A Humble Neighborhood
The Merryweather Foam story began in a humble neighborhood. At the time Lloyd, Raymond and Gerald Merryweather lived next door to an engineer from the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company who was working on the launch their new “Air Foam” product. The Merryweathers’ were in the onsite furnace building industry and realized that with the onset of prefabricated furnaces, their business would soon come to an end.
In 1948 Merryweather Foam Latex Company was founded in Silver Lake, an Akron, Ohio suburb. By the 1970’s, Merryweather was one of the largest in the world, servicing the health and beauty market (foam hair curlers) and the appliance and furniture industries (foam mattresses). The main facility was in Akron, Ohio with three additional facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio area.
In the 1960’s, Merryweather expanded to a 90,000 square foot facility in Barberton, OH because of steady growth that lead to expansion. The move gave Merryweather ten and a half acres of land and more floor space to fabricate foam. In the mid 1970’s, Merryweather developed a strong relationship with the Whirlpool Corporation and other southern manufacturing companies. The company built an additional foam fabrication facility, located in Sylacauga, Alabama, to increase its manufacturing capabilities and serve customer increasing customer demands.
By 1985, the Merryweather Family decided to sell the business as the company was in danger of being closed down by a competitor. An accountant ,Carl R. McCune, had worked for the accounting firm representing the company, was able to purchase it with the help of the State of Ohio and rename it Merryweather Foam Incorporated.
In the late 1990’s, Merryweather Foam grew again—this time building a facility in Anthony, New Mexico (close to El Paso, TX). This created an opportunity to service companies in the western part of the United States. Manufacturing Companies such as the Hoover Company presented a greater need to service the companies out west.
Building into the Future
Today, Merryweather is proud to be a preferred converter for many industry-leading suppliers, including Foamex, Rogers, Voltek, and Tyco. Our focus is on helping OEM companies select competitive and better performing materials through outstanding customer service. Our ability to meet the fabrication needs of our customers using industry leading equipment and custom-engineered machinery has made us a leader in the foam fabricating world, therefore achieve steady growth over the past 60 years.
Some of the innovative projects Merryweather has been a part of include Dr. Scholl’s toecaps, Sears’s window air conditioning filters, and GE Medical MRI head cushions to name a few. Merryweather also boast the accomplishment as being the supplier of foam rubber pads on which two monkeys rode in one of the first USA space capsules. We pride ourselves on our ability to combine experience, innovation, and excellent customer service. Please contact us today for more information or to request a quote—we look forward to hearing from you and your team!
