Liebert Corp.

Tuesday, March 28, 2000

Liebert Corp., now a division of Emerson Electric Co. and often called the world’s leading supplier of computer support systems, will manufacture advanced air control equipment in Ironton.

"The products to be made there are precision environmental control systems used in electronic applications," Liebert spokesperson Walt Sharp said.

For example, the company provides air control equipment for computer rooms and many medical facilities also use equipment where precise control of temperature and other environmental factors matter, Sharp explained.

Liebert’s expansion into the former Cabletron plant came about to meet the demand needs of the market, he said.

"The place was built for electronic purposes, so it was a natural fit for products like Liebert produces," he said.

Other details of Liebert’s plans for Ironton will be announced at a later date, Sharp and Ohio Department of Development officials said.

The following history of Liebert, edited for length, is reprinted from the company’s Web site (www.liebert.com):

Liebert Corporation has Ohio roots that extend back to 1946.

That year, Ralph Liebert brought his family from Cincinnati to Columbus with a few hundred dollars and a toolbox.

He founded Capitol Refrigeration Industries and obtained a limited franchise from a major air conditioning manufacturer.

One successful job led to another, and Capitol Refrigeration Industries began to grow.

Among the many projects undertaken were the first large industrial heat pump and pioneering work in the development of freeze-dried foods and coffee.

With the introduction of computers, Ralph Liebert conceived the idea of designing and building a system with all the components necessary to maintain constant temperature and humidity in a computer room. Capitol Refrigeration’s first prototype was built in Ralph Liebert’s garage.

In early 1965, the prototype was introduced to IBM in Chicago. IBM in turn helped make arrangements to show it at the International Data Processing Show in Philadelphia. The idea was accepted and orders began to come in.

Liebert Corporation was chartered in late 1965 to pursue this fast growing market for computer room air conditioning systems. A building was leased and production started with five associates.

By 1968, a new facility was completed in Worthington and the 25,000-square-foot building housed both Capitol Refrigeration Industries and Liebert Corp.

The business continued to grow and, in January 1974, it moved into a new home at 1050 Dearborn Drive, Columbus. During the 1970s, tens of thousands of square feet were added to offices and the plant.

Conditioned Power Corp. became the newest addition to the Liebert team in 1978. The data processing industry was faced with problems of inconsistent power, which caused downtime, scrambled data and equipment damage.

An economical, flexible, mobile and secure power system for computer rooms was needed to monitor, distribute and clean up the electrical power. Conditioned Power Corp. was a wholly owned subsidiary of Liebert until 1981 when the operation became a division of the company.

During the summer of 1980 Liebert broke ground for a second major location. On 42 acres in Delaware, Ohio, the 200,000-square-foot facility houses the company’s research and development, heat transfer and power conditioning divisions.

Liebert Corp. "went public" in 1981, entering the stock market. Stockholders from financial institutions and the general public became part of the Liebert family.

The company’s first acquisition was completed in 1983, which added the Programmed Power Division in California to the Liebert team. The division produces uninterruptable power supply systems.

That same year, the company opened its first overseas production facility in Cork, Ireland.

Liebert also opened a training center in January 1984.

In 1985, as it celebrated its 20th anniversary, Liebert introduced a comprehensive computer site management system. This software-driven, interactive SiteScan system links all computer support systems in a total network.

In March 1987, Liebert Corp. was acquired by the Emerson Electric Co., a St. Louis-based company engaged principally in the manufacture and sale of a broad range of electrical and electronic products and systems.