Amidst the pandemic, businesses have adopted new safety measures in order to keep employees safe and operations running. Leggett & Platt is no different – our employees around the world continue to make us proud by committing to safety protocols throughout the workday.

As part of our safety efforts, we’re committed to disinfection measures to keep our facilities clean. One new tool we’ve begun to use is a handheld or backpack-style disinfecting sprayer, which allows cleaning teams to disinfect faster and with more complete coverage than traditional disinfectant spray.

These sprayers have been adopted by schools, airlines, gyms, and countless other businesses since the pandemic began.

A member of the cleaning team at our Automotive facility in Juarez, Mexico, puts the electrostatic sprayer to good use on hard-to-clean equipment.

The science behind the sprayers is interesting: they place a positive charge on the cleaning solution before it enters the nozzle, which is then attracted to negatively charged surfaces when sprayed (most surfaces are negatively or neutrally charged). This allows the sprayers to more completely cover commonly touched or hard-to-clean surfaces and equipment.

The benefits of these sprayers are numerous. “There is no need to wipe a surface after spraying, thereby reducing any cross-contamination that wiping surfaces can cause,” says Josh Ford, a member of our Corporate Procurement team.

“They are easy to operate, require minimal training, and spray up to 65% fewer chemicals than traditional sprayers.” Plus, after spraying, it only takes a few minutes for the surface to dry completely, thus requiring no extra work!

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign.

This could never be more true than it is right now. The signage in our facilities is crucial to ensuring our employees stay healthy and informed this year. L&P’s Printing Solutions team plays an integral role in communicating corporate guidance – designing, printing, and shipping the signs our teams see every day.

Mary Lytle, Digital Press & Bindery Specialist, carefully sorts and packages a signage order for shipment.

Many of the signs they have created recently were designed to educate and remind workers about the importance of social distancing, wearing masks, and proper hygiene. However, their team is capable of meeting a wide variety of other design and printing needs.

L&P’s internal print shop has the capacity to produce full-color business cards, forms, envelopes, instruction books, labels, and more. For unique printing challenges, such as banners and promotional items, they’ve developed relationships with other printing companies to provide cost-effective outsourcing.

Many of their requests are for L&P facilities. However, L&P Printing Solutions can also work with external clients, with shipping available to anywhere in North America.

“Think of us as your problem solver,” says Susan Chapman, Marketing + Creative Operations Manager. “No matter what printing need someone has, we’ll find a solution. Usually at a better cost, too.”

Signs like these can be seen on the walls throughout our facilities. Many serve as visual reminders to maintain safe and healthy work environments for everyone.

For more information about available services, please contact L&P’s Corporate Office at 417.358.8131 and request to speak with Printing Solutions. 

Leggett & Platt employees have been able to apply their sourcing expertise to procure important supplies and help keep employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. On a typical day, our Corporate Procurement Department is responsible for strategic procurement of raw materials for operations. They conduct feed stock cost tracking, negotiate contracts, and provide projections of material costs for our business units. “Our primary role has been assurance of supply, so a branch is never shut down due to a lack of raw materials,” says Dave Church, Staff Vice President of Procurement.

As the pandemic took hold, they adapted their mission to include additional efforts to protect our employees around the world. “Our leaders are implementing very important health protocols within our branches,” says Dave. “We’re working to support them with all the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need.”

Jeff Vaughn, Senior Commodity Manager, prepares PPE shipments for delivery.

When the pandemic began in late January, Corporate Procurement began sourcing masks and other PPE for branches on a local level. They met early requests by working with L&P’s global network of preferred supply companies. Unfortunately, shortages quickly became an issue.

After reconsidering their process, Dave determined it was necessary to centralize ordering to ensure ongoing availability, and we’ve been able to supply our essential workers with vital equipment during an extremely uncertain time. The team has been ordering general purpose masks, disinfectants, alcohol wipes, gloves, face shields, hand sanitizer, and non-touch thermometers. Long-standing relationships with a diverse range of manufacturing suppliers have allowed the team to purchase the items directly, keeping costs competitive.

Dave Church and Vanessa Gile, Commodity Specialist, have adjusted well to working from home. The system Corporate Purchasing has implemented allows the team to source supplies, forecast supply needs, field incoming PPE requests, complete order paperwork, and manage incoming and outgoing shipments from remote locations.

Bulk orders are delivered to Carthage, Missouri, where the team fills and ships requested supplies directly to each facility. “Branch 0001 in Carthage has generously provided us with storage space near a bay door for incoming shipments,” says Dave. “We’ve even borrowed a few offices from remotely working employees for packing the shipments.”

Almost 500 PPE packages have been shipped to L&P facilities around the world in the past two months. The entire team is proud of the work that they’re doing — most of the recent shipments have gone to support facilities reopening their doors.

