White Lake Beacon
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Posted: 9-24-2012
Home grown business continues to blossom |
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Rick Hughes, right, the third generation to lead the family-owned MasterTag horticultural labeling and merchanding business in Montague, Thursday night presented a personal history of the family and the the business founded by his grandfather in 1949. The presentation at the company’s headquarters was hosted by the White Lake Area Historical Society. Lou Schmidt, who moved from Chicago and a job with International Harvester, had bought the Johnson hardware in downtown Montague and invented a plastic fishing bobber called “Master Float.” Then a local hortaculturalist, Harry Weesies, asked if Schmidt could develop a plastic plant identification tag to replace inferior wooden tags. He did, and in the third generation, the company is producing over a hundred million tags a year from its manufacturing facility in Montague Township. Master Tag moved from the hardware store to the current manufacturing plant on Walsh Road. Since then the company built a distribution facility and its state of the art “Farm House” headquarters on Business 31. Hughes’ father, Richard Hughes, the second generation to lead the company passed away Sept. 11, just days before the presentation. His widow, Lorraine Hughes was present and spoke of some of her memories. Those who attended Thursday’s presentation also received a tour of the company headquarters. |
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Date published: 9-24-2012 Copyright © 2013 White Lake Beacon
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