This article is about the mattress company. For the airline, see Spring Airlines. Spring Air Company is a mattress company based in the United States. It was founded in 1926 when Francis Karr patented a mattress design with free-end coils. Because of the heavy weight, high transportation costs, and low value per unit weight of mattresses, they are often manufactured locally. The company is thus a licensing organization, with local licensees manufacturing the mattresses under a common name for national marketing. Like a cooperative, the licensees own the Spring Air name. As of 2006, it is the fourth largest US brand of mattresses (behind Sealy, Serta, and Simmons). It is based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. In 2007 The Spring Air Company merged with Consolidated Bedding, Inc. of Tampa, FL, Spring Air's largest licensee and simultaneously acquired six other Spring Air licensees operating eight mattress manufacturing facilities in the United States. The unified Company will employ 1,150 employees in 14 locations,including its headquarters facility that will remain in the Chicago area.
The merger will solidify Spring Air's position as the leading value "S" brand on every retail floor. The acquired manufacturing facilities are in: Atlanta, GA; Salt Lake City, UT; and Lacey, WA (Seattle). They will join Consolidated Bedding’s existing facilities in: Columbus, OH; City of Industry, CA (Los Angeles); H.I.G. Capital LLC, a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $4 billion of equity capital under management, provided the equity funding for the transaction. H.I.G. began a relationship with Spring Air in 2005 when it funded the merger of American Bedding Industries and Spring Air Partners, the two largest Spring Air licensees. In May 2009 the company that owned the Spring Air name - Consolidated Bedding - went bankrupt. The Spring Air Name was then purchased by E&E Bedding and turned into Spring Air International. In May 2009 Spring Air abruptly ceased operations and in June emerged under new ownership and management as SAI (Spring Air International).
Spring Air was repurchased by one of its original owners Edward Bates, bringing Spring Air back to being a family-owned company and putting thousands of employees back to work. Today Spring Air has expanded its presence around the world adding over 15 new facilities globally. The Spring Air brand is now manufactured at 13 U.S. facilities and 22 international licensees that operate in 32 countries. ^ "Spring Air International Relaunching." ^ "Spring Air Adds 6 U.S. Licensees." In 1922 Atlanta, a fourteen year old Frank M. Grove began working as an office boy for Southern Spring Bedding Company, a Springwall licensee and manufacturer of “Southern Cross” sleep products. Having shown such a strong work-ethic and enthusiasm for the business, Frank was sent to Greensboro, North Carolina in 1926 to open a new territory for the Company including North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Frank had a phenomenal sales success in the newly opened territory. Known to many as “Mister Southern Cross,” he established a reputation among area furniture stores for outstanding service, quality, and infectious enthusiasm for the “Southern Cross” products he represented.
In the early 1940’s, Frank started a compatible wholesale furniture distributing business, Carolina Virginia Distributing Company (CV). Full service warehouses were opened in Greensboro, Charlotte, Roanoke, Richmond, Goldsboro, and Atlanta, providing local retail furniture stores with a full assortment of promotional case goods, upholstery, bedding, tile flooring, and carpet. Trip to Virgin Islands As CV prospered during the 1950’s, Frank’s oldest two sons, Frank III and Dick, began working for the business as sales representatives. The two sons would inherit their father’s enthusiasm and passion for the business, providing quality products and outstanding service to local retail furniture stores. Frank III would begin his career as manager of the Atlanta location, while Dick would manage the CV warehouse in Richmond, Virginia. By the late 1960’s, as the business climate changed for the Southern Spring Bedding Company, Frank and his sons realized that their best opportunity would be found in manufacturing bedding themselves.
Moving forward, they contacted The Spring Air Company in Chicago and proceeded to be awarded the license to manufacture and distribute “Spring Air” bedding products in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. A new factory was opened in Greensboro in 1971, introducing the Spring Air “Back Supporter” line to dealers throughout the territory. The new Company was extraordinarily successful during its early years, far surpassing all sales quotas set for the factory, establishing itself as an important member of the “Spring Air” group. In 1974, Frank’s youngest son, John Sr, joined the Company after working several years as an engineer with Boeing for the NASA space program. During the next decade, the Spring Air-Greensboro factory would expand several times. Over this time, “Spring Air” grew into a major national brand using Vanna White as their corporate cheerleader and spokesperson. In 1988, the Grove Boys built the current modern factory on North Raleigh Street in Greensboro.
