Iowa Manufacturer Receives Industry’s Highest Honor

Scranton Manufacturing CEO, John McLaughlin Inducted into EIA Hall of Fame

06.29.09

Iowa Manufacturer Receives Industry’s Highest Honor Video Scranton Manufacturing CEO, John McLaughlin Inducted into the EIA Hall of Fame video
	Above: John McLaughlin receives his EIA Hall of Fame Award, presented by Bruce Parker, CEO and President of the Environmental Industry Associations, and Gordon Shaw, Chairman of Environmental Industry Associations.

Las Vegas, NV - Scranton Manufacturing’s CEO, John H. McLaughlin, was inducted this month into the coveted Hall of Fame of the Environmental Industry Association. He is the co-founder and CEO of Scranton Manufacturing Co in Scranton, IA. His company manufacturers the New Way^® line of refuse trucks and K-PAC™ solid waste equipment.

“It's a dream that I never expected,” says McLaughlin, “I’m extremely honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with so many great leaders in the waste industry." The EIA Hall of Fame honors leaders who have been in the waste industry at least 25 years, and have made significant contributions to their field and their communities.

McLaughlin did not plan a career in the waste industry. He says "adversity and faith” led Scranton Manufacturing into building garbage trucks and, eventually, to become one of the fastest-growing solid waste manufacturing companies in the world. As a farm boy, he planned to follow in his father’s and brother’s footsteps. Instead, he was the first in his family to graduate from college, which led to pursuit of a career as a radio and television broadcaster. He eventually returned to the farm to co-found Scranton Manufacturing, which first made livestock feeding and handling equipment.

However, the economic adversity of the 1980’s farm depression forced McLaughlin to diversify. McLaughlin says his strong faith provided courage to not give up. It was then that the company acquired the New Way^® line of refuse trucks. Today, Scranton has several plants in Iowa and joint ventures in China (New Way^® China even built over 280 refuse trucks for the Beijing Olympics). Scranton now manufactures not only a complete line of mobile and stationery refuse products, but also fiberglass coaches for the animal health and animal control industries.

“We built our business based on four P’s: principles, people, product and persistence,” said McLaughlin. “I’ve been able to surround myself with a team of dedicated, talented people who know how to get the job done and not give up when faced with adversity. Together we’ve built quality products with exceptional value and the strongest distributor team in the industry. And we’ve done it all while treating people honestly and fairly.”

In addition to manufacturing savvy, McLaughlin is known for his strong Christian business principles and gives of his time to help in foreign missions. He has provided leadership for major mission projects in Haiti and various other countries. He serves on the boards of Men for Missions International and Lead International. McLaughlin attributes his success to his faith- "It's at the heart of who I am."