Marshall Pottery Inc. is the largest manufacturer of red clay pots in the United States. Marshall Pottery operates a 100,000 ft² (9,000 m²) retail store adjacent to its headquarters in Marshall, Texas, which attracts over 500,000 tourists each year.
Marshall Pottery was founded by W. F. Rocker in Marshall in 1895. Rocker located the business in East Texas because of its abundant water and white clay deposits. In 1905 Marshall Pottery was acquired by Sam Ellis. With the invention of the glass canning jar and other new competing products in the 1920s, the business almost folded. Prohibition led to a thriving moonshine industry and a need for inexpensive jugs to store the liquor. If not for the sale of jugs during Prohibition, Marshall Pottery would likely have gone bankrupt.
In the 1940s, with the discovery of a clay that required a lower firing temperature, the pottery began producing flower pots. For many years the company continued to employ potters as its primary means of manufacturing. One of these employees, Pete Payne, became a master potter and displayed his technique at the Smithsonian Institution. Since the construction of a new facility in 1998 most of the pottery's production has been automated. However, hand made pottery can still be purchased, and tourists can watch potters create it.
When Richard Marshall envisioned the need for a company providing outsourced maintenance support to the manufacturing industry in 1951, Trenton, NJ was a bustling manufacturing hub in the Northeast Corridor. A lighted banner hanging from a bridge in the city proclaimed: “Trenton Makes, The World Takes.”
The industry base Marshall once serviced – rubber, steel and pottery – has either contracted or disappeared but the company founded as Marshall Maintenance has evolved, re-invented itself and remained. The company eventually grew to seven divisions across a number of sectors – including the nuclear power industry – before scaling back and re-grouping in 1981.
Now, a year shy of its 60th anniversary, Marshall Industrial Technologies is a one-stop solution for plant equipment installation and service needs, boasting upwards of 100 technicians in various disciplines.
“We went from seven divisions in 1981 back down to a single division at which time we became financially stronger. Richard Marshall sold the business to us through an orderly transition in 1998. Shortly thereafter he passed away. In 1991 we changed the name to better reflect the services we provide and the company’s mission to enhance the technologies of our customer base,” explains Vice President of Operations and Minority Owner Richard K. Osenlund.
The management team of President and CEO John Mako, CFO and Minority Owner Rocco Carnevale, and Osenlund has overseen the company’s re-development, which started with the addition of an HVAC service division and an electrical service division in the early ‘90s. “Once we had those particular talents under our roof, we became a one-source provider for the industry with mechanical, electrical, process heating and cooling, comfort heating and cooling and machining and fabrication support,” Osenlund states.
Today the company employs 155, has annual revenues approaching $22 million and is servicing an expanded geographic area with the addition of a mechanical and electrical facility in northeastern Pennsylvania. While it has struggled somewhat during the recession, Osenlund says the company’s broad service offering and its broad market base has proven beneficial, likening the company to a multi-piston engine that keeps the vehicle moving forward even when all pistons aren’t firing.
If one thing about this company jumps out, it is the leadership team’s vast experience. “The three of us have been with this company over 90 years [combined],” Mako points out. “Our focus is 100 percent on the customer; we’re committed to completing every project to meet or exceed the customer’s expectations.”
“We’re not trying to get rich in a day. We place significant value in the relationships we establish with our customers. The intention is to establish long-term relationships. We’re looking for partnerships. We want our clients to call us back over and over,” Osenlund elaborates.
DAILY OPERATIONS
Marshall Industrial Technologies, Inc. covers all of New Jersey and the new Lehigh Valley Division fabrication shop gives the company approximately 45,000sf in total shop space, allowing it to expand geographic target markets into northeastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey. The company self-performs 95 percent of the work on any given project, bringing in sub-contractors for additional technical support.
The company counts many Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies across all spectrums among its clients and Mako notes the chemical industry has emerged as a core base. “Safety is a primary focus for them and we excel on the safety side,” he adds.
The company employs a full-time Safety and Training Director, is OSHA compliant and maintains an EMR rating exceeding the industry standard. Detailed pre-employment medical and physical tests, drug screens and background checks are conducted and every employee undergoes rigorous annual updates to maintain their safe worker status.
Subcontractors must sign off on an extensive pre-qualification package that includes technical requirements as well as hazard identification and hazard correction requirements.
Hazard assessment is ongoing throughout every project. All employees are outfitted with uniforms and personal safety items such as hard hats, goggles and steel-toed boots are required.
The company is investigating LEED and its impact on retrofit projects within the HVAC and electrical groups. It completed a LEED specific webinar in early April and is developing alliances and building a team that will address energy efficiency issues.
Carnevale says the company owns most of its fleet of approximately 90 lighter vehicles. Only four vehicles, including a boom truck at Lehigh Valley, exceed 26,000 pounds GVW. Most vehicle maintenance work is outsourced to vehicle fleet maintenance providers.
