Morton International: who says America and Utah can't compete?

• Author: Smith, Cheryl
• Position: Plans expansion of automotive air-bag manufacturing operations, with plants operating in cities of Ogden, Brigham City and Promontory in state of Utah; see related article on management strategies of Morton International Inc.

The projections that Morton International will soon expand its Utah air-bag manufacturing operations from 1,700 employees to more than 4,500 are not inflated. From Ogden and Brigham City, Morton's Automotive Safety Products Division is driving the economy of northern Utah and dominating the world air-bag market.

Headquartered in Chicago, Morton International has three operating groups: specialty chemicals, salt, and automotive safety products. It sees $28 billion in sales per year and has 75 operating locations in 27 countries. In Utah, the company has plants in Ogden, Brigham City, and Promontory, where engineers and assemblers manufacture one of the world's most popular products with long-term growth potential to be invented since the auto itself: the automotive lifesaving device known as the air-bag.

Utah Origins

The air-bag division of Morton has a long history with Utah-based Thiokol, the company that began working on the product in 1968. Chicago-based Morton acquired Thiokol in 1982, when it then became Morton Thiokol until 1989. Since then they have been entirely separate companies, with separate stockholders.

Following the split, Morton retained the commercial-product side of the business, while Thiokol retained the aerospace entities.

Even when the market for air bags didn't exist, Morton doggedly continued to develop them. "There was cyclic customer interest in air bags until Morton acquired Thiokol in 1982," said Ken Holmgren, president, who started with Thiokol in a manufacturing job 35 years ago.

Still, Morton employees were confident [the air bag's] day was going to come. That day finally came in 1986 when Chrysler ordered Morton's air bags for selected models of its new cars.

That was just the beginning of this success story. The federal law requiring passive restraints in all U.S. cars kicked into gear in the late '80s, and Morton's sales took off. When the demand did surface, the world's major car makers turned to Morton, which had already been developing and perfecting the device for more than two decades, as one of their major suppliers. "It would have come to market, even had we not kept at it over the years," said Holmgren.

Persistence and determination have paid off. In 1992, the company expects to sell $500 million of the safety devices. Last year's payroll to employees and subcontractors topped $50 million.

Morton's impact on the economy of northern Utah cannot be overstated, said Scott Parkinson, director of the Ogden/Weber Chamber. "When you consider what's going on in the defense sector, there is no question [northern Utah] is going to take enormous cuts. Morton represents the type of employment we want to help offset the job losses in the defense industry," Parkinson commented.

Due in part to Morton and to other successful manufacturers in northern Utah, the housing markers in Davis, Box Elder, and Weber counties are strong and personal incomes are the highest in the state.

Always One Step Ahead

Though it currently has a strong position in the expanding...