By the early 1990’s, they chose to concentrate all their efforts and resources on manufacturing “Spring Air” sleep products, ceasing the wholesale furniture distributing business. By the end of the 1990’s, the management of Spring Air-Greensboro was enhanced by the third generation of the Grove family. John Jr now serves as President, along with Frank B. “Butch”, Matthew, and David serving as Vice Presidents. Spring Air-Greensboro specializes as a locally owned and operated bedding manufacturer, telling a great “Spring Air” story, our family doing business with your family, concentrating on PEOPLE, not just on products. With an outstanding office team, first rate factory staff, and an exceptional sales force throughout the territory, the Grove Boys continue to provide their customers with superior QUALITY, SERVICE, and INFECTIOUS ENTHUSIASM that was instilled by their mentor, Frank M. Grove. Mattress Reviews - Summary Memory Foam Mattress Reviews
Memory Foam Hybrid Reviews Adjustable Bed Base Reviews Memory Foam Density - Higher Vs Lower Memory Foam Vs Latex Sleep Number Bed Reviews Tempurpedic vs Sleep Number Mattresses and Sex Comparison Mattresses and (Back) Pain Research Mattress Warranties: What You Should Know Buying a Mattress Online: What You Should Know Returning a Mattress: What You Should Know Mattress Buyer's Guide For Large, Heavy Persons > Spring Air Mattress Reviews Spring Air Mattress Review, Ratings & Comparison Based on 171 Consumer Experiences Gathered From 21 Sources What You Need To Know THE GOOD: Many models value priced • a variety of comfort levels available • few reports of bothersome off gassing • owner satisfaction improving in recent years. THE BAD: Questionable durability / longevity (like innerspring-based beds overall) • motion isolation and quietness questionable on some cheaper models. THE MATTRESSES: Spring Air mattresses have one or more of the following in the comfort layer and or cover: regular foam, (gel) memory foam, latex, cashmere, silk, minicoils.
Support consists of open offset coils or pocket coils. These specifications put Spring Air mattresses into the innerspring, the memory foam hybrid, or the latex hybrid categories. THE COMPANY: Spring Air – founded in 1926, under current ownership since 2009 – makes mostly entry to mid-level mattresses including Back Supporter, Sleep Sense, Chattam & Wells, and Four Seasons. THE COMPETITION: Mainly Sealy, Serta and Simmons. Find out how Spring Air compares to these and others in the mattress comparison. Spring Air Mattress Ratings The ratings – based on owner experience data collected using an unbiased, accurate methodology – show how Spring Air mattresses overall compare to the average mattress. Spring Air mattresses, including Back Supporter, have 67% owner satisfaction. Like innerspring mattresses in general, sagging is the main cause of dissatisfaction among Spring Air mattress owners. About 20% report within the first three years of ownership sagging occurring to an extent that results in a significant loss of support / comfort.
$450-$2000 depending on size and model with the average queen costing about $850 not including a foundation. Thicker models tend to be more expensive. Support is often good initially but can be undermined by sagging. Support for sitting or sleeping near the mattress edge is mostly effective but, because it often consists of foam, may deteriorate with wear / age. Mattress sagging and the corresponding loss of support can cause pain, especially back pain for 15%+ of owners. (See mattresses and pain relief for general analysis.) Soft, medium, and firm models are available. The effectiveness of preventing the movement made by one person from being felt by another can vary by model. Those models with individually encased / pocket coils tend to perform best. No initial odor / off gassing Less than 6% of owners report a bothersome initial mattress odor. About 6% of owners report their Spring Air acting as a heat trap to an uncomfortable extent. Models with memory foam and or latex are most likely to retain heat.
(General analysis: mattress heat retention.) Easy to move on Thicker, softer models with memory foam often have the most potential to allow for considerable sinking in to the mattress which can increase the difficulty of moving on and getting up off the bed. Sagging of the bed may cause intimacy to be uncomfortable or difficult. (See mattresses and sex for general analysis.) At least 7% of Spring Air consumers report that their mattress makes noise, namely squeaking and creaking. Models with pocket coils tend to be quietest. Ease to lift, handle, move The mattresses weigh 60 to 120 pounds with 100 pounds being about average. The more expensive, thicker models are heavier than the less expensive, thinner ones. Spring Air Company Ratings The ratings below – based on consumer experiences and the evaluation of Sleep Like The Dead – show how Spring Air compares to the average mattress manufacturer. Spring Air mattresses usually have a non-prorated 10-year warranty;
Sealy, Simmons and Serta have similar warranties. (See mattress warranties: what you should know.) Customer service is handled by Spring Air licensees which overall appear to provide about average customer service. Spring Air often discloses thickness measurements for the various mattress layers but details on the makeup of the materials is limited. The company's claims and statements about its products are factual with limited hyperbole. Founded in 1926 and under current ownership since 2009. Consumer complaints to go Spring Air's various licensees, not Spring Air International. SLTD (Sleep Like The Dead) company rating of "B-" for Spring Air is determined by averaging the above company ratings. Spring Air Mattress Owner Satisfaction Comparison Spring Air mattresses have 67% owner satisfaction. This rate is somewhat above average compared to innerspring-based mattresses overall but below the average of all mattresses. About our unbiased Spring Air mattress review and research
The Spring Air innerspring mattress ratings are based on 170+ owner reviews of the Back Supporter and Four Seasons innerspring coil models and possibly similar discontinued models. Find out more about our mattress research methodology and sources. – About 20% of Spring Air innerspring mattress consumers report significant sagging. About 12% report pain of some kind, including back pain, resulting from the sagging. – Conforming ability can vary by Spring Air model; those with memory foam and or latex tend to perform best. – At least seven percent of Spring Air owners report mattress noise, namely squeaking, creaking, and clunking. – Spring Air beds overall rate about average on the issue of motion isolation. At Amazon: Top-Rated Value-Priced Innerspring Mattress SLEEP PRODUCT RESEARCH: Mattress Reviews • Mattress Topper Reviews • Pillow Reviews • Bed Sheet Reviews • White Noise Machine Reviews • Sleeping Pill Reviews • Sleep Hygiene Products