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Julius Fejes, the founder of Crown North America, moved from Cleveland, Ohio in 1938 to Orrville, Ohio. He subcontracted as a metal finisher for the Orrville Body Company. Over the next three years, Julius' talent and business acumen became quite evident and in 1941 he formed Crown Steel Products in Riceland, Ohio. The principal products produced by Crown Steel Products during this time continued to be subcontract metal finish work for Orrville Body.
Around 1948 a second Crown company was formed called Orrville Metal Specialty Company. The primary product for Orrville Metal Specialty was the fabrication of Sleeper and Crew Cab conversions. In the 1950's Crown's customers and products included:
Sometime later, Crown Steel Products began fabrication of IHC & White sleeper cabs, conventional cabs, hoods, and fenders. Late in the 1950's Crown Steel Products' customers came to include:
A pioneer in commercial van conversions, Crown Steel Products established a facility in Lorain, Ohio in 1961 to install components in Ford vans.
The late 1950's and early 60's saw additional acquisitions. Customer additions included Clark, Brockway, Terex, and Chevrolet. On July 25, 1967 all assets of Crown Steel Products were sold to Allen Electric and Equipment Co.
In 1968 Crown Fabrication of Canada was formed for the production of crew cabs and van interiors when Ford Motor Co. opened the Ontario Truck Plant to reduce production costs. 1969 saw the formation of the Allen Group with Walter Kissinger named Chairman of the Board and CEO. The purchase of Truck Specialties in 1971 enabled Crown North America to expand its assembly business to include Dodge vans. Through the 1970's and 80's Crown North America maintained its status as a supplier to the automotive and communications industries.
In 1994, The Allen Group returned its focus to electronics. This was carried out by splitting its automotive concerns from electronics business. Thus, the formation of TransPro Inc. of which Crown North America was a division until May 2000.
In December of 1997, Crown North America completed the acquisition of a small Canadian van upfitter located near Toronto. Crown VMS Canada Ltd. provided Crown North America with a presence to serve the Canadian van market. Today both U.S. and Canadian customers are serviced by facilities located in St. Thomas and Oakville, Ontario Canada.
Currently the Crown North America business unit headquarters is located in Apple Creek, Ohio.
On May 5, 2000 all assets of Crown North America were sold to Leggett & Platt Incorporated (NYSE: LEG).
Leggett & Platt is a worldwide diversified manufacturer that conceives, designs, and produces a broad variety of engineered components and products that can be found in virtually every home, office, and automobile, and many retail stores. Leggett & Platt is a 127-year-old company with over 19,000 employee-partners in more than 140 locations in 18 countries.
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www.leggett.com