Leggett & Platt

Leggett & Platt (L&P), based in Carthage, Missouri, is a diversified manufacturer (and member of the S&P 500 Index) that designs and produces various engineered components and products that can be found in most homes and automobiles. The firm was founded in 1883, and consists of 15 business units, 23,000 employee-partners, and 145 manufacturing facilities located in 18 countries.[2]

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated
TypePublic
NYSE: LEG
S&P 500 Component
IndustryResidential Bedding and Furniture
Automotive Seating
Industrial Materials
Founded1883 (1883)
HeadquartersCarthage, Missouri, United States
Key people
Karl G. Glassman, CEO
Revenue$4.27 billion USD (2018)
$437 million USD (2018)
$306 million USD (2018)
Number of employees
23,000[1] (2019)
Websiteleggett.com

Company segments

Residential Products

Leggett & Platt provides a variety of components and machinery used by bedding manufacturers in the production and assembly of their finished products, as well as producing private-label finished mattresses for bedding brands. Leggett & Platt also produces and distributes carpet cushion and hard-surface flooring underlayment for residential and commercial applications. In addition, they are a major distributor of geo components used in ground stabilization, drainage protection, erosion control, and weed control.[3]

Industrial Products

Leggett & Platt is a producer of drawn steel wire. The company's three wire mills produce virtually all of the wire consumed by their other domestic business. Much of the steel rod used to produce this wire is manufactured in Leggett & Platt's own rod mill. They also supply steel wire to trade customers that operate in a broad range of markets.[4]

Furniture Products

Leggett & Platt designs, manufactures, and distributes motion and other components for work and home furniture. In addition, they produce select lines of private-label finished furniture. They are also a major supplier of adjustable beds, which are sold primarily to bedding manufacturers and retailers.[5]

Specialized Products

Leggett & Platt is a designer and manufacturer of automotive seating support and lumbar systems and motors, actuators, and cables. They are also a supplier of titanium, nickel, and stainless steel tubing and tube assemblies to the aerospace industry. They are a supplier of hydraulic cylinders used primarily in forklifts, lift trucks, and construction equipment.

Leggett management

As of January 2020, senior corporate executives included:

  • Karl G. Glassman, CEO
  • J. Mitchell Dolloff, President and COO; President, Bedding Products Segment
  • Steven K. Henderson, EVP and President, Specialized Products and Furniture, Flooring, and Textile Products Segments
  • Jeffrey L. Tate, EVP and CFO
  • Susan R. McCoy, SVP Investor Relations
  • Scott S. Douglas, SVP General Counsel and Secretary
  • Russell J. Iorio, SVP Corporate Development

Board of directors
Director Joined In Position Company
Mark A. Blinn 2019 Retired President, CEO, Director Flowserve Corporation
Robert E. Brunner 2009 Retired Executive VP Illinois Tool Works, Inc.
Mary Campbell 2019 Chief Merchandising Officer Qurate Retail Group
J. Mitchell Dolloff 2020 President & COO Leggett & Platt
R. Ted Enloe, III 1969 Managing General Partner Balquita Partners, Ltd.
Manuel A. Fernandez 2014 Managing Director SI Ventures
Karl G. Glassman 2002 CEO Leggett & Platt
Joseph W. McClanathan 2005 Retired President & CEO Energizer Household Products Division of Energizer Holdings
Judy C. Odom 2002 Retired Chairman & CEO Software Spectrum, Inc.
Srikanth Padmanabhan 2018 Vice President Cummins Inc.
Jai Shah 2019 Group President Masco Corporation
Phoebe A. Wood 2005 Principal CompaniesWood

Company history
J.P. Leggett
C.B. Platt

In 1883 in Carthage, Missouri, J.P. Leggett developed a new type of bedspring consisting of single cone spring wire coils, formed and interlaced, then mounted on a wood slat base. The bedspring could then be used as a base for the then-popular cotton, feather, or horsehair mattresses. Needing expertise in manufacturing and production, he recruited his soon-to-be brother-in-law, C.B. Platt, whose father owned and operated Platt Plow Works, into the partnership. Together, they produced the components of their Leggett & Platt bedspring, which was patented in 1885.

Bedspring vs. Innerspring
At the time of their invention, bedsprings referred to cone-shaped wire coiled springs, attached to a wooden slat foundation, used to support then-popular mattresses. These mattresses were typically made of horse hair, corn husks, cotton, feathers, or another soft material. Early bedsprings functioned similarly to today's box springs in their support of a mattress. However, box springs are rather rigid in structure, while bedsprings provide a more flexible surface.
Innersprings, by contrast, refer to the core system of wire springs that, along with various types of foam and other padding materials, comprise the insides of today's mattress. The mattress is usually coupled with a box spring to create a sleep set. Innersprings can be coiled springs laced together, continuous coil springs, or individually encased springs, that support a person sleeping on the mattress.

The Carthage market for their new product was very limited. To expand the market to a wider region, Platt and George Leggett, brother of J. P. Leggett, would load a horse-drawn wagon with bedsprings and travel to surrounding communities. Often, to conserve space, they would load the springs and slats separately into the wagon and assemble them in a store or on an adjacent sidewalk. The partnership prospered, and the business was incorporated in 1901.

