VIEWPOINT: 100 years strong, the history of Morse Manufacturing

Morse Manufacturing Company, a third-generation, family-owned company, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. Founded by J. Mott Morse as a manufacturer of custom metal parts and stamping operations, the company became one of many that supported the burgeoning automobile industry here in Central New York. 

The company’s innovations included snap-foot accelerators in Ford’s Model T, a variety of accessories for Franklin Automobiles that were manufactured here in Syracuse, and designs for clamps and vices.

The Morse name has been consistent throughout its history, but it is the Andrews family that is credited with concentrating the company’s energies on innovations in drum-handling equipment and broad distribution of products across the nation and the globe. Ralph Andrews joined the company as a production manager after spending five years working for both Carrier and General Electric. He purchased the business from Mott Morse in 1948.

Among the many items Ralph Andrews designed for the company were devices to safely move 55-gallon drums. The products increased efficiency and reduced the back-breaking work of transporting, filling, and pouring from the heavy and awkward containers. As demand for materials in support of the war effort increased during World War II, drum handling became increasingly valuable. 

Morse Manufacturing’s sales model focused on local and regional customers, but Ralph Andrews wanted to reach other markets. Company strategy shifted to selling through dealers and expanding to new regions across the nation. Andrews began to market a variety of Morse’s products, including the barrel-moving devices, in trade publications. Thus began a relationship with the advertising agency, Nowak Associates — one that continues to this day. Much like Morse Manufacturing, the firm is a multi-generation family business. Tim Nowak followed in the footsteps of his father Don and continues to manage Morse’s trade advertising. 

The success of Morse’s advertising campaigns underscored the need for further innovation in this specialized product line. Soon, it became clear that the company could fill an important niche in the market. Ralph Andrews narrowed Morse’s manufacturing focus to address the increasing demand and gave birth to the new industrial product category of drum-handling equipment. The need did not subside during peacetime. By the 1950s, Ralph Andrews decided to move Morse from its first manufacturing facility at 122 Dickerson St. on Syracuse’s west side to 727 West Manlius St. in East Syracuse. It was the first of many expansions of the company.

Morse Manufacturing continued to innovate as its customers’ needs grew and changed through the 1960s. Hand trucks and dollies became more complex, and new handling devices were developed to accommodate advances with forklifts. New products to lift, roll, and pour the content of barrels continued to focus on human or mechanical leverage using motors. Ralph Andrews’ wife, Beatrice, was a regular presence at the company, helping in the office and lending a hand with a variety of projects when Morse Manufacturing shut down the plant for annual facility maintenance. 

When Bob Andrews came to work with his father in 1969, he began to introduce pneumatic and hydraulic technologies to enhance a variety of product lines. When the company celebrated its golden anniversary in 1973, it did so by attaching an entirely new plant to its existing facility to accommodate these advancements. Morse Manufacturing would expand three more times in the following decade, doubling the manufacturing space.

As Bob launched efforts to grow the company’s capacity with an infusion of technology, his father gave him another important assignment. Labor organizers from the Teamsters union began to engage a group of Morse’s employees. Defying the advice of many negotiators, Bob took the unorthodox approach of communicating directly with employees. His ability to listen, include workers in the vision for the company, and respond to their desire for higher wages essentially eliminated the need for the Teamsters, and the employees decertified the union. In addition to earning their trust and respect, the younger Andrews also demonstrated to his father that he was capable of taking the lead at Morse Manufacturing. 

In 1977, Bob succeeded his father as president and Ralph rose to chairman of the board of directors. 

Bob Andrews continued to build relationships with new dealers and suppliers, expanded into global markets, and invested in training the company’s growing workforce. Many of those hired during this period remain with Morse Manufacturing today, and even a few second-generation employees can be found on the manufacturing floor. Bob’s wife, Alice, was also a steady presence at the company, deepening the sense of family in the company’s culture.

The Andrews family shared a deep commitment to their community, generously sharing their time and resources with a variety of nonprofit and professional organizations. Ralph was active with the Boy Scouts and served as treasurer of the SPCA. He and Beatrice were patrons of Syracuse Symphony and members of DeWitt Community Church. Bob recognized the needs of the Salvation Army and supplied hundreds of barrels to collect holiday toys and food donations across the region. Father and son were also generous contributors to the Boy Scouts, and the Rescue Mission, whose headquarters are not far from Morse Manufacturing’s first home on Dickerson Street.

The Andrews also understood that a successful manufacturing sector relied heavily on workforce and economic development in Central New York and have remained part of the manufacturing ecosystem for decades. Both Ralph and Bob Andrews held leadership positions at MACNY, The Manufacturers Association and the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce (now CenterState CEO), and in state and national organizations to support the growth and development of the sector. Bob provided Onondaga Community College with valuable insight and guidance in the design of training programs and pathways to employment at Morse and other local companies.

With its 75th anniversary on the horizon, Morse continued to expand its capabilities with the addition of computer-assisted drawing (CAD) and technology dedicated to precision machining and cutting. Employees used to manual processes were trained to use new software designed to analyze data, and identify efficiencies throughout each step from design, to assembly, inspection, packaging, and shipping. 

Nevertheless, the company was not immune to the challenges faced by many manufacturers in the region during economic downturns. Global expansion also exposed the company to competition that disrupted market share and the supply chain. As other manufacturers were left with no choice but to reduce workforce, Bob Andrews found new roles for his employees in order to avoid layoffs. The company weathered the storm, leaning into the problem by investing its time and resources in equipment and training. Morse Manufacturing stuck by its suppliers, doing what it could to keep those relationships intact as orders declined. 

In the early 2000s, the third generation of the Andrews family joined the company in earnest. Nate Andrews returned to Central New York after earning his engineering degree from the University of Vermont and spending a few years in the tech sector in Boston. Nate spent time in each area of the business, learning from the ground up, and getting reacquainted with employees who had joined the company when he was a kid raking leaves and working summers around the plant. Those same employees cheered when Nate was named VP in 2007 — it seemed the future of the family business would be secured.

Bob Andrews felt prepared to retire and become chairman of the board. The company continued to fend off competition from China by adopting lean manufacturing and setting itself apart for specialty designs and high-touch customer service. Morse Manufacturing set a new sales record in 2011. It was the right time for Nate to become president, and the transition became official on Jan. 1, 2012.

Nate Andrews continued to prioritize international growth, training, and leadership in the manufacturing sector. Morse continued its commitment to local philanthropy and creating pathways from technical education to employment. Soon, it was clear that the plant needed to expand its footprint yet again. Leaving the area was never a consideration — the employees and community were too important, almost an extension of the Andrews family.

A shuttered muffler company on Kuhn Road in the town of Salina offered the right square footage, and then some. It needed significant investment, and thanks to support from Onondaga County, Empire State Development, and National Grid, the ribbon was cut on the 120,000-square-foot facility. The space included interior lanes for trucks to pull into to load and unload materials, and a high tech, ventilated painting bay to add a powder coat of Morse’s signature blue color to its products.

Morse Manufacturing continues to distribute products around the globe from its world-class facility. The company has maintained its status as the leader of the drum-handling product category — manufacturing more than 100 different products made by a loyal workforce and distributed through a dedicated dealer network. Nate Andrews estimates that Morse reinvests 75 percent of the company’s revenue back into the Central New York community. That’s a lot to celebrate.      

Lisa Romano Moore is executive director at the Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) (www.cnyhistory.org), located at 321 Montgomery St. in Syracuse.