Growth leads Morgan Polymer Seals to new markets

TIJUANA, Mexico—When Morgan Polymer Seals said it would expand its Tijuana plant by 75 percent—plans that would bring 36,000 additional square feet to the facility—it wasn't just adding to its production capabilities.

The company was future proofing.

Family-owned Morgan Polymer Seals firmly has established its place in the automotive industry, manufacturing seals and gaskets for OEMs including Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen. But as emerging automotive technology leads the industry toward an electrified future, it's changing the game and the expectations for auto suppliers.

So Morgan Polymer Seals is changing right along with it, adding square footage and capabilities that will allow it to better meet the needs of its customers, particularly in the electric vehicle space.

"When you talk about the markets we are in right now, being adept at producing products for electric vehicles is a necessity to future-proofing," said Sean Morgan, the firm's chief revenue officer. "You can also say that, in addition to traditional sealing—oil sealings, fuel sealings—that we are shifting to become more adept at battery sealings, sealings for cooling systems. We are shifting and broadening, covering additional markets."

To properly transition into that space, Morgan Polymer Seals is investing in its materials capabilities as well. The Tijuana expansion plans include about 5,000 square feet for additional laboratory capabilities. This will help with the development of new products to better meet the needs of electric vehicle customers.

Still, Sean Morgan is quick to note that the electric vehicle space relies on materials that Morgan Polymer Seals has built its reputation on. So the transition, he said, won't be a difficult one for the company.

"For EVs particularly," he said, "much or many of the applications (call for) silicone and fluorosilicone materials, which is what Morgan Polymer Seals originally cut its teeth on."

But the electric vehicle market isn't the only new space that Morgan Polymer Seals finds itself growing into.

The company recently added about $10 million in new business—business that led to the Tijuana plant expansion. The largest portion of that new business—about $8 million overall—was a combination of electric vehicle and heavy-duty commercial truck applications.

It's future-proofing wrapped up in diversification.

"That's where the EV side (comes in)," Sean Morgan said. "… Things are shifting in that direction and virtually every company within the automotive market is leaning that way or they are going to have to head that way to survive. …

"And, just like an investment, diversification helps to protect your business and your investments. In this case, with automotive, we wanted to expand into ag and construction and heavy-duty truck to diversify what we do away from a specific market."

Driving new growth

Everything about the growth Morgan Polymer Seals is seeing right now is organic. It's grass-roots growth that the Morgan Family says comes from doing what it does best: delivering high-quality products on time every time. That reputation, the family said, ultimately is what gives the company the ability to branch out.

"What is fueling growth in the new market?" said Sam Morgan, who oversees communications for the company. "We have proven we are good at our jobs. If you prove that you are good at what you do, people will want to hire you for a new job. …

"Automotive is tough," Sam Morgan added. "In some ways, if you can do automotive, what can't you do? The quality standards are so incredibly high and the pressures at stake are so high that if you have a defective gasket or seal, that could be (catastrophic). It could lead the recall of millions of vehicles. But you do a good job in automotive and you are going to get hired other things."

In addition to producing high-quality parts, Morgan Polymer Seals also operates entirely in North America. And that's playing well into the company's favor, especially as those throughout the automotive industry look to more sustainable and reliable supply chains. Whether it's dubbed on-shoring or local-to-local, the trend is one that many OEMs are leaning into.

And they're turning to Morgan Polymer Seals because of it.

"That shortens your supply chain," Sean Morgan said. "It allows you to work with someone in the same time zone or close to it. … We have always been here, and now we have a lot more interest from customers, just given the fact that we're over here."

The Morgans also contend that the company's agility allows for it to meet the needs of customers quickly and adeptly.

There are no bureaucratic layers through which all decisions must flow. Instead, every decision is a family decision among Sean and Sam Morgan and their father Kevin Morgan, CEO and company founder.

At the same time, Sean Morgan said, the company has the ability to meet the needs of some of the largest OEMs. And that means Morgan Polymer Seals represents the best of companies large and small.

"We are a mid-sized family-owned company," Sam Morgan said. "That brings a personality and a size with it that works well. Size-wise, we are large enough to handle those (large projects) … but (we're) a small enough business that you are not going to get voicemail here. We are in the sweet spot of not being too big and not being too small—we are a Goldilocks company."