| The Morning Star Company | |
| Type: | Private |
| Founder: | Chris J. Rufer |
| Location: | Woodland, California |
| Key People: | Chris J. Rufer |
| Industry: | Food products |
| Homepage: | morningstarco.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.
The company has attracted attention for its philosophy of no supervisory management,[9] [10] 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.[11] Similarly, compensation is based on peer evaluations.[12] [13]
In 2013, Morning Star was listed as one of INC Magazine's Audacious Companies.[14]
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).[15] [16]
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.[17]