Bed maker will open new Pasco plant

SPRING HILL -- A new manufacturing facility in Pasco County is expected to bring nearly 125 new jobs to the area.

Leggett & Platt, a Carthage, Mo.-based manufacturer, says it will open a plant in 80,000 square feet of space it owns at 15800 Hudson Ave. It will assemble adjustable bed bases for homes there.

The decision to open in Pasco came after help from the Pasco Economic Development Council to determine if the area had the workforce support for such an endeavor, the company says in a release. Leggett & Platt says it wanted to hire locally, and source suppliers within 100 miles of the facility.

“When a company like Leggett & Platt moves into Pasco County, it's a huge event,” John Hagen, president and CEO of the Pasco EDC, says, in a release. “It will instantly be one of our top employers, and with a company of this caliber, we would not be surprised to see future phases as well.”

Leggett & Platt expects to have its Pasco facility open by mid-fall, and already is looking for a materials manager and a controller.

Leggett & Platt purchased the nearly 19 acres of industrial land in 2006 for $1.6 million, according to Pasco County property records. The site is primarily vacant, except for an 80,000-square-foot warehouse built on one parcel in 2008.'¨

Leggett & Platt trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEG. It was founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1901, and it describes itself as a pioneer of the steel coil bed spring. It has nearly 19,000 employees, with more than half located in the United States.