Originally posted on www.woodworkingnetwork.com 11/03/2014
CARTHAGE, MO – Leggett & Platt will sell the majority of its store fixtures operations to Lozier Corp. for approximately $62 million. The sale, effective Nov. 1, includes Leggett & Platt facilities in Middlebury, IN, Fort Worth, TX, and Union, MO,and represents approximately three-quarters of the business unit’s revenues, the company said.
It will continue to look for a buyer for its remaining two facilities, Leggett & Platt said in its statement.
Third quarter total sales for Leggett & Platt’s Commercial Fixturing & Components segment were $50.2 million, up 1.8 percent from 2013. Year-to-date figures show total sales for the segment at $146.6 million. The Commercial Fixturing & Components operations manufacture custom wood and metal store fixture packages for major retailers.
Based in Omaha, NE, Lozier Corp. also specializes in the design and manufacture of wood and metal store fixtures and components. Lozier reportedly has more than 3 million square feet of manufacturing and distribution capacity, with facilities located in McClure, PA, Scottsboro, AL, and Joplin, MO, along with its headquarters in Omaha. The company has been manufacturing store fixtures since 1956.
In announcing the news, Leggett & Platt Board Chair and CEO David S. Haffner said, “We are very pleased to have completed the sale of the majority of our store fixtures operations in an expedient manner. A major component of our strategy, since 2007, has been the optimization of our portfolio of businesses. We remain committed to improving or exiting businesses that consistently underperform our margin and return on capital expectations, and to identifying carefully screened growth opportunities that are very likely to meet or exceed our minimum financial requirements.”
The company announced its plans to divest the segment in July.