Over the years, the corporation's leadership has had the foresight and ability to adapt the company's products to the needs of the market. For example, in 1906, Fred purchased a patent for a spring assembly for upholstered furniture-coil springs mounted on a steel bar. At the same time, Grand Rapids, Michigan, was a hub for furniture manufacturers. As a partial result of the patent, Barber Manufacturing became a major furniture spring supplier in the Midwest. The focus of the company expanded from manufacturing springs for bedding to manufacturing springs for the ever-growing furniture industry.

Always listening to the customer, Barber Manufacturing produced custom designed springs tailored to the customer's individual requirements. In addition to producing springs for bedding and furniture, the company expanded into automobile seating and later, school bus seating.

Fred's son and successor, Wilson Barber, better known as Wick, succeeded his father as president in 1940. Wick continued to improve both the company's product line and prosperity. He designed and patented the Per-Fect Spring Unit, a popular spring assembly used in office seating. The design was so popular, the company had to build an addition to its manufacturing plant to supply the demand.

With an eye on the future of the market, Barber Manufacturing maintained its edge in the furniture spring industry throughout the 1940s and 1950s under Wick's leadership.

Wick died in 1964, passing the leadership of the company to his son, John Wilson Barber, Jr. Under John's guidance, the company not only expanded its product line, but it enlarged its sales territory, too. In the early 1970s Barber Manufacturing bought a second facility and began manufacturing sinuous wire, a "zig zag" spring used in furniture.

Besides manufacturing sinuous wire, the company broadened its position in the furniture industry by adding Bonnell Coil Innersprings for sofa sleepers to its product line in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Barber Manufacturing also added a distribution facility in Conover, North Carolina and further increased its sales territory from the Midwest to the South and the West Coast.

In the 1990s, the company's top management found a way to capitalize on its many years of experience with the Marshall Unit in the furniture industry by producing an improved version of it for the bedding industry. The company began to convert existing equipment and added new, state-of-the-art equipment to manufacture the Barber Individually Encased Coil Innerspring. This product, coupled with the revised version of the Bonnell Coil Innerspring and the Rigid Bar Coil Boxspring, brought the company full circle as it expanded its customer base to again include the bedding industry.

In 1993, John W. Barber, Jr., became the Chairman of the Board, and his four children assumed responsibility for the leadership of Barber Manufacturing. Son Jeff became President and CEO in 1993, son Jim currently serves as Executive Vice President, and son Tom serves as Cash Manager. Daughter Betsy served as Customer Service Manager until 2002 when she decided upon a career change.

For more than 100 years, the company's product line has continually evolved to remain competitive in an increasingly complex market. In addition to adapting to new markets, the company's success in its chosen industries is attributed to its steadfast adherence to Fred Barber's philosophy... provide a superior product and unparalleled customer support.

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