The split: Hillenbrand Industries becomes Hill-Rom Holdings and Hillenbrand, parent of Batesville Casket Co.

AuthorHromadka, Erik
PositionCover story - Company overview

WITH A POPULATION OF just 6,440 in the last census, the city of Batesville in southeast Indiana seems like an unlikely place to find the corporate headquarters of a large public company. However, it was no joke when the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange rang on April 1 and made Batesville the home of not just one, but two of its member companies.

"It's fantastic," says Mayor Richard Fledderman, who anticipates the addition of more corporate jobs at both companies. "It creates some good opportunities for the community."

For years, Batesville has been the ultimate company town, where almost every family was connected to Hillenbrand Industries, which dates back to 1906 when John A. Hillenbrand purchased the Batesville Casket Company. In the 1920s, the company expanded into hospital furniture and introduced a number of innovative products, from adjustable beds to early electronic devices.

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The company maintained its dual focus on serving both the hospital and funeral industries through the 1900s, going public on the NYSE in 1971. However, rapid advances in technology, especially on this hospital side of the business, began to push its two operating companies in different directions and ultimately led to the spin off of a separate company this spring.

In April, Hill-Rom Holdings (NYSE:HRC), formerly known as Hillenbrand Industries, spun off Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI), which was formerly Batesville Holdings. The move creates two separate corporate headquarters in Batesville; Hill-Rom, which develops a wide range of medical technology and Hillenbrand, which runs Batesville Casket Co., a funeral services supplier.

"Our board and our management believe that separation of the two companies is the best way to unlock value and allow each company to focus on accelerating growth in their respective industries," explains Peter Soderberg, president and CEO of the new Hill-Rom. "The compelling value proposition of both companies should provide attractive returns to current and future shareholders."

HILL-ROM EYES NEW TECHNOLOGY

Much of the growth and innovation in Batesville has taken place at Hill-Rom, which has developed into an international market leader for hospital beds and related equipment. Today the company has 6,500 employees with manufacturing and office facilities in Batesville, as well as North Carolina, South Carolina, Minnesota, Massachusetts and France.

As one of the pioneers in the hospital bed industry, the company has a long line of innovations that are now standard in hospitals around the world. For example, Hill-Rom introduced the first short side rails and adjustable beds that allowed patients to be moved into a sitting position. Those were improved with electronic motors to assist the process, followed by foot pedals that allow caregivers to make the move without using their hands.

Today Hill-Rom operates an innovation center in Batesville where new ideas and technologies are tested and have led to new advances, such as a red emergency latch that disengages the motor to allow immediate positioning of the bed when CPR is needed. On HillRom's TotalCare...

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