About The Lehigh Group

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The Lehigh Group
2834 Schoeneck Road
Macungie, PA 18062
Tel: (610) 966-9702
Fax: (610) 966-3246

Leslie-Locke
675 W. Manville Street
Compton, CA 90220
Tel: (800) 755-9520
Fax: (310) 638-1829

In Canada:
Royal International Corporation
Montreal, QC H4T1T9
Tel: (514) 735-4566

The Lehigh Group plant and distribution center in Macungie, PA

OUR HISTORY

The Lehigh Group was started in 1960 as Lehigh Sales and Products by John G. Guthrie. Mr. Guthrie ran the business out of the basement of his Allentown, Pennsylvania home, winding twine into small convenient packages for sale as fundraisers by the Boy Scouts and other local community organizations. Soon thereafter Mr. Guthrie started selling these products to the grocery trade.
A few years later Lehigh introduced "The Lehigh Cordage Program," the first program approach to selling full displays and a variety of cordage products. This came at a time when mass merchants such as K-Mart and Wal-Mart were being created, and Lehigh's program approach to selling became very popular with customers such as these.
As demand grew, in 1965 the business was relocated to an abandoned hat factory in southwest Allentown.
The business grew substantially during the 70's as the Lehigh Cordage Program increased in scope and major home center chains started to carry a full selection of the product.
In 1985 Mr. Guthrie sold the company to American Manufacturing Corp. (AMC), a privately held holding company based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. One of the many other companies owned by AMC was American Manufacturing, a supplier of cordage to industrial and commercial markets. Under AMC, Lehigh had the resources to expand the product offering through internal development and acquisition. Shortly thereafter, the company added chain, chain accessories and storage hooks to its product line.
In 1987 the company changed its name to The Lehigh Group to more properly reflect the variety of additional products being offered.
In 1990, Lehigh outgrew the facility in southwest Allentown and moved into a new 120,000 sq. ft. office, plant and distribution center in western Allentown.
In 1992 Lehigh purchased Stanbel, the leading supplier of cordage to the Canadian mass merchant and home center market. This quickly gave Lehigh a foothold in the growing Canadian market.
In 1993 AMC purchased Samson Cordage, and the consumer division of that company was brought under the Lehigh umbrella. This gave Lehigh an additional product offering of marine-oriented cordage such as anchor lines and dock lines.
In 1994 Lehigh purchased Crawford Products, a Massachusetts-based supplier of peg hooks, storage hooks, work movers and organizational items. Many of these products are found directly next to Lehigh products in home centers and hardware stores, and complement the company's cordage offering.
In late 1997 Lehigh and Crawford moved out of their existing facilities and into a new 270,000 sq. ft. office, plant and distribution center in the western suburbs of Allentown.
In 1998 Lehigh purchased Storehorse, the leading supplier of portable folding plastic sawhorses to the retail hardware and home center trade. This product is another extension of the company's offering of storage, organization and work bench products.
In early 2000 The Lehigh Group acquired two more companies: M & K Industries, whose EPDM rubber tiedowns are recognized as the top quality rubber strap on the market; and Ultra-Hold Corporation, manufacturer of a complete line of storage organizers for the entire home.
Leslie-Locke joined the Lehigh Group in October 2000. The Compton, California company manufactures security screen doors, steel fencing and gates, and vertical window guards for home and business.
In 2003 The Lehigh Group was acquired by Jarden Corporation, a leading provider of consumer products in and around the home. A recognized market leader in categories including home canning and vacuum packaging, matches, toothpicks and cutlery, its well-known brands include Ball, Diamond, Food Saver Forster and Bernardin.
In October 2005 The Lehigh Group acquired the assets of the Wellington Consumer Cordage business. Wellington offered a full assortment of cordage products that were sold primarily to the Hardware Store and Hardware Distribution trade, and complimented Lehigh's historical strength with the home center and mass merchant trades. This further solidified the company's position as the leading provider of cordage products in the North American market.
Today, The Lehigh Group continues to provide customers with a single reliable source of a variety of quality products for the home, garage and workshop, bringing to market exciting and innovative new product lines to complement our existing ones.