Lester’s Jacob Holtz Company, World’s Largest Manufacturer of Bed-Frame Caster, Bought by Hudson Lock

Lester-based Jacob Holtz Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of bed-frame caster, has been bought by Massachusetts lock manufacturer Hudson Lock, writes Jeff Blumenthal for Philadelphia Business Journal.

Jacob Holtz started in 1949 as a manufacturer of metal stampings and casters in Philadelphia. A little more than a decade later, the company started to be recognized as the largest bed-frame caster manufacturer in the world.

Jacob Holtz was acquired by Osage Industries, part of Osage Partners, in 1999, when the new owner installed Drexel University graduate Bill Frame as CEO. Frame went on to develop a proprietary caster made of composite plastic material to be used in bed frames and retail displays.

However, Frame noted that Chinese manufacturers nearly put it out of business. To stay competitive, he concentrated on designing a caster which would be stronger and cost less to make than Chinese versions. His efforts succeeded, and its patents enabled Jacob Holtz to reclaim the majority of the business lost to the Chinese after the company moved its entire operations to Lester from Philadelphia in 2007.

Read more about the sale in the Philadelphia Business Journal by clicking here.