July 14, 2025

Characters of the Industry

Marshall Cogan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marshall S. Cogan (born 1937) is an American investor and entrepreneur and former financier and trader. Cogan was the founder of United Automotive Group, which he built into one of the largest retailers of cars and trucks in the U.S. As a private equity investor, Cogan acquired a number of businesses in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also a partner of Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt an investment banking and brokerage firm that would be instrumental in the consolidation of the financial services industry in the 1970s.

Early life and education

Born to a Jewish family,^[1] Cogan graduated from Harvard College in 1959 and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Cogan is also an alumnus and benefactor of the Boston Latin School having graduated in 1955.^[2]

Career

Early career

Cogan started his career at CBS and worked at the investment firm, Orvis & Co., before joining the investment banking and brokerage firm of Carter, Berlind & Weill as an auto sector research analyst in 1964. Cogan was soon a partner in the firm and his name replaced the departing Arthur L. Carter in 1968 as the firm was renamed Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt. Among Cogan’s partners at CBWL were Sandy Weill, later chairman and CEO of Citigroup, Arthur Levitt, later the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Roger Berlind a noted Broadway producer and long-time member of the board of Lehman Brothers.

In August 1973, Marshall Cogan left the firm after disputes with his fellow partners to focus on leveraged buyouts. Cogan’s first deal was the takeover of General Felt Industries (GFI) in 1974 which he completed with fellow investment banker Stephen Swid. Cogan would then merge GFI with Knoll International and use Knoll as a holding company to acquire a series of businesses.^[3] Among Cogan’s most notable acquisitions were takeover of the Sheller-Globe Corporation and later the purchase of the 21 Club.^[4] Cogan was unsuccessful in his high profile bids to acquire the Boston Red Sox, Sotheby’s^[5][6] and L.F. Rothschild in the buyout boom of the 1980s.^[3][7][8]

Foamex and United Auto

Cogan began building what would become Foamex International in the mid-1980s after the departure of his long-time partner Stephen Swid. Swid would go on to acquire the music publishing division of CBS Records, later known as SBK Records. Meanwhile, Cogan bought Foamex Products, a division of Firestone Tire & Rubber.^[9] Over the next few years, Cogan continued to acquire businesses to merge with Foamex, acquiring three regional producers in 1988.^[9] Cogan merged General Felt into Foamex and acquired Great Western Foam Co., a major foam producer on the West Coast.^[9] In 1993, Cogan created Foamex International bringing together his various businesses and took the company public in December 1993. During the mid-1990s, Foamex grew to become the largest manufacturer and marketer of flexible polyurethane foam and foam products in North America.^[9]

In 1990, Cogan founded United Automotive Group, today known as Penske Automotive Group.^[10] Under Cogan, United Auto was a leading acquirer, consolidator and operator of automobile and truck dealership franchises. Cogan merged his company with Roger Penske‘s business in May 1999 after Cogan ran into financial difficulties and the company name was changed from United Automotive to Penske Automotive in 2007.^[11]

Bankruptcy of Trace International

In July 1999, Cogan’s holding company, Trace International Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection. Cogan had used Trace International to hold his controlling interests in two publicly listed companies, Foamex International and United Automotive Group. Trace had pledged its stock in the two companies as collateral for certain loans.^[12] After declines in the value of Foamex and United Auto Group in 1998 and 1999, Trace became insolvent as the value of its assets fell below the debt it owed. In 2003, Cogan and several directors of Trace would be accused of having drained cash from Trace International. Cogan was found by second circuit court of Delaware not guilty of all charges on June 25, 2005.^[13][14][15]