“I’m proud to say that we’ve never had to tell a branch we can’t help,” says Dave. “Even when dealing with shortages, we’ve found alternatives to meet the PPE needs within our branches. Our employees are doing an important job, and we are honored to help them stay safe.”

We were thrilled to have a distinguished guest at L&P for the past two days. Anthony Ross is the Leggett & Platt Missouri Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management from the Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri. He and his team represent a Leggett-sponsored professorship at the university.

His visit to L&P included networking activities with several of our leaders within supply chain operations, as well as tours of our local manufacturing branches.

We’re grateful for the time Anthony spent getting to know L&P!

From left: Lathon Ferguson (Director of Advancement at MU), Anthony Ross, Chuck Hutchins (VP – Chief Tax Officer at L&P), Doug Thrasher (Plant Manager at the L&P Wire Mill)

Anthony took some time to greet a forklift driver at the Wire Mill.

Doug explained the ins and outs of the plant.

Touring the wire products outside of the Wire Mill.

Lots of learning!

From left: Wayne Kaminski (Staff VP of International Logistics), Anthony Ross, Jeff Mitchell (Staff VP – Business Support Services), Chuck Hutchins

Yesterday, CEO Karl Glassman presented for investors at the Raymond James 41st Annual Institutional Investors Conference.

Here’s a glimpse into his day:

• The day opened with Karl and our Investor Relations (IR) Team holding 30-minute Q&A sessions with various investors. (The team jokes that this feels a lot like “speed dating” for the professional world!) Most of the investors are familiar with L&P and are in regular contact with our IR Team through calls and other marketing trips and conferences.

• After 5 of those Q&A sessions in the morning, Karl and the IR Team took a break for lunch.

• After lunch, Karl spoke to a room full of investors. His presentation provided an overview of L&P while highlighting our markets, businesses, and financial performance and priorities.

• At the conclusion of Karl’s presentation, the team moved to a smaller room and investors who attended asked follow-up questions about L&P.

It was a busy but exciting day for Karl and our Investor Relations Team!

Over the past month, we’ve been highlighting people, places, and products within our Furniture Products segment. Today we’re spotlighting a vision system being used by Consumer Products to ensure quality products are delivered to our customers.

At Leggett & Platt, delivering a high-quality product is essential to building successful relationships with our customers. However, managing quality assurance on our product lines involves a great deal of planning, correction, and monitoring.

In January 2018, L&P’s Adjustable Bed team began developing a new product with an existing customer. During that process, they had extensive discussions about ways to ensure complete and consistent manufacturing and delivery of units.

The team ultimately implemented a vision system designed to inspect each unit before it was packaged for delivery. The system is able to electronically analyze critical components of the bed base to determine whether any of the parts are missing or misaligned. If an error is detected, it must be corrected before the unit can continue down the production line for boxing.

The black and white system substantially reduced their defect rating in the first few months. However, as the team analyzed the defects still being reported, they realized a color system could improve their outcomes. They made the upgrade, and both the contrast capabilities and higher pixel count allowed them to inspect even more points on the unit.

With the new vision system in place, the team was able to color code components and add additional quality checkpoints. This allowed the team to exceed their original target defect rate within 10 months!

According to Cody McCormick, Director of Sales: “We are just now gaining steam with this system. We’ve drastically reduced our missing parts warranty signal and have high hopes for other capabilities in the future.”

Throughout June, we’re highlighting people, places, and products within our Furniture Products segment. Today we’re putting the spotlight on Trio Line Polska!

Behind every branch at Leggett & Platt is a story: How they’ve grown or faced challenges, how they’ve developed and defined their culture, and how their products support unique customers. Trio Line Polska’s story is one of growth and great craftsmanship.

Based in Poland and acquired by L&P in early 2015, Trio Line joined our Work Furniture group to produce high-end upholstered furniture for some of the most recognized European furniture brands – the most iconic being the Egg Chair produced for Fritz Hansen. In fact, the branch’s main production is for the dining and lounge chair markets.

What makes Trio Line stand out is the artistry that goes into each piece of furniture. The attention to detail, precision, and beautiful finish make their products uniquely high-end. Trio Line has been able to push their products worldwide for customers such as Steelcase, Herman Miller, and Haworth.

Bjorn Bahnsen heads the Trio Line management team. In 1999, Bjorn purchased his family’s Danish furniture company, Trio Line A/S. Four years later, he started Trio Line Polska to gradually shift production from Denmark to Poland. Since 1999, Bjorn has grown the business from 6 employees to over 500 – and they are some of our most dedicated. According to Wojtek Mytko, VP of Production: “None of the competition we give other producers would be possible without our talented team of employees.” Continue reading →