About Us
Our History
McLaughlin Family Companies has evolved in many ways since our humble beginnings repairing farm equipment in 1971. Today, McLaughlin Family Companies’ product lineup includes refuse & recycling equipment, animal control and mobile veterinary equipment, new and used automotive vehicle sales, and automotive parts and car care products distribution and sales.
The McLaughlin family introduced McLaughlin Family Companies in 2016 to replace Scranton Manufacturing as a parent company that oversees our brands. While McLaughlin Family Companies has grown tremendously in our five plus decades of operations, the most important contribution to our success comes down to our homegrown values: offer the highest-quality products, provide impeccable service, and treat everyone with respect.
The Early Years
In 1971, John McLaughlin, his brother, and a friend began repairing farm equipment in a small Iowa town. Shortly after, the trio began manufacturing innovative products that farmers in the surrounding area needed, including the world’s first mechanical hybrid seed corn detasseler. It was only a matter of time before Scranton Manufacturing’s reputation for high quality, innovative products spread across the nation. Even after the expansion, its founders continued to conduct business according to their Midwestern values.
Soon after, Scranton Mfg. was on its way to becoming one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of livestock handling and feeding equipment. The company diversified its product line by entering the recreational industry with the first pickup camper tag axle. Scranton Mfg. then entered the automotive arena with the visionary Lite Star Autocycle, a motorcycle car. A farming depression in the 1980’s necessitated change as Scranton Mfg. purchased the New Way® product line of garbage compactors. The vision was to improve and expand the New Way® product line and build a network of distributors to reach every region in North America.
Where We Are Today
More than 50 years after our founding, McLaughlin Family Companies is still headquartered in Scranton, Iowa with manufacturing facilities in nearby Carroll and Lake City. Since January 2020, the family has added two New Way Trucks manufacturing facilities in Booneville, Mississippi.
The organization is still family-owned and operated by the McLaughlin family, who has now provided three generations of principled leadership. New Way Trucks is the cornerstone brand and largest privately held manufacturer of refuse equipment in North America.
The company has been blessed with great people since day one, and our employees have always been our most valuable asset. We proudly continue to invest in training and educational opportunities for our employee family. All of us are excited for the future as our small-town values continue to make a global impact.
Our Role in Serving Others
Giving back has been core to McLaughlin Family Companies since John McLaughlin founded Scranton Manufacturing in 1971. The McLaughlin family continues to be active supporters of the local communities in which we operate and has a history lending a helping hand across the globe.
- Founder John McLaughlin has lent his time and talents to over 30 countries for short-term mission projects as well as contributing to major mission projects in Haiti and other countries.
- CEO and co-owner Mike McLaughlin is proud to be actively involved as a volunteer and sponsor of over 30 charitable and non-profit service programs.
- Chief Impact Officer and co-owner Kim McLaughlin Goetsch has been blessed with opportunities to participate in mission trips to Haiti, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, and Albania. She oversees McLaughlin Family Companies charitable giving in support of local communities, ministries and missionaries around the world. She created the Employee Crisis Fund to assist employees going through devastating life events the necessary resources to help them and their families through tough times.
- Chief Operating Officer Steve Goetsch has participated in local mission work travel to Albania while serving as a volunteer youth minister. He is instrumental in our Driving Goodness efforts to help those who need it most in the communities we operate in.
- Chief Manufacturing Officer Johnathon McLaughlin regularly leads blood drives, Toys for Tots donations, Relay for Life activities, and even managed installing a new playground for a local community center.
Employee-organized blood drives, care packages for soldiers serving domestically and overseas, school supply and winter coat donation events are common. Toy drives around the holidays and clean-up efforts in the aftermath of local natural disasters around the country are also regular occurrences. Interns in Scranton annually volunteer for a local free meal program. New Way Trucks donates equipment to and participates in local parades and festivals. Welding staff visit local high school welding programs every other week to help develop students’ skills. School groups frequently tour our manufacturing facilities to learn about the benefits of careers in the skilled trades, and we partner with local community colleges to ensure these opportunities are readily available. Our employee family is proud to be stewards of the communities in which we operate in both Iowa and Mississippi.
Driving Goodness
A sense of service is pervasive throughout all McLaughlin Family Companies. Though selfless acts have been common since the company’s founding, we gave these efforts a name in 2021: Driving Goodness. Driving Goodness was established to help individuals going through hardship in our local communities due to unforeseen circumstances. Potential fund recipients are nominated by employees.
McLaughlin Family Companies kicked off the program by designating each department $100 per employee to give to needy individuals or families in their community. Getting employees involved widened our reach to include those outside of our executive team’s purview.
Driving Goodness focuses on helping individuals in need – not organizations – because we have been long-established in supporting numerous local nonprofits that give back to their respective communities. In its initial year, the initiative helped provide the following: medical bill assistance, widow support, funds for veterans who lost income due to the pandemic, gas and grocery gift cards, funeral expenses, fire recovery efforts, derecho storm repairs, school supplies, and funded our annual outstanding educators program.
We are continuing to focus on helping individuals with gas and grocery gift cards, those that need school supplies, and even providing financial support to teachers who are short on supplies for their classrooms.
Our Employee Crisis Fund is a major aspect of our Driving Goodness program. We empower members of our employee family to apply to receive assistance when they encounter challenging situations beyond their control.
