Ergonomics Expert Frohriep Joins Leggett & Platt

May 22, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on May 2007 Ergonomics expert Dr. Susanne Frohriep has joined the research and development team of Leggett & Platt, Carthage, Mo., where she’ll have a major impact on the development new components for L&P’s operations serving the bedding industry.

Frohriep comes to Leggett & Platt from the automotive industry in Europe, where she has spent the last three years as an ergonomics specialist, responsible for product development and ergonomic research of comfort products.

“At Leggett & Platt, we’ve made it one of our top priorities to focus research efforts on improving overall health through improved sleep quality,” said Mark Quinn, group executive vice president of sales and marketing for Leggett & Platt’s bedding division.

Frohriep said ergonomics plays a pivotal role in giving consumers the comfort that enables restful sleep, which impacts overall health.

“By understanding how ergonomics is connected to better sleep, Leggett & Platt can continue developing innovative sleep systems,” added Frohriep, who has spent her career studying, teaching and researching in the United States, Germany and Japan. She studied language, linguistics and anthropology at Kiel University in Germany and completed her doctorate in 1998. From 1991 to 2001, and again from 2003 to 2004, Frohriep worked in the physiological anthropology research group at Kiel University. As a member of this group, she was responsible for consumer testing on a range of products such as mattresses, cushions and medical braces.

Frohriep’s research has been published and presented in academic and educational settings across Europe and Asia. Her work includes studies on female car drivers and comfort, mattress quality assessment through an index of deformation and ergonomic implications of upper spine variability.

Niels Mossbeck, vice president of product development for Leggett & Platt, said Frohriep’s is evidence of Leggett’s commitment to advancing the science and technology that creates better sleep systems.

“Dr. Frohriep’s experience offers us insight into how the body interacts with our products,” he said. “We are marrying technology with human impact.”