Trace was a holding company through which Mr. Cogan held his principal investment assets. It was owned 70% by Mr. Cogan and 30% by three investors who were friends of Mr. Cogan. In 1999, Trace ran into serious financial difficulties because a major bank withdrew a $1 billion commitment to finance a restructuring of Trace and its holdings due to events, which had nothing to do with Trace or Mr. Cogan that led to a serious disruption in US financing markets. These financial difficulties caused Trace to file in 1999 for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. At that time, Trace’s principal assets were shares of Foamex International and United Auto Group, both of which were publicly traded U.S. corporations, and shares of CHF Industries. Eventually, a Trustee was appointed for Trace, and he sued Mr. Cogan and the other former directors of Trace. His theory was that Mr. Cogan had treated Trace as a personal holding company (which it was), and had improperly taken money out of Trace in the form of unduly high salary, salaries to his wife and payments to his daughter, loans to Mr. Cogan, his wife and others that had not been repaid and other expenditures for what the Trustee characterized as primarily personal purposes. Significantly, the other shareholders of Trace did not complain. However, the Trustee said that Trace had been in “the zone of insolvency,” (which Mr. Cogan and the other directors vehemently disputed) and that because of that Mr. Cogan and the Trace Board had owed fiduciary duties to Trace’s creditors. In 2003, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in a very lengthy opinion, agreed with most of the Trustee’s contentions. For example, it found that Mr. Cogan had received salary over a six-year period totaling $39.6 million, which it said was $6.9 million more than executives with similar responsibilities would have received at other companies. The court also rejected claims by Mr. Cogan that he was entitled to substantial offsets against his obligation to repay the loans he had received from Trace. In 2005, the decision of the District Court was reversed on appeal on the basis that the judge had improperly failed to submit the case to a jury. However, by then, Mr. Cogan had settled the case as to himself. Putting aside the correctness of the factual determinations made by the District Court, including the hotly disputed question of when Trace had entered the zone of insolvency, in 2007, the Supreme Court of Delaware, the laws of which governed the obligations of the directors of Trace, ruled that the fact that a company may be near insolvency (i.e., in a “zone of insolvency”) does not cause the directors of a Delaware corporation to have obligations to creditors. Therefore, the basic legal premise on which the court found Mr. Cogan and others to be liable to Trace or its trustee (other than with regard to borrowed money, for which Mr. Cogan clearly was liable to Trace) turned out not to exist.

In 2006, Cogan was named to the board of Ener1, a company that manufactures lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Other affiliations

Cogan has also served as Chairman and Director of Color Tile, Inc., Knoll International and Sheller-Globe Corporation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Cogan

June 24, 2025

NCFI Groundbreaking Video in Mt. Airy

NCFI officially breaking ground for new plant

With the efforts of Surry County, the SCEDP, the City of Mount Airy and the employees of NCFI celebrate a new beginning for NCFI by bringing special guests and speakers to break ground for a new NCFI Polyurethanes plant at Westwood Industrial Park. We celebrate with guest speakers who share their insights into this joyous moment.

June 18, 2025

Shutdowns

Industry sheds facilities, 1,600+ factory jobs in year of soft demand

Sheila Long O’Mara //Executive Editor, Furniture Today//June 17, 2025

HIGH POINT – A wave of factory shutdowns across the furniture, mattress and textiles sector is signaling sustained pressure on the industry as companies contend with soft demand, overcapacity and ongoing efforts to streamline operations.

Since June 2024, the industry has seen at least a dozen players either shutter facilities or announce plans to do so this year. More than 1,600 employees have been impacted as companies wind down targeted facilities.

Reviewing publicly available notices under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) filed over the past 12 months reveals a tumultuous time across the home furnishings and mattress category.

While most of the closures are related to the mattress category, the furniture and textiles sides of the business haven’t been spared. The list reads like a who’s who in the industry with Serta Simmons Bedding, Corsicana Mattress Co., Resident Home, A. Lava & Son, and Hooker Furniture having all closed, or announced plans to close, facilities.

These moves follow a similar pattern seen in 2024 when Purple Innovation, Leggett & Platt and Culp Inc. all took steps to consolidate or scale back production footprints, citing ongoing, persistent macroeconomic challenges and shifting consumer behavior.

