MFG becomes an ESOP company
ASHTABULA — After 74 years of ownership, the Morrison family has sold 100 percent ownership of the Molded Fiber Glass Companies (MFG) to the Molded Fiber Glass Companies Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
ESOP shares of stock are held in a trust, and employees who become participants in the ESOP have the opportunity to receive beneficial ownership of stock and benefit from the increases in the company's value, without cost to them.
Richard Morrison will remain chairman of the board and veteran David Denny will remain chief executive officer (CEO).
More information will be provided in the coming weeks, Morrison said.
Morrison joined Molded Fiber Glass Companies in 1968 and in 1987 became CEO, succeeding his father and the company's founder, Robert S. Morrison. The family-owned MFG, headquartered in Ashtabula, is a molder of fiber reinforced plastic composite products.
But the story of MFG began in 1953 when General Motors unveiled the Chevrolet Corvette. Richard Morrison's father, Robert S. Morrison, traveled to Detroit to convince General Motors to build all the parts out of fiberglass.
He was discouraged when GM announced it decided to construct the Corvette out of steel.
Not long after, in the middle of the night, a phone call woke the entire family.
"(My father) assembled everyone in the kitchen where a big bottle of port was on the table," said Morrison, who was 9 at the time and didn't know what to make of the commotion. "He gets these little glasses and fills them with port."
When everyone had a glass for a toast, his father said, "Here's to the Corvette!"
The phone call was from General Motors. They had changed their decision to fiberglass and chose MFG to produce the vehicle's body parts. From 1953 to 1970, MFG's main business was making parts for the Corvette and other automotive applications.
Throughout the next 50 years, MFG expanded its product line and today, it's one of the largest employers in Ashtabula.
As seen in the Star Beacon and written by Shelly Terry.