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Morgan Olson is an American company that producesaluminum walk-in step vans. It was founded in 1946 onLong Island, New York. Previously owned byNorthrop Grumman and doing business asGrumman Olson for several decades, the company was then taken over by a group of senior managers. In 2003, Grumman Olson was purchased by the American companyJBPCO, which also owned Morgan Corp., the then-largest manufacturer of truck bodies in theUnited States. Grumman Olson was renamed Morgan Olson in 2004.
The idea for the first all-aluminum walk-in step van was originated by Walter Heingartner, owner ofKinney Motors Chevrolet inBrooklyn, NY. Heingartner was friends with Jimmy Olson, then Commissioner of theNew York State Liquor Authority. Olson had no truck experience, but knowing there were ten independent laundry companies in Brooklyn alone, he saw a market. He also knew someone who could build it, "Jake" Swirbul, one of Grumman's founders.[citation needed] Grumman had no experience building commercial truck bodies. However, they decided to move forward with the concept andGrumman Aircraft Engineering was scheduled to produce the vehicle beginning in 1939. The concept was shelved due to the onset ofWorld War II.
After the war, Olson and three partners formulated the J.B.E. Olson Corporation onConey Island Avenue inBrooklyn.
The company grew over the next few decades. The company purchased theSturgis, MI facility, its current headquarters, in 1963.[citation needed]
In 1984, Grumman Olson was awarded with the largest contract in its history. TheUnited States Postal Service (USPS) awarded Grumman Olson a contract worth over one billion dollars. As of early 2016, some 163,000Grumman LLVs were still in operation.[1]
After changes in ownership in the 1990s, Grumman Olson faced a declining market and eventually declared bankruptcy in 2001. In 2003, the company was purchased by JB Poindexter, Inc. (JBPCO), a parent company whose sales are over one billion annually. At that time, the company's name was changed to Morgan Olson.
Morgan Olson produces walk-in step vans, P31 delivery trucks, the C250 mail & parcel delivery truck, and cargo shelving upfittings from three manufacturing facilities. These state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities are located inSturgis, Michigan;Loudon, Tennessee; andRinggold, Virginia.
Morgan Olson's home plant and corporate offices are located inSturgis, Michigan.Loudon, Tennessee became home to the second production facility in 2015. The third and newest production facility, beginning operations in 2020, is located inRinggold, Virginia.
USPS operates a fleet of more than 200,000 vehicles… Approximately 163,000 of these vehicles are Long-Life vehicles (LLVs) purchased between 1987 and 2001… At an average age of 25 years old, most of our LLV delivery fleet is near or beyond its designed useful life.
On Wednesday, Canada Post unveiled one of its fully-electric delivery trucks in Indianapolis, Ind. The custom-built truck was made specifically for Canada Post by U.S. van manufacturer Morgan Olson… C250 vans…
