Marking 80 years of manufacturing excellence, Morton Industries is a legacy partner to the world’s leading OEMs
Boasting a remarkable legacy spanning eight decades, Morton Industries has been at the forefront of technology and design since 1946. Trusted by leading OEM innovators across the globe, the company is governed by three core objectives: its “commitment to helping [its] customers and communities thrive”, its “focus on growing [its] workforce and partnerships”, and its “continuous investment in training and technology”.
Since its inception, Morton Industries’ mission has been centered around people, innovation, and technology. The business specializes in advanced metal fabrication services, producing complex components and engineered assemblies for a wide range of OEM industries, including construction, mining, agriculture, power generation, and data infrastructure. By pairing the highest quality services with industry leading manufacturing standards, Morton Industries’ prestigious client base can be assured that their components are of exceptional quality and are truly world-class.
Leading Morton Industries is Christopher (Chris) Ober, President and Chief Executive Officer. Fostered through Chris’ unique people-centric approach to leadership, the company champions a real, high-performance culture defined by immense work ethic, dedication, passion, and ingenuity. In 2026, Morton Industries is proud to be celebrating its 80th anniversary – a tremendous milestone that’s symbolic of the organization’s continuous commitment to innovation and providing world-class service.
To commemorate this milestone, Manufacturing Today sits down with Chris, alongside Morton Industries’ Communications Manager, David Tankersley, to uncover the driving forces behind the company’s success, as well as what it’s next chapter might hold. Chris begins our conversation by sharing insight into his own career journey and what led him to Morton Industries. “I went to school to be an engineer, then found a job in manufacturing straight out of college. The more I got to work with the equipment and the people, the more I fell in love with manufacturing,” he reveals. “I took several roles in manufacturing throughout my career until I had the opportunity to become the President of Morton Industries in 2008. With that, I made the jump from just outside Detroit, Michigan to Morton, Illinois, and since then my focus has been on what I’ve learned. I’m just a manufacturing guy who fell in love with the industry; I had to make everything on my own and work my way up, and our employees really resonate with that because it’s real to them. It shows that if we develop people, give them the tools they need, and the respect they deserve, amazing things can happen.”
Today, Morton Industries offers comprehensive, cutting-edge solutions across sheet metal, tube, and industrial enclosure fabrications, and ships to OEM customers across North America and globally. With six state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across Illinois, Texas, and Tennessee, the organization uniquely combines the skillsets of several legacy businesses: Morton Welding Co., Benton Steel Fabrications Inc, Bradley Services Inc., Peoria Tube Forming Corp, and Road Armor. When reflecting on the company’s 80th anniversary and journey thus far, Chris credits this strategy as one of the key driving forces behind Morton Industries’ success.
Growth and diversification
“When I joined the company in 2008, we had a single location. Since then, we’ve grown into a multi-state manufacturing platform serving global OEM customers. It was great to serve our customers there, but we quickly recognized that we’d have to focus on growth and diversification – not just in our customer demographics but also in our offerings,” Chris recounts. “Since then, our focus has been on acquiring great businesses that fit well or can mold into our culture, putting the business systems in place to manage multiple facilities across multiple states, producing and evolving with the market.
“Today, we’re made up of five formerly family-owned businesses that are now all rolled up into the Morton Industries family. We’re continuously reinvesting back into the business to improve our workforce capability, particularly through digital manufacturing systems, automation, and data integration across our operations.
“Our longevity has been driven by our ability to stay ahead of the times – understanding what our customers’ needs are today and anticipating what they’re going to be in the future,” Chris continues. “I think that’s been a struggle throughout the industry, but it’s why our acquisition strategy has worked so well. There are thousands of fabricators out there and it’s very difficult for all of them to have the right tools in place to communicate with large OEMs, and so our strategy of uniting these family-owned businesses and integrating business systems and processes means that we can offer more value to our customers in terms of ease.”
As Morton Industries embarks upon a new decade, it continues to uphold this operational strategy. The company’s most recent acquisition was of another family-owned legacy business – Superior Tube – which has provided a multitude of strategic benefits to Morton Industries’ capabilities.
“Superior Tube Products was a family-founded company – it had actually been sold to another business but wasn’t a strategic fit, so we arranged to purchase it,” Chris details. “The reason for us acquiring Superior Tube was simple: it filled the gaps that we had in our tube bending capabilities. We had some blind spots that Superior Tube serviced very well with some great modern equipment and a skilled workforce that knew how to get the job done.”
“In general, Morton Industries does things that are very atypical to what other manufacturers would do,” David adds. “When we acquired Superior Tube Products, every single employee was offered a position. We worked hard to support the transition for employees and their families. We made sure everyone had opportunities to visit our other facilities, meet the teams, and see how they might fit within the broader Morton Industries organization. I think that was something unique, rather than us just telling those new employees to ‘just get on with it’.”
With 2026 now in full swing, the company is excited to be celebrating its anniversary with a series of events throughout the year, of which includes a Presidents Panel and a vibrant 80s-themed party. By combining the strengths of legacy businesses, investing in advanced technology, and maintaining a deeply people-focused culture, Morton Industries has continually evolved to meet the changing demands of global OEMs, positioning the company for continued growth.
“Over the next few years, we’re going to continue to execute our strategy. We’ve just launched a new ERP system, which we’re super excited about, so now we have to look at what we’re going to do with it,” Chris affirms, concluding our conversation optimistic for the future ahead. “We’re going to continue to expand our offerings with strategic, add-on businesses to ensure that we evolve with our customers. We intend to double in size over the next few years, and that’s going to be done with a series of internal investments and acquisitive growth.”