Leggett & Platt announced a massive restructuring in early 2024 with plans to close up to 20 facilities, while Culp set into motion its plans to close its Canadian operation in Quebec and consolidate two factories in Haiti. Purple’s restructuring consolidated three factories into its 850,000-square-foot McDonough, Ga., location late last year impacting 328 employees in Utah.

The supply side closures are unfolding in parallel with consolidation on the retail front. Regional and national home furnishings retailers have seen a flurry of bankruptcies, closings and acquisitions over the past several years, further pressuring suppliers to adjust production capacity.

Executives point to prolonged post-pandemic normalization, consumer confidence and inflation as catalysts for retrenchment. While some closures are part of broader restructuring efforts, others reflect deeper contractions in specific product categories, particularly mattresses, which have faced declining unit sales.

According to the latest data from the International Sleep Products Assn., total mattress market shipments of U.S produced and imported goods in 2024 dropped 8.8% year-over-year to 24.9 million units compared to 27.3 million units in 2023.

The first six months of 2025 have been active with announcements and closings.

As part of a realignment of its facilities, Corsicana closed its Shelbyville, Tenn., factory last week. According to a WARN notice filed with the state of Tennessee, the company indicated 47 employees would be impacted.

Serta Simmons Bedding is set to close its 533,000-square-foot Moreno Valley, Calif., factory this summer making it the seventh factory the company has closed since 2022. According to a WARN filing, wind-down operations will begin July 5 and run through Sept. 30, impacting 180 employees. The company said the move is part of its strategy to improve efficiency across its manufacturing footprint.

Ashley Furniture closed the 300,000-square-foot Resident Home factory in Jeffersonville, Ind., laying off 106 workers a year after the home furnishings brand acquired the mattress brand. Ashley officials at the time said the production would be consolidated into other Ashley factories.

In its consolidation strategy, Hooker Furniture said in March that it would close its warehouse outside of Savannah, Ga. The closure is set for this month, and the company has opened a warehouse in Vietnam designed to help reduce lead times. The Georgia facility opened in 2021 as an 800,000-square-foot operation to house the former Accentrics Home line, which closed in 2023.

Greensboro, N.C.-based Unifi, a global textile manufacturer, announced in February plans to close its Madison, N.C., factory this month. Another fiber and yarn spinner announced is closing its facility in Kings Mountain, N.C., at the end of the year. The layoffs at Patrick Yarn Mill, a maker of flame-retardant yarns acquired in 2017 by U.K.-based industrial thread manufacturer Coats, started last month and will continue through Dec. 31, according to a WARN notice with the state.

In April, fabric supplier Richloom Fabrics Corp. closed its High Point-based Richloom Weaving, citing home furnishings retail bankruptcies such as Big Lots, Badcock Furniture and Joann Stores. Fifty-four employees were affected by the closure. In Plant City, Fla., Leggett & Platt closed its facility this spring, impacting 78 employees as part of its overall restructuring announced last year.

A Lava & Son, a former textiles and cover supplier to the mattress segment, went out of business in the fall of 2024 shuttering its Chicago facility and putting 188 out of jobs, according to a WARN notice filed with the state of Illinois.

High-end furniture manufacturer EJ Victor shuttered operations in September 2024 citing damage from Hurricane Helene. The company said its insurance provider declined coverage for the factory damage and inventory loss leaving it with no choice but to close and lay off 122 employees.

www.furnituretoday.com/industry-issue/mattress-furniture-factory-closures-2025/

June 16, 2025

Kumho Mitsui MDI Update

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals begins operation of chlor-alkali plant using thyssenkrupp nucera technology

6/16/2025 2:00:00 PM

• Utilizing latest generation e-BiTAC v7 electrolyzers, thyssenkrupp nucera designed and supplied a chlor-alkali plant for Kumho Mitsui Chemicals (KMCI) in Yeosu, South Korea
• KMCI uses produced chlorine to replace imports of this raw material and to expand its Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) production capacity
• New chlor-alkali plant also enables KMCI to recycle by-product brine from MDI production and to reduce its environmental footprint

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals (KMCI) has enhanced its production process of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) by utilizing the latest generation e-BiTAC v7 electrolyzer technology from thyssenkrupp nucera. The supplier of world-leading technologies for high-efficiency electrolysis plants designed and supplied a chlor-alkali plant for KMCI in Yeosu, South Korea with a capacity of 60,000 tpy of chlorine production. Recently, the operation of the plant has been started successfully.

