La Barge Pipe & Steel Co. history

Tubular steel accounted for 80 percent of LaBarge's 1974 earnings of $6.5 million.

In 1975, it announced a new 50,000-square-foot wire and cable plant in California.

In 1980, LaBarge announced plans to open a $1.6 million steel tube distribution center near Birmingham, Alabama.

1982: LaBarge enters furniture business.

1984: LaBarge sells steel business at a loss.

After defaulting on the debt it had taken on to acquire that company in October 1986, LaBarge exchanged its debentures for shares of preferred stock.

Sales reached $69 million in fiscal 1989; profits of $4.4 million were double those of the year before.

Net earnings for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1991 were $2.5 million--up 50 percent from the previous year, as sales reached $73 million.

The company refinanced its debt again in 1992, giving it the ability to pursue potential acquisitions or expansions.

In 1993, LaBarge contracted to manufacture a small medical laser that could collect blood samples without the risk of handling needles or lancets.

The focus on high-growth industries paid off handsomely in 1996, when LaBarge experienced a 408 percent profit surge, reported the St Louis Post-Dispatch.

In June 1999, Transmedica defaulted on payment of a $2 million note due LaBarge, which had yet to make a profit on this relationship.