The Morris Story

Robert E. Morris and his wife, Dorothy (Dot) Morris, founded our first company, The Robert E. Morris Company, in 1941. It was built upon strong and enduring values that continue to guide all Morris Group companies today. Treating customers, principals, suppliers and employees with respect, humility, honesty and fairness defines our corporate culture.

We strive to maintain the highest standards of personal and professional behavior. We believe that staying competitive means embracing continual change and new technologies; we seek out employees who are bright, dedicated, entrepreneurial and open to change.

Robert and Dot's family values are evidenced in the successful handing down of The Robert E. Morris Company to their son, Lee, and grandson, Brad, who uphold the same traditions, possess the same inherent values, and apply the same guiding principles while growing the company. Lee Morris and Brad Morris are ever mindful of their customers' needs to manufacture more precise and complex parts...profitably...in North America.

The early years set the path

Robert E. Morris was a 28 year-old "machine tool guy" when he started The Robert E. Morris Company in 1941 with his 23 year-old wife, Dorothy "Dot" Morris. The business literally started at the kitchen table in their West Hartford, Connecticut home. They didn't know it then, but Robert and Dot started a company with real staying power. As Robert's reputation in the industry flourished, so did his business.

In the spring of 1942, four employees joined the company, and Robert opened a branch office in the Boston, Massachusetts area. In 1946, Robert established a second branch office and warehouse in Connecticut. Robert was acknowledged as the best salesman of Nichols rise and fall milling machines in the country. As such, he was offered the opportunity to organize a national sales program for the Waltham, Massachusetts-based Nichols. In 1960, Nichols-Morris Corporation changed to Rem Sales Incorporated when Robert started representing T.S. Harrison lathes across the U.S. Today, The Robert E. Morris Company and Rem Sales continue to thrive in our stunning Tech Center in Windsor, Connecticut, not far from where it all started.

The gavel passes

Lee Morris was a successful salesman at IBM when he decided to join The Robert E. Morris Company in 1968. The father-son team grew the business from $6 million to $150 million in sales and increased the number of employees from 25 to nearly 300 in a span of twenty years through acquisitions and establishment of new divisions. In 1972, the company purchased Northeast Machinery Exchange; 1976, Cinrock (New Jersey); 1984, Machine Tool Systems (North Carolina), and in 1988, R.O. Deaderick Company (Alabama).

In 1988, Robert E. Morris, died. It was a sorrowful time for our company and the entire U.S. machine tool industry. Robert had made such a positive impact within the industry that the American Precision Museum, a National Historic Landmark in Windsor, Vermont, dedicated a wing in his honor. Dorothy still plays an active role in supporting the efforts of this organization today.

Fortunately, Lee Morris had been well prepared by his father to lead The Robert E. Morris Company into its next phase of development.

Experiments expand opportunities and inspire future direction

In 1992, Lee Morris acquired Technical Equipment Sales (Ohio), and in 1994, he established Trident Machine Tools in Connecticut. Trident later became the model for today's Haas Factory Outlets. Morris now operates three Haas Factory Outlets in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S.

In March of 1999, The Robert E. Morris Company joined with two other well-established machine tool distribution companies - Ellison Technologies and Hartwig - to form a group called "Meritage", which became the largest supplier of machine tools and factory automation equipment in the U.S. This bold experiment lasted five years until all parties agreed to return to each of its original names, delineations, and successful individual company philosophies. Emerging from Meritage, Lee established Morris Group, Inc. to provide capital structure, centralized banking, insurance, information technology infrastructure, human resources, and marketing services to its divisions.

The third Morris generation takes the reins

Lee's son Brad worked his way up through the ranks for many years before being named President in 2006. The new father- son team of Lee and Brad established Morris Midwest to manage its expanded Okuma territories in Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Brad designed our world-class Tech Center in Windsor, Connecticut and like his predecessors, has a "hands on" approach to problem solving and customer service.

Today, Morris Group, Inc. consists of 13 operating divisions throughout the east and central sections of the United States. Headquartered in an ultra-modern facility in Windsor, Connecticut that opened in 2007, Morris Group has annual revenues of over $300 million and employs about 400 people, including 220 parts and service technicians and applications engineers. Drawing on one of the largest pools of process expertise and intellectual property, we dedicate our employees, partners, and resources to providing solutions that enable our customers to do more with less.