About Leggett & Platt

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (Leggett & Platt) operates as an international diversified manufacturer that conceives, designs, and produces a wide range of engineered components and products found in many homes and automobiles. The company is a pioneer of the steel coil bedspring. The company's operations are organized into 15 business units, which are divided into seven groups under the company's three segments: Bedding Products; Specialized Products; and Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products. The company serve thousands of customers worldwide. In 2023, the company's largest customer represented less than 6% of the company's sales, and its customers were located in approximately 100 countries. Segments Bedding Products segment This segment includes Steel Rod, Drawn Wire, U.S. Spring, Specialty Foam, Adjustable Bed, International Bedding, and Machinery business units. The company's Bedding Products segment engages in the manufacture of steel coil bedsprings. The company supports its customers' needs from raw materials to components to finished mattresses and foundations to distribution and fulfillment. The company's innerspring, specialty foam, and finished product development and production capabilities allow the company to create value at each point, from raw materials to private label finished goods and delivery to the consumer. The company operates a steel rod mill in the U.S. with annual capacity of approximately 500,000 tons. A substantial majority of the rod mill's output has been used by the company's two U.S. wire mills that have supplied virtually all of the wire consumed by the company's other domestic businesses. The company also supplies steel rod and wire to trade customers that operate in a broad range of markets. The company is a major supplier of adjustable beds, with North American manufacturing and distribution, and global sourcing capabilities. The company also produces machinery used by bedding manufacturers in the production and assembly of their finished products. The company's range of products offers its customers a single source for many of their component and finished product needs. These innovative proprietary products and the company's efficient vertical integration have made the company the largest U.S.-based manufacturer in many of these businesses. The company strives to understand what drives consumer purchases in the company's markets and focus the company's product development activities on meeting end-consumer needs. Products This segment's products are steel rod; drawn wire; specialty foam chemicals and additives; innersprings (sets of steel coils, bound together, that form the core of a mattress); proprietary specialty foam for use primarily in bedding and furniture; private label finished mattresses, often sold compressed and boxed; ready-to-assemble mattress foundations; static foundations; adjustable beds; and machines that the company uses to produce innersprings, industrial sewing and quilting machines, mattress-packaging, and glue-drying equipment. Customers The company used about 2/3 of its wire output to manufacture the company's own products in 2023, with the majority going to the company's U.S. innerspring operations; various industrial users of steel rod and wire; manufacturers of finished bedding (mattresses and foundations); bedding brands and mattress retailers; e-commerce retailers; and big box retailers, department stores, and home improvement centers. Specialized Products segment This segment includes Automotive Group (automotive), Aerospace Products Group (aerospace products), and Hydraulic Cylinders Group (hydraulic cylinders) business units. The company's Specialized Products segment designs, manufactures, and sells products, including automotive comfort and convenience systems, tubing and fabricated assemblies for the aerospace industry, and hydraulic cylinders for the material handling and heavy construction industries. The company's reliable product development and launch capability, coupled with the company's global footprint, makes the company a trusted partner for its Tier 1 and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers. Products This segment's products are as follows: Automotive Group: Includes mechanical and pneumatic lumbar support and massage systems for automotive seating, seat suspension systems; motors and actuators, used in a wide variety of vehicle power features; and cables. Aerospace Products Group: Includes titanium, nickel, and stainless-steel tubing, formed tube, tube assemblies, and flexible joint components, primarily used in fluid conveyance systems. Hydraulic Cylinders Group: Includes engineered hydraulic cylinders. Customers This segment's customers are automobile OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, aerospace OEMs and suppliers, and mobile equipment OEMs, primarily serving material handling and heavy construction markets. Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products segment This segment includes Home Furniture Group (home furniture), Work Furniture Group (work furniture), and Flooring & Textile Products Group (flooring products, fabric converting, and geo components) business units. In the company's Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products segment, the company designs, manufactures, and distributes a wide range of components and finished products for residential and commercial markets, and select markets for structural fabrics and geo components. The company supplies components used by home and work furniture manufacturers to provide comfort, motion, and style in their finished products, as well as select lines of private label finished furniture. The company produces or distributes carpet cushion and hard surface flooring underlayment. The company converts fabrics into components used by bedding and furniture manufacturers and other markets, such as filtration, packaging, and automotive applications. The company also converts and distributes geo components used for erosion control, subgrade stabilization, and storm water management. Products This segment's products are as follows: Home Furniture Group: Includes steel mechanisms and motion hardware (enabling furniture to recline, tilt, swivel, rock, and elevate) for reclining chairs, sofas, sleeper sofas, and lift chairs; and springs and seat suspensions for chairs, sofas, and loveseats Work Furniture Group: Includes components and private label finished goods for collaborative soft seating; and bases, columns, back rests, casters, and frames for office chairs, and control devices that allow chairs to tilt, swivel, and elevate. Flooring & Textile Products Group: Includes carpet cushion and hard surface flooring underlayment (made from bonded scrap foam, fiber, rubber, and prime foam); structural fabrics for mattresses, residential furniture, and industrial uses; and geo components (synthetic fabrics and various other products used in ground stabilization, drainage protection, erosion, and weed