Spring Air International recently gathered the senior leadership of its domestic licensees for its first manufacturing summit, allowing them to share best practices in production, efficiency and standards throughout the organization.
All 11 of Spring Air’s U.S. licensees participated in the event, hosted by Pleasant Mattress. The summit focused on the national brand standards and manufacturing processes of its redesigned Chattam & Wells collection.
Spring Air President Nick Bates welcomed the licensees and detailed the rollout campaign for the collection, which will debut in more than 100 Mattress Firm stores and many other retailers during the next few months. The group then split in two and followed the eight-stage production process to build the collection, guided by Pleasant Mattress manufacturing leaders.
“We had stations set up for every process involved in a Chatham and Wells build,” Bates described. “Everyone was asking questions, shooting videos and taking notes. The enthusiasm and interaction were incredible.”
During lunch, the licensees shared their observations and best practices for production in their own plants. The meeting closed with a discussion about plans for Spring Air’s Four Seasons collection, which is expected to be redesigned for January 2023.
“This summit was one of the best things this group has done, and we need to do more of these types of meetings for the brand to continue to grow and succeed,” said Iker De Lasota, president of Grand Rapids Bedding, the group’s longest-serving licensee dating to 1926. “Seeing the new line in production firsthand has been very informative and useful for me.”
Chris Sanders, owner of Everton Mattress Factory and one of the newest licensees in the group shared his enthusiasm for the summit.
“There was so much good information shared among some of the most experienced manufacturing people in the industry,” Sanders said. “We are learning so much about how to improve our processes by being a part of this group.”
According to Bates, the manufacturing summit is part of Spring Air’s strategy to collaborate with licensees to improve the effectiveness of the brand.
“Collaboration like we experienced in Fresno is one of the richest things we can offer our licensees. We already have very successful licensee groups working together on marketing and product development aspects of the business, and now we have added manufacturing to that mix,” Bates said. “We believe an event like this will not only improve the quality and service on Chattam and Wells, but this kind of collaboration and team building will only unite our group even further, continuing to improve our licensee network.”
The revamped line features seven models: Lismore, Miramare, Chantilly, Ashford, Kensington, Windsor and Buckingham. The top three — Kensington, Windsor and Buckingham — include layers of custom silk damask, cashmere, Talalay latex and horse tail fibers for additional softness. Sourced from one of the finest upholstery mills for furniture applications, the border borrows its look from the furniture side of the business and includes a chesterfield tufted quilting in a cotton velvet. The legacy crown logo is also incorporated into the panel with tone-on-tone stitching.
