ABM International has acquired Gribetz International and Porter International. Photo courtesy of ABM.

ABM International acquires 2 Leggett & Platt segments

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

MONTGOMERY, Texas – Industrial machine supplier ABM International has acquired the factories and other assets of Gribetz International and Porter International from Leggett & Platt.

Both companies had been part of the Global Systems Group, a division of Leggett & Platt. Terms of the deal that closed at the end of February were not disclosed.

The move combines the companies under the ownership of fourth-generation family-owned ABM International under the leadership of Neal Schwarzberger, president. The acquisition includes two factories – one in Sunrise, Fla., and one in Carthage, Mo. – totaling 100,000 square feet.

The new division of ABM International will be consolidated as Gribetz and will be managed by Paul Block, president of sales. Block had been with Leggett’s global systems group for more than 15 years.

“I am excited about the synergies these companies will create for the mattress and home furnishings industries,” Block said.

In addition to the real estate deal, 70 employees that work in the two new factories remain with the new division. Block said the sales, service and support teams that the organization’s customers have worked with in the past are in place under the new ownership structure.

Founded in 1947, ABM International specializes in sewing equipment, single-needle quilters and other specialized equipment used in mattress and upholstery manufacturing. Gribetz International was founded in 1940, and Porter was founded in 1948. Both companies were acquired by Leggett in the 1990s, and in 2010, Leggett acquired Galkin Automated Products, a sewing machine specialist founded in 1908.

The deal is part of Leggett’s ongoing restructuring that was announced last year.

https://www.furnituretoday.com/bedding-manufacturers/abm-international-acquires-2-leggett-platt-segments