Coachbult.com - Morgan Corporation



Morgan Corporation - 1952-present - Morgantown, Pennsylvania

Morgan Corporation - Today's Morgan Corporation traces its history back to 1952, when company founder Elton E. Mountz purchased a small welding shop in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, on the site where Conestoga wagons were manufactured through the late 1800s. Mountz Welding, as his company was called, specialized in residential and farm implement repairs. In 1958, after a record heavy snowfall collapsed the roof of his two-bay shop, Elton doubled the size of the existing facility and, coincident with the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, expanded the business to include the repair and refurbishing of trailers and truck equipment. In 1960, the company name changed to the Morgan Trailer Mfg. Co., and the original repair business was expanded to include the assembly, mounting and finishing of prefabricated van body "kits." By 1970, a major expansion was completed with the addition of a new painting facility and 40,000-sq. ft. of new manufacturing space. Also at this time, a lighter, stronger, non-kit truck body was introduced under the Morgan name. Morgan's innovative truck body design found wide acceptance and additional manufacturing capacity was soon necessary. In 1975, Morgan acquired its Janesville, Wisconsin facility. In 1993, a 78,000-sq. ft. plant in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, was purchased. Substantial additions were completed at the Morgantown facilities in 1980. In the same year, Morgan began to appoint Regional Distributors to complement the company's sales force and better serve its nationwide customers. In 1981, the company name was changed to Morgan Corporation. Morgan continued to grow through both conventional product line development and product diversification. A new manufacturing complex was opened in Rydal, Georgia, in 1983. In 1986, new manufacturing plants in Ehrenberg, Arizona, and Corsicana, Texas, and a factory sales and service branch in Fontana, California, were opened. Also at this time, a new division, Advanced Handling Systems, was established in response to demand for special cargo handling products. Morgan Corporation continued to lead the way in van body design and construction, and in 1987 the now famous Morgan Gold Star van body series was introduced. In January 1990, Elton Mountz, founder and chairman of Morgan, retired. At the same time, ownership of the company was transferred to J.B. Poindexter & Co., an investment group headquartered in Houston, Texas. Also in 1990, the company continued its expansion by opening a sales and service branch in Tampa, Florida. Today, Morgan Corporation is the largest truck van body manufacturer in North America. Equally important, Morgan is proud of its reputation for the very best in quality and service - a reputation that J.B. Poindexter & Co. is committed to continue for many years to come.

For more information please read:

www.morgancorp.com

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