Marshall Pottery was founded by W. F. Rocker in Marshall in 1895. Rocker located the business in East Texas because of its abundant water and white clay deposits. In 1905 Marshall Pottery was acquired by Sam Ellis. With the invention of the glass canning jar and other new competing products in the 1920s, the business almost folded. Prohibition led to a thriving moonshine industry and a need for inexpensive jugs to store the liquor. If not for the sale of jugs during Prohibition, Marshall Pottery would likely have gone bankrupt.
In the 1940s, with the discovery of a clay that required a lower firing temperature, the pottery began producing flower pots. For many years the company continued to employ potters as its primary means of manufacturing. One of these employees, Pete Payne, became a master potter and displayed his technique at the Smithsonian Institution. Since the construction of a new facility in 1998 most of the pottery's production has been automated. However, hand made pottery can still be purchased, and tourists can watch potters create it.
When Richard Marshall envisioned the need for a company providing outsourced maintenance support to the manufacturing industry in 1951, Trenton, NJ was a bustling manufacturing hub in the Northeast Corridor. A lighted banner hanging from a bridge in the city proclaimed: “Trenton Makes, The World Takes.”
The industry base Marshall once serviced – rubber, steel and pottery – has either contracted or disappeared but the company founded as Marshall Maintenance has evolved, re-invented itself and remained. The company eventually grew to seven divisions across a number of sectors – including the nuclear power industry – before scaling back and re-grouping in 1981.
Now, a year shy of its 60th anniversary, Marshall Industrial Technologies is a one-stop solution for plant equipment installation and service needs, boasting upwards of 100 technicians in various disciplines.
“We went from seven divisions in 1981 back down to a single division at which time we became financially stronger. Richard Marshall sold the business to us through an orderly transition in 1998. Shortly thereafter he passed away. In 1991 we changed the name to better reflect the services we provide and the company’s mission to enhance the technologies of our customer base,” explains Vice President of Operations and Minority Owner Richard K. Osenlund.
The management team of President and CEO John Mako, CFO and Minority Owner Rocco Carnevale, and Osenlund has overseen the company’s re-development, which started with the addition of an HVAC service division and an electrical service division in the early ‘90s. “Once we had those particular talents under our roof, we became a one-source provider for the industry with mechanical, electrical, process heating and cooling, comfort heating and cooling and machining and fabrication support,” Osenlund states.
Today the company employs 155, has annual revenues approaching $22 million and is servicing an expanded geographic area with the addition of a mechanical and electrical facility in northeastern Pennsylvania. While it has struggled somewhat during the recession, Osenlund says the company’s broad service offering and its broad market base has proven beneficial, likening the company to a multi-piston engine that keeps the vehicle moving forward even when all pistons aren’t firing.
If one thing about this company jumps out, it is the leadership team’s vast experience. “The three of us have been with this company over 90 years [combined],” Mako points out. “Our focus is 100 percent on the customer; we’re committed to completing every project to meet or exceed the customer’s expectations.”
“We’re not trying to get rich in a day. We place significant value in the relationships we establish with our customers. The intention is to establish long-term relationships. We’re looking for partnerships. We want our clients to call us back over and over,” Osenlund elaborates.
DAILY OPERATIONS
Marshall Industrial Technologies, Inc. covers all of New Jersey and the new Lehigh Valley Division fabrication shop gives the company approximately 45,000sf in total shop space, allowing it to expand geographic target markets into northeastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey. The company self-performs 95 percent of the work on any given project, bringing in sub-contractors for additional technical support.
The company counts many Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies across all spectrums among its clients and Mako notes the chemical industry has emerged as a core base. “Safety is a primary focus for them and we excel on the safety side,” he adds.
The company employs a full-time Safety and Training Director, is OSHA compliant and maintains an EMR rating exceeding the industry standard. Detailed pre-employment medical and physical tests, drug screens and background checks are conducted and every employee undergoes rigorous annual updates to maintain their safe worker status.
Subcontractors must sign off on an extensive pre-qualification package that includes technical requirements as well as hazard identification and hazard correction requirements.
Hazard assessment is ongoing throughout every project. All employees are outfitted with uniforms and personal safety items such as hard hats, goggles and steel-toed boots are required.
The company is investigating LEED and its impact on retrofit projects within the HVAC and electrical groups. It completed a LEED specific webinar in early April and is developing alliances and building a team that will address energy efficiency issues.
Carnevale says the company owns most of its fleet of approximately 90 lighter vehicles. Only four vehicles, including a boom truck at Lehigh Valley, exceed 26,000 pounds GVW. Most vehicle maintenance work is outsourced to vehicle fleet maintenance providers.