The Morning Star Company facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Food products |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Founder | Chris J. Rufer |
| Headquarters | Woodland, California |
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Key people
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Chris J. Rufer |
The Morning Star Company is a big food company based in Woodland, California. It started in 1970. The company focuses on growing and processing food, especially tomatoes. Chris Rufer started it as a trucking business. He still owns the company today.
Morning Star processes a huge amount of tomatoes. About 40% of all processing tomatoes grown in California go through their factories. They supply a lot of the tomato paste and diced tomatoes used in the U.S. Each year, they process around 5 million tons of tomatoes. Their factories can handle over 3,000 tons of tomatoes every hour! The company has about 550 full-time employees. During harvest season, over 2,500 temporary workers join them. Morning Star earns more than $1 billion each year. As of 2023, they are the world leader in processing tomatoes. They provide about 10% of all the tomato products used as ingredients worldwide.
Morning Star is a "vertically integrated" company. This means they handle almost every step of the tomato process themselves. Their connected companies grow tomato seedlings, plant them, harvest the tomatoes, and then deliver them to the factories.
The company is also famous for its unique way of working. They have "no supervisory management." This means there are no bosses telling people what to do. The owner, Chris Rufer, calls it "Mission Focused Self-Management." Workers are encouraged to come up with new ideas on their own. They get to decide what their job responsibilities are. They can even help choose new equipment after talking with experts. Also, how much money they earn is decided by their co-workers.
In 2013, INC Magazine called Morning Star one of its "Audacious Companies." This means they were recognized for being bold and innovative.
How Did Morning Star Start?
Chris Rufer began Morning Star in 1970. At first, he was just a truck driver. He transported tomatoes from farms to canning factories. Later, Morning Star built its first factory. This was in Los Banos, CA in 1990. They grew bigger and built a second factory in Williams, CA in 1995. Their third factory was built in Santa Nella, CA in 2002.
How Are Tomatoes Processed?
Morning Star uses smart ways to make tomato paste. They have made many changes to their factories to make them better. For example, they use gravity to help unload tomatoes. This saves energy. They also use cooling ponds and elevated unloading systems. These ideas help save even more energy. They also use a special 300-gallon bag-in-box system for packaging. All these changes help the company make tomato paste in a way that is good for the environment and very efficient.
Images for kids
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Tomato processing flume systems
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Tomato sort conveyor
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Tomato sort flumes
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The Morning Star Company Evaporators
See Also
- Worker Cooperative - Learn about companies where workers have more say.
- Dominos Pizza - Morning Star supplies most of the tomato pizza sauce for Domino's in the USA.
- Heinz Tomato Ketchup - Morning Star provides most of the tomato paste for Heinz Ketchup in the USA.
