“Starting at the beginning, my part- ner Mike’s philosophy was to build the best, the most rugged, the most de- pendable product, and then take care of our customers,” says Jerry. “And that’s a philosophy that’s been ingrained into our employees.” The owners decided to sell when Mike started having health issues. At first their search for a buyer focused on typical prospects, such as other com- panies and investment banking firms. They even entered into agreements with a few potential buyers but even- tually backed out as they sensed each one would change the company culture in negative ways. “We got to maybe within a week of closing, and they came in and said, ‘We’ll change this and that, including employees’ benefits,’” says Jerry about one such potential sale. “So, we backed out of that sale.” Jason Morey, Jerry’s nephew and a mar- keting manager at Bandit, was present in the meetings with the prospective buyers and shared his seniors’ con- cerns about the company’s integrity. “Not one of those companies seemed they were going to keep the culture intact,” he says. He felt bad when the deals fell through but knew the wait
A couple of saw horses and a plywood top made up the desk where partners Jerry Morey, left, and Mike Morey Sr. first laid the foundation for Bandit Industries.
ESOPs, set up as trusts, allow employ- ees to buy portions of the company’s stock, which they can later access at a certain age. As such, an ESOP is akin to a retirement program, but it gives em- ployees a financial stake in the success of the company. For Bandit, with its strong company culture and dedicated employees, pur- suing this route made a lot of sense.
pany constructed in 2018 to increase inventory and staff. By 2020, the com- pany’s manufacturing space totaled 240,000 square feet. In 2021, Bandit purchased Trelan, a manufacturer of whole-tree disc-style chippers, chiefly to acquire its facility and immediately expand production to fulfill a backlog of orders. In 2022, the company purchased Burch Tank and added 6,600 square feet of production and office space. Also in 2022, Bandit began construc- tion on a new materials processing center. When completed, this will in- crease the company’s total square foot- age to 560,000 — more than 93 times the 6,000 square feet Mike started with in 1983. The new facility will include state-of-the-art cutting equipment and four robots to increase efficiency. SELLING TO EMPLOYEES Throughout the years, Bandit employ- ees have been the mainstay of the com- pany’s success. In 2018, Mike, Jerry, and Dianne created an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and invited workers to become owners.
The original team that formed the backbone of Bandit Industries’ early efforts.
24 | ArborTIMES Fall 2023
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