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In 1899, Joseph Steely Morgan helped build a cannery in the city of Austin in Scott County, eventually founding what was then known as the Morgan Packing Company.
Now known as Morgan Foods Inc., the private label food manufacturer is celebrating its 125th anniversary this week as it looks to continue growth in Southern Indiana.
“Of course, it all comes down to people. We’ve been very fortunate to have great owners, great team members and great customers,” CEO Louis Gottsponer said.
Gottsponer told Inside INdiana Business that the company’s success is due to its people, but also to the products it offers.
“We’re very fortunate to have great people, and we have to make a great product, and it has to be very high quality,” he said. “So our job is, of course, to make the highest quality store-brand or private-label product possible and sell it at the lowest price possible. And if we do that every day — selling great-tasting food at an affordable price — we can sell as much as we want.”
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Morgan Foods specializes in producing canned beans and aseptically packaged soups for both private label and store brands.
The company employs about 1,000 people at its plants in Austin and Saline, about 10 miles south of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
But Gottsponer said the company’s growth hasn’t always been easy.
“The cost of doing business continues to go up because of the economy and everything that’s going on,” he said. “Obviously there’s competition, there are supply chain challenges, especially with COVID-19, and it’s always hard to find talent, especially skilled talent.”
Morgan Foods has had an Austin presence throughout its 125-year history, with five generations of employees working at the facility about 35 miles north of Louisville, Gottsponer said.
“I love walking through the plant and hearing people tell me about what their grandfathers and fathers used to do here, great stories and great people with a great work ethic. That’s what defines us,” he said. “Everyone here shares our values and we’ll be here for a long time, forever.”
Gottsponer said Morgan Foods has doubled in size over the past decade, and that growth doesn’t look set to stop anytime soon.
“We believe this is a healthy, growing company and see great opportunities in both our canned and aseptic businesses. We will continue to reinvest and expand our capacity.”
No specific expansion plans have been announced yet, but Gottsponer said the company is finalizing a new five-year strategy and will have more details available in the next 90 days or so.
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