The Morton family began processing milk in 1926 from premises in Hawthorne Road, Bootle. The milk would be collected in large churns Tom the railway station in Liverpool and taken to Bootle where it was pasteurised, bottled and delivered to the local community.
Following the compulsory purchase of the Hawthorne Road property in 1952 the business moved to its present location in Maghull where the family acquired land in Kenyons Lane and constructed a purpose built factory and offices.
The business remained in the Morton family serving doorstep customers via its 19 retail rounds as well as local shops, businesses and nursing homes. Mortons Dairies Ltd was incorporated in 1973 with the family continuing to run the business “hands on” right up to the death in 1993 of the then Managing Director, Mrs Lancaster (nee Morton).
In March 1994 Harrisons Dairies bought the company. Harrisons Dairies founder, Norman Harrison, built up this owner-managed business, starting with just 1 round which he bought in 1966. It now operates 29 rounds from premises in Belmont Road, Anfield and Chestnut Grove, Wavertree. Originally trading as a bottled milk buyer the business was built up delivering predominantly to the doorstep customer. Over time the semi-wholesale business has developed and now includes shops, restaurants, hotels, nursing homes and offices.
When Mr Harrison acquired Mortons Dairies Ltd it had been some time since the previous owners had undertaken any significant capital investment. The plant and machinery was inadequate and out-dated. The company was not able to produce its own low fat products and was meeting the growing demands of its customers by buying in from other dairies. These low fat products, semi skimmed and skimmed milk are now the most popular milk products and it was essential that the company should become self-sufficient.
A total refurbishment was undertaken in 1994/5 involving the installation of a complete new processing and packaging system. The premises were extended, new offices were built. The new plant includes a modern bottle washer, pasteurisers, separator, and fillers for glass, cartons and poly bottles as well as storage facilities for raw milk and processed milk. A substantial amount of money has been invested providing a modern, efficient plant which can process 130,000 litres over a normal working day.
Investment in the business is ongoing. Improvements to the factory in 2006 included the addition of new refrigerated storage areas and the upgrading of our processing equipment to improve efficiency and quality. This continued with the installation of further new plant and upgrades to the building in 2007. We now have our own bore hole on site which is now meeting most of our water requirements.