Leggett & Platt Named One of the Top 35 Innovative Companies

Furniture World News

Best known for its pioneering work in innerspring sleep surface technology, Fortune 500 Company Leggett & Platt announced that it has recently been named one of the Top 35 Innovative Companies by the Patent Board’s™ Consumer Products Patent Scorecard in partnership with The Wall Street Journal. In the past year, the components innovator has demonstrated a renewed focus on generating engineering and manufacturing solutions. The last nine months have seen the creation of the ground-breaking new IDEA (Innovation, Design, Engineering, and Acceleration) Center for research and development, as well as the revolutionary Starry Night™ Sleep Technology Bed that debuted with a bang at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Leggett’s commitment to scientific advancement is communicated via its new tagline, “Innovation Redefined,” as well as its extensive patent portfolio. The company holds approximately 1,100 patents granted and has about 650 in process. In addition, it has registered almost 750 trademarks, with more than 200 in process associated with continuing operations. The Wall Street Journal has confirmed Leggett’s reputation for outstanding innovations. According to the Consumer Products Patent Scorecard published in The Wall Street Journal’s Money & Investing section on May 6, 2008, Leggett & Platt ranks among the Top 35 Innovative Companies in the Consumer Products industry sector. Consumer Products industry sector One of 17 industry sectors ranked by the Patent Scorecard, the Consumer Products industry sector encompasses companies involved in a wide range of products aimed towards consumers such as appliances, lawn and garden equipment, power tools, sporting equipment and apparel, office supplies, toys and furniture. It also includes personal care products such as cosmetics, toiletries and baby supplies, as well as general household cleaning and paper products items. Other companies listed alongside Leggett in the Top 35 are Black & Decker, LG Electronics and Procter & Gamble Co. “It is an honor to be listed among such distinguished company by The Wall Street Journal,” said Mark Quinn, group executive vice president of sales and marketing for Leggett & Platt’s bedding division. Criteria for the Consumer Products Patent Scorecard Each month, the Patent Board (official ratings partner of The Wall Street Journal), releases a Patent Scorecard ranking companies on patent quality, technological strength and breadth of impact. The Patent Board’s metrics reflect varying aspects of innovation, speed, strength and relevancy. The Consumer Products Patent Scorecard is primarily ranked by Technology Strength™, a measure to indicate overall strength of the company’s patent portfolio holdings with a combined measure of quality and quantity. Of the 115 companies tracked in this sector, Leggett & Platt ranks in the top third of its industry, rating higher than 70 percent of its competitors. In addition to Technology Strength, each company’s portfolio is judged on the number of U.S. patents granted in a given year. Taking into consideration the peaks and valleys in the patents granted process, the Patent Board tracks patents granted for a 13-week period and averages those findings into an approximate number of yearly patents granted. As recognized by the Consumer Products Patent Scorecard, Leggett has been granted 28 patents in the past year. “This accolade speaks volumes about the technology being created by Leggett,” said Quinn. “It reflects Leggett’s position as a thought leader in the bedding industry, as well as the company’s revived commitment to superior research and development and our growing portfolio of innovative, high-performance products.” About The Patent Board: The Patent Board is the world’s leading business-based patent advisor to Fortune 500 companies, technology-based start-ups, law firms, investment banks, and governments. With four decades of experience, The Patent Board utilizes proprietary data, tools, and analytics to leverage patent-based IP as an asset class. The Patent Board aligns IP portfolios with business strategy to maximize value. Founded in 1968 as a research institution, today The Patent Board’s legacy in bibliometric and patent analysis equips commercial clients with a deep understanding of the science behind patents, as well as, the business impact of their position. The Patent Board tracks and analyzes innovation, movement, and the business impact of patent assets across 17-industries on a global basis. The Patent Board has offices in Chicago and Philadelphia. For more information about The Patent Board please visit www.patentboard.com or call 312.205.7037. About Leggett & Platt: Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) is a FORTUNE 500 diversified manufacturer that conceives, designs and produces a broad variety of engineered components and products that can be found in virtually every home, office, retail store and automobile. The company serves a broad suite of customers that comprise a “Who’s Who” of U.S. manufacturers and retailers. The 125-year-old firm’s continuing operations are composed of 22 business units, 24,000 employee-partners and more than 250 facilities located in 20 countries. Leggett & Platt is North America’s leading independent manufacturer of: a) components for residential furniture and bedding; b) retail store fixtures and point of purchase displays; c) components for office furniture; d) drawn steel wire; e) automotive seat support and lumbar systems; f) carpet underlay; g) adjustable beds; and h) bedding industry machinery for wire forming, sewing and quilting. For more information, please visit Leggett’s Web site at www.leggett.com.