Morgan Foods marks 125 years in Scott County
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In 1899, Joseph Steely Morgan helped build a canning plant in the Scott County city of Austin, eventually forming what was then known as the Morgan Packing Company.
Now known as Morgan Foods Inc., the private-label food manufacturer is celebrating 125 years in business this week with eyes toward continued growth in southern Indiana.
“It all comes down to the people, of course, and we’ve been so fortunate and blessed to have great owners and great team members and great customers,” said CEO Louis Gottsponer.
Gottsponer told Inside INdiana Business the key to the company’s success starts with its people, but can also be attributed to the products it provides.
“We’re very fortunate to have the have great people, and you have to make a great product, and it’s got to be very high quality,” he said. “So our job, of course, is to make store brand or private label products that are at the highest possible quality at the lowest possible price. And if you keep doing that every day—great food at an affordable price—well, you can have as many sales as you want.”
Morgan Foods specializes in the manufacturing of canned beans and aseptic packaged broth for both private label and store brands.
The company employs nearly 1,000 workers at its plants in Austin and Saline, Michigan, about 10 miles south of Ann Arbor.
Gottsponer says the company’s growth, however, hasn’t always been easy.
“With the economy and all the things going on, the cost of doing business just keeps going up,” he said. “There’s competition, of course, supply chain challenges, especially around COVID, and it’s always hard to find people, you know, especially skilled folks.”
Morgan Foods has maintained its presence in Austin throughout the entire 125-year history of the company. Gottsponer said the facility in the community about 35 miles north of Louisville has seen five generations of workers.
“I love walking out in our plant and having people tell me what their grandfather did here, and their father and just great stories and great people that have a great work ethic. It’s defined us,” he said. “Everybody here shares our values, and we’re going to be here for a long time, forever.”
Over the last decade, Morgan Foods has doubled in size, Gottsponer said. And that growth isn’t stopping anytime soon.
“We’re convinced that growing companies are healthy companies, and we think we have great opportunities, both in our can business and in our aseptic business. We’re just going to continue to reinvest. We’ll continue to grow our capacity.”
While specific expansion plans haven’t been announced yet, Gottsponer said the company is putting the final touches on a new five-year strategy, with more details expected over the next 90 days or so.