No one, not even William Morrison knew that when Morrison took a part time summer job with Binder Machinery back in 1957 that he would be making the decision of a lifetime.

“I started with Binder back in 1957 earning $1.25 an hour. I worked there on and off while I went to college and before I went in the Marine Corps. I even worked there part time when I had another full time job,” recalled Morrison who recently served as executive vice president and president for the South Plainfield, NJ-based company.

Morrison, who retired recently after 45-plus years with the company, said working there had a profound impact on his life.

“Binder was a lot more than just a place to work. It’s family. Walter Binder, who hired me, was probably one of the three most important and influential people in my life — second to my father. When he died, it was as if my father had passed away,” recalled Morrison.

He said that he was grateful for the opportunity that Binder gave him, encouraging him to rise through the ranks from part-time summer go-fer to sales manager to president and now vice-chairman of the board of the family-owned company. He was the first non-family member to serve as an officer of the company.

“I may be retiring, but I am not quitting the business. I will still be on the board,” he said.

One thing he will miss is the camaraderie of his many friends in the heavy equipment industry.

“There is a very tight fraternity in the heavy equipment industry. You get to know everyone else through various organizations. There are some cases where I have dealt with the grandfathers and the fathers and am now doing business with the sons. It is a close knit group,” Morrison said.

Like most other people, he has mixed emotions about retirement.

“I wanted to retire at 62, but they asked me to stay on. I said I would stay until I could collect Social Security at 65. It is time for me to retire. The last three years my wife Angela and I have been going to Florida for the winter. When the grandson comes down, I take him to the races. I like to fish,” he said, ticking off some of the activities he has planned for his golden years.

Morrison and his wife of 40 years will split their time between their home in Ormond Beach, FL, and their new home in Smithville, NJ.

Binder Machinery sells and supports a wide range of new and used equipment, including Komatsu, Ingersoll-Rand, Blaw-Knox, JLG, Moxy, Metso-Nordberg, Dressta, Galion, LaBounty, Stanley, ESCO, Bucyrus-Blades, Cummins, and Onan.

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