CARTHAGE, Mo., and Auburn, Alabama, USA -- September 27, 2004 -- Jobwerx News -- Diversified manufacturer Leggett & Platt and engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton have reached agreement for Leggett to supply aluminum die castings for Briggs' assembly plant in Auburn, Alabama. Leggett & Platt, a Fortune 500 company, is the leading independent, non-automotive aluminum die caster in North America. Briggs & Stratton, a NYSE-listed company with sales approaching $2 billion, is the world's largest producer of air-cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment.

The agreement calls for Leggett to build a 140,000 square foot die casting plant in Auburn, Alabama, a short distance from Briggs' current facility. Construction of the new plant should commence during the fourth quarter of 2004, with production expected to begin in late 2005. At full production, Leggett expects the project to contribute about $45 million of annual revenue to its aluminum segment.

David S. Haffner, President and Chief Operating Officer of Leggett & Platt, said, "Briggs & Stratton has been a wonderful, long-time customer of Leggett's, and we are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with them. This project is an outstanding example of our 'deverticalization' strategy, whereby Leggett assumes component production responsibility for vertically integrated manufacturers, enabling them to concentrate more effort on their core strengths of design and marketing, while simultaneously reducing capital needs."

James E. Brenn, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Briggs & Stratton, commented, "This is truly a win-win project. Briggs should see higher EVA and lower capital requirements, since Leggett will fund the project. At the same time, we benefit from Leggett's technical expertise while ensuring a sufficient supply of die cast components to meet our needs."

Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) is a Fortune 500 diversified manufacturer that conceives, designs and produces a broad variety of engineered components and products that can be found in virtually every home, office, retail store, and automobile. The 121-year-old firm is composed of 29 business units, 33,000 employee-partners, and more than 300 facilities located in 20 countries.

Briggs & Stratton Corp. is the largest manufacturer of small, air-cooled engines for outdoor lawn & garden power equipment, generators and pressure washers. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services these products for original equipment manufacturers in over 100 countries on all seven continents.

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