Liebert Corporation - DPLA - 2f49cabd753660f24720aca0f5ef8e1e

Liebert Corporation, headquartered in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus as well as the home of Otterbein University, the population was 39 ...

, produced

electric power system An electric power system is a network of electrical components deployed to supply, transfer, and use electric power. An example of a power system is the electrical grid that provides power to homes and industries within an extended area. The e ...

s, precision cooling equipment,

server rack A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or ''ears'' that protrude from each side of the ...

s and integrated cabinets, and related infrastructure management and services. In 1987, it was acquired by

Emerson Electric Emerson Electric Co. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The Fortune 500 company delivers a range of engineering services, manufactures industrial automation equipment, climate control systems, and p ...

. In 2000, it was folded into Emerson Network Power, which became

Vertiv Vertiv is an American multinational provider of critical infrastructure and services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, Vertiv has ~31,000 employees worldw ...

in 2016.

History

In 1946, Ralph C. Liebert (1918-1984) founded Capitol Refrigeration Industries, the precursor to Liebert Corporation. Liebert developed the first prototype precision air conditioner in his garage. In early 1965, the prototype was introduced to

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Recognising the machine's potential, IBM arranged for Liebert to debut his invention at the World Computer Conference in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 1965, Liebert founded Liebert Corporation as the first manufacturer air conditioning units with temperature and humidity controls specific for computer room applications. In 1977, Liebert launched Conditioned Power Corporation to design and manufacture power distribution, conditioning and monitoring systems for the data processing industry. The company remained a wholly owned subsidiary until 1981, when it became a division of Liebert Corporation upon the company's initial public offering. In 1980, Liebert built a major manufacturing facility in

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in Delaware County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located near the center of Ohio, about north of Columbus as part of the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 41,302 at the 2020 census. Delaware ...

. That year, Ralph Liebert's son, Larry L. Liebert (1945-2023) took over management of the company. In 1981, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

. In 1983, the company acquired Programmed Power Corporation from

Franklin Electric Franklin Electric Co., Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of products and systems focused on the movement and management of water and energy. The company offers pumps, motors, drives, and controls for use in a variety of residential, commerci ...

. The acquisition expanded the capabilities of the company's power division to include the design and manufacture of uninterruptible power supplies. That year, the company also opened a plant in Cork, Ireland. In 1985, the company organized its Liebert Global Services division and introduced SiteScan, its site management system. In 1987, Liebert Corporation was acquired by

for $430 million in stock. The company remained a subsidiary of Emerson until 2000, when the company consolidated its network and computer protection businesses to form its Emerson Network Power platform group. In 2016,

Platinum Equity Platinum Equity, LLC is an American private equity investment firm founded by Tom Gores in 1995, headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout investments of established companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia. ...

acquired the division and renamed it as

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liebert (Company) 1965 establishments in Ohio 1980s initial public offerings 2016 mergers and acquisitions Computer companies established in 1965 Cooling technology Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies Manufacturing companies based in Ohio