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. With photo and video Spring Air Mattress Mattress Chatham And Wells Review