LINWOOD, Pa. (April 29)--Foamex International Inc. has sold its rubber and felt carpet cushion businesses to furnishings manufacturer Leggett & Platt Inc. for about $38.5 million.
The sale includes a rubber cushion manufacturing plant in Cape Girardeau, Mo., and certain assets of the Newton, N.C., felt factory. Foamex, a manufacturer of flexible polyurethane and advanced polymer foam products, said it will use the proceeds of the sale to pay down debt.
Tom Chorman, president and CEO, called the businesses non-strategic and not part of its core urethane operations. Foamex will continue to serve the rebond and prime segments of the carpet cushion market, which accounts for more than 85 percent of the national market, he said.
"By concentrating on our core business," Chorman said, "we will be better able to develop innovative products that meet the quality and performance standards of our customers."
Leggett & Platt calls itself the "premier manufacturer" of carpet cushion in the U.S., supplying bonded, prime, dense molded urethane, synthetic fiber and sponge rubber for residential and commercial applications.
Press release from Foamex
