(Credit: MediaNewsGroup)
Home services division of business continues to grow in region
Moyer and Son Inc.’s feed mill, a historic fixture in the Indian Valley, will close its doors after 155 years.
Owner David Moyer attributed the mill’s closure to “business factors” resulting in “insurmountable” financial hurdles. The company’s feed store, attached to the mill, also will cease operations.
“It’s for business reasons that have nothing to do with the work that anybody is doing,” said Moyer. “It’s not to do at all with the employees or the customers.”
The news comes as Moyer continues to grow its home services divisions, including heating fuels, HVAC, plumbing, lawn care, pest control and pool services. The company has recently established branches in Newtown, Huntingdon Valley and Hatfield and will soon expand into the Lehigh Valley, said Moyer.
155 years
Moyer was founded in 1869 by brothers Enos, Jonas and Christian Moyer as a feed grain business on Souderton’s Main Street. In 1889, the company purchased an additional feed mill on Reliance Road, operating the two mills simultaneously for nearly 75 years before consolidating its operations at the Reliance Road location.
In the 1930s, Moyer entered the burgeoning heating oil business, leading to the establishment of its oil burners service division. The division was a resounding success, and the company later expanded its home services business to include HVAC systems, fertilizer, lawn care and pool services.
The Moyer & Son facility in a photo taken in 1953. (Credit: Mill Pictures)The feed mill, meanwhile, serviced the community with an assortment of animal feed, focusing primarily on farm animal feed before branching out into bird feed, notably pigeon feed. The company later opened the Moyer store, whose products include Moyer animal feed as well as lawn care and garden supplies.
Today, Moyer boasts a thriving home services business with customers across southeastern Pennsylvania, while its animal and bird feed is sold by dealers throughout the East Coast of the United States.
Fabric of the community
While Moyer has expanded its reach, owner David Moyer stressed that the company remains a Souderton-based family-owned and operated company, with a dedicated local workforce and customer base.
“We’ve been a regular employer of our employee’s children,” said Moyer, adding, “Businesses like ours have to keep going because people need the jobs, the services, the feed.”
“And what other company is based in the same town it started in 155 years ago and is still family-owned and operated?” added Moyer marketing and communications manager Dan Yocum, who is also Souderton’s mayor. “That’s the reason the culture here is good.”
The closure of the feed mill and store was an extraordinarily difficult decision, said Moyer and Yocum, describing the operation as part of the fabric of the community.
“People care so passionately about the store and the mill and our other home services because it is a business like no other,” said Yocum. “I use Moyer because my parents used Moyer because my grandparents used Moyer because my great-grandparents used Moyer, and that’s not something you have elsewhere.”
The Moyer company store, attached to the feed mill, sells Moyer animal and bird feed, lawn care and garden supplies and more.“And our store is not like anyone else’s store because it’s a little family-run feed store attached to a feed mill,” said Moyer. “If you buy bird feed here, we made it here.”
Closing timetable
Moyer’s feed production will cease by the end of April at the latest, said Moyer. The closure will affect approximately 20 employees. Moyer hopes to transition them to the company’s home services divisions.
“I’ll do anything I can to help make the transition as easy as possible for people, but I’ve got to come to grips with it. I didn’t want this day to come, but it did,” said Moyer. “155 years is a good long run. I wish it could’ve been more.”
“Time marches on,” Yocum concluded. “The business is still here. We’re still community-minded. We’re just closing the one part of it.”
For more information about Moyer & Son Inc., visit emoyer.com.
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