 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food products |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Founder | Chris J. Rufer |
| Headquarters | Woodland, California |
Key people | Chris J. Rufer |
| Website | 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]
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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] [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]
