Company:The Morning Star Company

From HandWiki
The Morning Star Company
TypePrivate
IndustryFood products
Founded1970; 54 years ago (1970)
FounderChris J. Rufer
HeadquartersWoodland, California
Key people
Chris J. Rufer
Websitemorningstarco.com

The Morning Star Company is a Woodland, California-based agribusiness and food processing company founded in 1970.[1] The company was originally founded as a trucking outfit[2] by Chris Rufer, who remains the sole owner.[3]

Morning Star processes about 40% of the California processing tomato production, and supplies a significant portion of the U.S. industrial tomato paste and diced tomato markets.[4] It processes about 5 million tons of tomatoes each year.[5] Its factories are capable of producing over 3,000 tons of tomatoes per hour.[6] It has approximately 550 full-time employees and over 2,500 seasonal workers during harvest season. The company's revenue exceeds $1 billion per year.[7] As of October 2023, it is the global market leader in tomato processing, supplying approximately "...10% of the world’s ingredient tomato products..."[8]

Morning Star is a vertically integrated company with affiliates producing and transplanting tomato seedlings, harvesting tomatoes, and delivering them to processing factories. [7]

The company has attracted attention for its philosophy of no supervisory management,[9] described by owner/founder, Chris Rufer, as "Mission Focused Self-Management." Workers are encouraged to innovate independently, define job responsibilities themselves, and even make equipment purchasing decisions in consultation with experts.[10] Similarly, compensation is based on peer evaluations.[11]

In 2013, Morning Star was listed as one of INC Magazine's Audacious Companies.[12]

History

MStarCAMap.png

Chris Rufer founded Morning Star in 1970 as the owner-operator, transporting tomatoes from fields to canneries. Morning Star established its first factory in Los Banos, CA in 1990, and later expanded by constructing a second facility in Williams, CA (1995) and built a third factory in Santa Nella, CA (2002).[13][14]

Production mechanism

Morning Star, as part of its innovative approach to tomato paste production, has implemented several changes to improve its factories. These changes include the use of gravity-fed systems to remodel the unloading process, energy-saving measures like cooling ponds and elevated unloading systems, and the introduction of a 300-gallon bag-in-box packaging system. As a result, these measures have improved the company's ability to produce tomato paste that is both environmentally sustainable and efficient.[8][15]

Gallery

  • Tomato processing flume systems

  • Tomato sort conveyor

  • Tomato sort flumes

  • The Morning Star Company Evaporators

See also

  • Worker Cooperative
  • Dominos Pizza - The Morning Star Company supplies a majority of the tomato pizza sauce for the USA market
  • Heinz Tomato Ketchup - The Morning Star Company supplies a majority of the tomato paste ingredients for USA market
  • Zappos
  • Holacracy

References

  1. ↑ "Morning Star Co/The - Company Profile and News". https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0368455Z:US. 
  2. ↑ Staff, Praxis (2015-06-09). "The Morning Star Company: A Praxis Business Partner" (in en-US). https://discoverpraxis.com/business-partner-feature-the-morning-star-company/. 
  3. ↑ "Morning Star's Success Story: No Bosses, No Titles, No Structural Hierarchy" (in en). 2016-11-14. https://corporate-rebels.com/morning-star/. 
  4. ↑ Allen, Arthur (2010-03-19). "Rotten Tomatoes" (in en-US). Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. https://slate.com/human-interest/2010/03/scandal-strikes-the-tomato-paste-industry.html. 
  5. ↑ "Morning Star". http://www.tomatonews.com/en/the-morning-star-packing-company_3_411317.html. 
  6. ↑ gall_admin. "Join our Team – Morning Star Careers" (in en-US). https://www.morningstarco.com/careers/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hamel, Gary (December 2011). "First, Let's Fire All the Managers". Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/12/first-lets-fire-all-the-managers. Retrieved 7 April 2016. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 gall_admin. "Tomato Processing Plant and Manufacturer - California Factories" (in en-US). https://www.morningstarco.com/why-morning-star/innovation-and-scale/. 
  9. ↑ Wartzman, Rick. "If Self-Management Is Such a Great Idea, Why Aren't More Companies Doing It?" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/drucker/2012/09/25/self-management-a-great-idea/. 
  10. ↑ "I, Tomato: Morning Star's Radical Approach to Management". ReasonTV. Reason Foundation. 27 December 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqUBdX1d3ok. Retrieved 4 January 2013. 
  11. ↑ Gino, Francesca; Staats, Bradley R.; Hall, Brian J.; Chang, Tiffany Y. (2013-09-26) (in en-us). The Morning Star Company: Self-Management at Work. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=45683. 
  12. ↑ Buchanan, Leigh (2013-04-18). "One Company's Audacious Org Chart: 400 Leaders, 0 Bosses". https://www.inc.com/audacious-companies/leigh-buchanan/morning-star.html. 
  13. ↑ "Sacramento Valley growing more tomatoes thanks to water" (in en-US). 2016-12-01. https://www.dailydemocrat.com/general-news/20161201/sacramento-valley-growing-more-tomatoes-thanks-to-water/. 
  14. ↑ gall_admin. "Tomato Processing and Packing Company - Morning Star Tomatoes" (in en-US). https://www.morningstarco.com/. 
  15. ↑ gall_admin. "Sustainable Processing Practices for a Healthy Environment" (in en-US). https://www.morningstarco.com/why-morning-star/sustainability/. 

External links



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