COLUMBUS, OHIO – America’s Body Company (ABC) has been acquired by The Reading Group, LLC from Leggett & Platt, Inc. ABC, founded in 1976, has one of the nation’s largest networks of truck equipment distribution, installation and manufacturing facilities, with seven locations across the U.S., including Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; Tampa, FL; Clinton, MD; Portland, OR; LaGrange, TX; and Louisville, KY. ABC serves a wide range of customers, including commercial truck dealers, fleets, municipalities and end-users. ABC’s products include service bodies, Rugged American Platform and Stake Body Products, Marauder Dump Bodies and City-Van Dry Freight Vans, as well as specialty equipment such as aerial buckets, snow/ice control products and truck accessories.
“America’s Body Company is an excellent brand name with one of the largest and most respected sales forces in the nation,” said Dan Perlman, president and CEO of The Reading Group. Perlman explained that ABC’s sales force will remain independent, continuing to sell only ABC-branded products. “ABC’s innovative designs, technology and expertise on fuel-saving composites are not the only reason The Reading Group made this strategic decision. Additionally, this acquisition will improve support of our independent Reading distributors by increasing distribution locations from which we will stock Reading products. Our independent distributors will also have access to the additional chassis pools maintained at ABC’s locations. Both initiatives will save our distributors time and freight costs to better serve our customers.”
According to Leggett, the sale to The Reading Group is part of Leggett’s long-term strategic plan to generate shareholder return. Last year, the company announced plans to divest one-fifth of its business portfolio, which included several business units and a portion of Leggett CVP.
Under the sale agreement, The Reading Group LLC will take ownership of ABC’s facilities and move all current ABC employees to The Reading Group. Leggett CVP will maintain operations from its group headquarters in Atlanta, GA while operating 12 facilities in North America under its Masterack, Crown North America, Team Fenex and Gamber-Johnson brands.
“Our customers can continue to expect the same level of product quality and service that they’ve come to rely on with Leggett CVP,” said Elliott Lyons, president of Leggett CVP. “As in the past, our customers will have access to a unified network of companies who are in the business of providing meaningful and innovative products.”
Leggett & Platt entered the commercial vehicle market in 1972 with the acquisition of Masterack, and eventually went on to acquire four other companies. In 2000 and 2001, Leggett bought Crown North America and Team Fenex, respectively. Leggett CVP was formed in 2005 to serve as an umbrella organization for the growing family of commercial vehicle companies. Later that year, ABC became part of the Leggett CVP family, and Gamber-Johnson was acquired in 2007.
The Reading Group, headquartered in Reading, PA, was originally founded as Reading Body Works in 1955. The Reading Group owns Reading Truck Body, LLC, with two manufacturing plants in Reading, PA and Lancaster County, PA, and Reading Equipment & Distribution, LLC, with six installation facilities in Bowmansville, PA; Abington, PA; Mt. Airy, MD; Seneca, PA: Suffolk, VA; and Pontiac, MI. The Reading Group is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers and distributors of truck equipment products, including service/utility bodies, dump bodies, crane bodies, stake bodies, landscape bodies, toolboxes. Many Reading products feature the Company’s Exclusive Triple Protection of zinc-coated steel, E-Coat immersion primer and Powder Coat finish paint.
