their Kroger brand eggs and some of their Simple Truth-brand cage-free eggs,” said Krouse.
Responding to consumer demand, 25% of MPS egg production is cage-free. The remaining 75% is traditional production.
“Our customers have been ramping up their consumer demand for cage-free over the years, and we’ve been able to grow in lockstep with that,” said Krouse.
Krouse says MPS started cage-free egg production in 2008. In 2015 it built an entire cage-free facility in North Manchester.
“Right now, there are a lot of producers kind of struggling to catch up to the trend,” Krouse said.
In addition to the name change, MPS also recently moved into a new state-of-the-art headquarters in North Manchester in Wabash County, an investment of about $5 million. Its previous headquarters were about 30 miles away in the Kosciusko County town of Mentone.
MPS says the move allows it to be closer to three of its four farms and to allow for greater collaboration among its team that services national customers daily.
“We’ve got a name that can take us places. We have great branding. And, with the new headquarters, we’re just really poised for strong growth in 2020 and on into 2025 and beyond,” said Krouse.
MPS Egg Farms got its start in 1875. It’s now a sixth-generation family-owned and operated company and employs 550 people.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, MPS Vice President for Business Development Sam Krouse says the company is well positioned for growth.