The Platt Plow Works

The company built its first factory and offices in Carthage in 1890. The workforce at that time consisted of the two partners and five employees. Soon after completion of the Carthage plant, a second factory was built in Louisville, Kentucky. During the next 50 years, three more factories were built. Demand for the company's improved bedsprings was rising, and a second plant was built in Carthage in 1925. The new, much larger plant was located next to a railroad to allow for expanded shipments of products and supplies. In 1942, an additional factory was built in Winchester, Kentucky, which was subsequently consolidated with the Louisville plant. For some time, Texas had proven to be a main market outlet, and in 1947, a major factory was built in Ennis, Texas. By 1947, Leggett & Platt consisted of 4 plants and 500 employees.

Although available in various models and continuously improved upon, bedsprings were practically the only product Leggett & Platt offered until 1933. However, in that year the company began to manufacture springs for innerspring mattresses, which were relatively new products in the industry and growing in popularity. Thereafter, the company slowly began to diversify its products within the bedding industry by producing rollaway beds and folding metal cots, along with bed frames and bed rails.

Innerspring mattress components

In 1960, Harry M. Cornell Jr., J.P. Leggett's grandson, was elected President and CEO of the company, taking over for his father (who was Leggett's son-in-law). The company's total sales in 1960 were approximately $7 million from three states: Kentucky, Texas, and Missouri. Determining the course and future of the company became management's primary objective. Following an extensive evaluation of the company and its potential, Cornell and his management partners concluded that Leggett & Platt's best opportunities for profitable growth lay in a strategy of specializing in manufacturing, marketing, and distributing a broad and growing line of components and related products, first nationally and eventually on a worldwide basis. Key drivers of future sales and earnings would include aggressive internal growth initiatives, coupled with an active and ongoing acquisition program.

J.P. Leggett's original bedspring and patent

Even greater success followed, and Leggett & Platt became known as “the components people.” Leggett & Platt stock was first traded over the counter in 1967. Twelve years later, on June 25, 1979, top management was present in New York City to witness the stock's first day listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1999, the company became part of the S&P 500 Index.

Today, Leggett & Platt has 145 manufacturing facilities in 18 countries.

Timeline
  • 1883: Joseph P. Leggett develops and patents the first successful spiral steel coil bedspring, then forms a business partnership with Cornelius B. Platt, a blacksmith who operates the C.D. Platt Plow Works plant in Carthage, Missouri.
  • 1885: Leggett receives a patent for improvements on the coiled bedspring. J.P. Leggett and C.B. Platt begin manufacturing coiled bedsprings at the Platt Plow Works plant.
  • 1890: The first factory and offices are built in Carthage, MO. The workforce consists of the 2 partners and 5 employees. Harry Platt, a brother of C.B. Platt, opens a franchise factory in Louisville, Kentucky.
  • 1901: The partnership of J.P. Leggett and C.B. Platt is incorporated under the name “Leggett & Platt Spring Bed & Manufacturing Company.”
  • 1933: Leggett & Platt begins to manufacture innerspring units at its Carthage plant.
  • 1942: Leggett & Platt survives World War II by working on defense contracts.
  • 1960: Harry M. Cornell, Jr., (grandson of J.P. Leggett) becomes president and CEO; he begins implementing a new corporate strategy to broaden the line of component products for the bedding and furniture industries, expand geographically, and offer compatible products directly to furniture stores.
  • 1967: Leggett & Platt's IPO (initial public offering) of 50,000 shares of stock (at $10 per share) and $1 million of convertible subordinated debentures occurs; the stock is listed over the counter.
  • 1971: Leggett & Platt stock is listed on the NASDAQ, and the company achieves more than $1 million in net earnings.
  • 1976: Leggett & Platt exceeds the $100 million sales for the first time.
  • 1977: Construction begins on a new corporate headquarters outside Carthage.
  • 1979: Leggett & Platt is listed on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange), stock symbol "LEG."
  • 1983: Leggett celebrates 100 years of operation.
  • 1990: Revenues exceed $1 billion for the first time.
  • 1999: Leggett is included in the S&P 500 Index.
  • 2007: New strategic direction announced in November.
  • 2016: Reset to strategic direction announced in September.

Executive leadership: past & present
Executive Years of Service
J.P. Leggett & C.B. Platt, Partnership 1883–1901
J.P. Leggett 1901–1921
C.B. Platt 1921–1929
J.P. Leggett, Jr. 1929–1933
F.B. Williams 1933–1938
George S. Beimdiek, Sr. 1938–1953
Harry M. Cornell, Sr. 1953–1960
Harry M. Cornell, Jr. 1960–1999
Felix E. Wright 1999–2006
David S. Haffner 2006–2015
Karl G. Glassman 2016–Present

LEG stock
  • 1967 - Leggett & Platt IPO of 50,000 shares of stock at a price of $10 per share; the stock is traded over the counter
  • 1971 - Leggett's stock is listed on the NASDAQ
  • 1979 - Leggett is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under symbol "LEG"

History of Stock Splits:

  • May 13, 1969: 5-for-3
  • Jan. 15, 1973: 3-for-2
  • Sept. 29, 1978: 3-for-2
  • Aug. 26, 1983: 2-for-1
  • Mar. 14, 1986: 3-for-2
  • Jun. 15, 1992: 2-for-1
  • Sept. 15, 1995: 2-for-1
  • Jun. 15, 1998: 2-for-1

References
  1. "Leggett & Platt". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  2. https://leggett.gcs-web.com/static-files/1b1a6024-bb63-4186-b980-e8cb5d5c42aa. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. http://www.leggett.com/residential-furnishings.htm
  4. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Leggett-amp;-Platt-Inc-Company-History.html
  5. https://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=leg
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