control). Customers This segment's customers are manufacturers of upholstered and office furniture; flooring retailers and distributors, including big box retailers and home improvement centers; contractors, landscapers, road construction companies, retailers, and government agencies using or selling geo components; and mattress and furniture producers and manufacturers of packaging, filtration, and draperies. Foreign Operations The percentages of the company's trade sales related to products manufactured outside the United States were 39% in 2023. In comparison to the company's other two segments, the company's Specialized Products segment has a larger percentage of trade sales manufactured outside the United States, which ranged between 84% and 86% over the last three years. The company's international operations are principally located in Europe, China, Canada, and Mexico. The company's products in these foreign locations primarily consist of: Europe: Innersprings and specialty foam for private label mattresses and mattress applications; lumbar and seat suspension systems for automotive seating and actuators for automotive applications; seamless and welded tubing and fabricated assemblies for aerospace applications; select lines of private label finished furniture; hydraulic cylinders for material handling and heavy construction equipment; and machinery and equipment designed to manufacture innersprings for mattresses. China: Lumbar and seat suspension systems for automotive seating; cables, motors, and actuators for automotive applications; recliner mechanisms and bases for upholstered furniture; work furniture components, including chair bases and casters; innersprings for mattresses; and hydraulic cylinders for heavy construction equipment. Canada: Lumbar and seat suspension systems for automotive seating; fabricated wire for the furniture and automotive industries; work furniture chair controls and bases; and geo components. Mexico: Lumbar and seat suspension systems for automotive seating; motors and actuators for automotive applications; adjustable beds; innersprings and fabricated wire for the bedding industry; and select lines of private label finished furniture. Geographic Areas of Operation As of December 31, 2023, the company had 135 manufacturing facilities in 18 countries; 85 located in the U.S. and 50 located in foreign countries. The company also had various sales, warehouse, and administrative facilities. Distribution of Products The company sells and distributes its products primarily through its own personnel. However, many of the company's businesses have relationships and agreements with outside sales representatives and distributors. Customer Concentration The company serves thousands of customers worldwide, sustaining many long-term business relationships. In 2023, the company's largest customer accounted for less than 6% of its consolidated revenues. The company's top 10 customers accounted for approximately 31% of these consolidated revenues. Patents and Trademarks As of December 31, 2023, the company had 1,345 patents issued, 505 patents in process, 1,031 trademarks registered, and 38 trademarks in process. Some of the company's most significant trademarks include: ComfortCore, Quantum, Eco-Base, CombiCore, Nanocoil, Softech, Active Support Technology, Mira-Coil, and VertiCoil (mattress innersprings). Energex, Coolflow, ThermaGel, EcoFlow, and Gorilla Foam (specialty foam products). Semi-Flex (box spring components and foundations). Spuhl and Fides (mattress innerspring manufacturing machines). Wall Hugger (recliner chair mechanisms). No-Sag (wire forms used in seating). LPSense (capacitive sensing). Hanes (fabric materials). Schukra (automotive seating products). Gribetz and Porter (quilting and sewing machines). Product Development One of the company's strongest performing product categories across the company is ComfortCore, the company's fabric-encased innerspring coils used in hybrid and other mattresses. ComfortCore represented over 65% of the company's U.S. innerspring units in 2023. A number of the company's ComfortCore innersprings contain a feature the company call Quantum Edge. These are narrow-diameter, fabric-encased coils that form a perimeter around an innerspring set, replacing a rigid foam perimeter in a finished mattress. In 2023, over 40% of the company's ComfortCore innersprings in the U.S. had the Quantum Edge feature. In 2022, the company launched two new products called the Quantum Edge Enhanced Profile with Eco-Base and Caliber Edge Enhanced Profile with Eco-Base. Developed with a more mindful approach, Quantum Edge and Caliber Edge Enhanced Profile with Eco-Base integrates a robust fabric that replaces base foam. To maintain mattress profile, innerspring coil height is increased by one inch. The company's Specialty Foam business formulates many of the chemicals and additives used in the production of specialty foams for the bedding and furniture industries. These branded, specialty polyols and additives enhance foam performance by reducing heat retention and improving mobility, support, and durability. These innovations enable the company to create quality mattresses that can be compressed, and the company has intellectual property around these specialty chemical formulations. The company is leveraging its innerspring and specialty foam technologies to offer product differentiation for the company's customers and products that meet end-consumer needs. In 2023, the company launched its new combination pocket unit that combines perimeter edge innersprings and specialty foam to create a fabric-encased innerspring and foam column that minimizes motion disturbance from a sleeping partner and improves airflow. The company's Automotive business designs and engineers lightweight components that help reduce overall vehicle weight and improve fuel efficiency (and thus reduce noise and greenhouse gas emissions), while maintaining performance, safety, and functionality. These products help auto manufacturers meet emission standards and their environmental goals. Many of the company's other businesses are engaged in product development activities to protect the company's market position, support ongoing growth, and help the company's customers achieve their sustainability goals. Seasonality The company generally experiences some seasonality in its consolidated sales, earnings, and operating cash flows. Both sales and earnings are typically higher in the second and third quarters (year ended December 2023), primarily driven by the company's residential bedding and furniture businesses, as well as the company's geo components business. Also, historically, the company's operating cash flows have been stronger in the fourth quarter, primarily related to the timing of cash collections from customers and payments to vendors, and lower in the first quarter, when annual cash incentive payments are paid and as inventories typically increase. History Leggett & Platt, Incorporated was founded in 1883. The company was incorporated in 1901.