KMCI, a South Korean petrochemical company and a world-leading polyurethane maker, will use the produced chlorine for MDI production – replacing imported raw material of chlorine. MDI is an essential raw material for production of Spandex, TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane), synthetic leather, shoes, paints, coating, adhesives, and various elastomers.

Furthermore, the chlor-alkali plant will recycle by-product brine from MDI production which is usually discharged as effluent. This enables KMCI to comply with stringent environmental regulations on industrial effluent in a cost effective manner and to reduce their environmental footprint. “The start-up of our new chlor-alkali plant is an important step to expand our production capacities and to secure an independent supply of MDI without importing chlorine. It also underlines our commitment to supplying eco-friendly products,” says Kwon Hyung Seob General Manager of KMCI.

thyssenkrupp nucera initially supplied a lab cell facility as a pilot test and verified the technical feasibility for operating the chlor-alkali plant with waste brine from MDI process. Afterwards, in 2021, the electrolyzer specialist was awarded an EP contract to design and supply the entire chlor-alkali plant. “Once again, our proven electrolysis technology made an important contribution to our clients’ path to improve their production processes and reduce their environmental footprint. By recycling by-product brine, KMCI and thyssenkrupp nucera have jointly addressed one of the major concerns of the polyurethane industry,” says Akira Shigeta, CEO of thyssenkrupp nucera Japan. 

https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2025/06/kumho-mitsui-chemicals-begins-operation-of-chlor-alkali-plant-using-thyssenkrupp-nucera-technology

June 11, 2025

Serta Simmons Continues to Optimize

Serta Simmons to shutter California plant; 180 employees impacted

Sheila Long O’Mara //Executive Editor, Furniture Today//June 10, 2025

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. – Serta Simmons Bedding is closing its factory here as part of its ongoing strategy to “optimize” its manufacturing base.

The closing will impact 180 workers, including a variety of mattress making personnel, purchasing agents, truck drivers and sewers. The wind down of operations and employee layoffs at the 533,000-square-foot facility will begin July 5 and are expected to be completed by Sept. 30, according to the WARN notice filed with the state of California.

This closing is the seventh factory Serta Simmons has closed since 2022.

Serta Simmons opened the factory in 2018 as part of an expansion plan that included other factories in the U.S., including a Houston, Texas, site and one in Windsor Locks, Conn. Ahead of emerging from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in June 2023, the mattress company closed three factories in 2023, and closed three locations in 2022.

In November 2023, the company opened a new factory in Janesville, Wis., consolidating two area locations into one.

Post closing of the Moreno Valley, Calif., factory, Serta Simmons will operate 17 factories in North America: 15 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and two in Canada.

Company officials said production from the California factory will be transferred to other plants in the region to meet demand from its West Coast retail partners.

In a statement to Furniture Today, the company said, “In support of our best-in-class supply chain at SSB, we continue to evaluate our network to optimize our manufacturing footprint and create operational efficiencies so we can deliver exceptional service to our retail partners and customers.

“This includes expanding our operations in some areas and consolidating or closing other operations.

“These decisions are never easy, and we are supporting impacted employees through the transition. We appreciate all the contributions to SSB that the Moreno Valley employees have made over the years and that they will continue to make through this transition.”

www.furnituretoday.com/bedding-manufacturers/serta-simmons-to-shutter-california-plant-180-employees-impacted/