Leggett & Platt To Enter Specialty Sleep Category With Unique Pressure-Relieving Gel

Leggett & Platt® announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement with EdiZONE LLC, a worldwide product design and development company, to manufacture gel-based specialty sleep components.

Although Leggett & Platt has operated primarily in the traditional sleep space of innersprings, the 129-year-old company saw a fresh opportunity with gel and plans to introduce innovative, original bedding applications featuring gel. Just as significant, production is being moved to Carthage, Mo., allowing Leggett & Platt’s supply chain advantage to create an exciting opportunity in the market. The new gel products will be unveiled in early 2013.

“There’s still a lot of growth left for gel sleep products,” said Mark Quinn, Segment VP of Marketing with Leggett & Platt. “Leggett & Platt’s gel has a pressure-relieving quality that has already been proven in the healthcare industry. The gel space is so crowded today, but the unique properties of our gel components will stand apart from what is currently out there.”

In a related announcement, Cody Messner was introduced as Product Manager for the Bedding Group, where he will focus on gel and other product development opportunities.

“Our gel is a very demonstrable product at point of sale,” said Messner. “In our research, we have seen consumers respond well to demonstrations that show how our gel reacts to pressure. In this industry, everybody wants an impactful demo – that ‘hand print-in-the-foam’ moment – and we think we have that with our gel.”

For more information, visit www.leggett.com.

About Leggett & Platt: Leggett & Platt is a diversified manufacturer (and member of the S&P 500) that conceives, designs, and produces a broad variety of engineered components and products that can be found in most homes, offices, and automobiles. The 129-year-old company (founded 1883) is made of 20 business units, 18,000 employee-partners and 130 facilities located in 18 countries. Leggett & Platt is a leading U.S. producer of: a) components for residential furniture and bedding; b) components for office furniture; c) drawn steel wire; d) automotive seat support and lumbar systems; e) carpet cushion; f) adjustable beds; and g) bedding industry machinery for wire forming, sewing, and quilting.