Getting noticed on the Web - BedTimes

BedTimes
April 2011
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FOR THE SLEEP PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
<strong>Getting</strong> <strong>noticed</strong>
on the Web
Poll: Electronics
disturbing sleep
Interzum Cologne:
Bedding preview
Shopping for
a new bank

The Sudden Service Company
Innovative Technology for the
Model 1390
AutoPac TM
Model 4300
Automatic Vertical Handle
This equipment may be protected by one or more of these patents. Other patents may be pending:
US patents: 4,280,421; 4,432,294; 4,466,367; 4,644,883; 5,134,947; 5,159,889; 5,203,270; 5,522,332; 5,524,563; 5,562,060; 5,634,418; 5,647,293;
5,657,711; 5,743,202; 5,865,135; 5,899,159; 5,915,319; 5,918,560; 5,979,345; 6,035,794; 6,055,921; 6,202,579; 6,279,869; 6,295,481; 6,494,255;
6,802,271; 6,574,815; 6,834,603; 6,968,794; 6,994,043; 7,100,525; 7,100,526; 7,210,181; 7,383,676 ; 7,383,780; 7,412,936; 7,543,364; 7,574,788;
7,647,876; 7,735,439; Foreign patents: 9-520,472; 0,537,323; 92,905,522.6; 96,936,922.2; 2,076,379; 2,084,055.
Other U.S. and Foreign Patents Pending. © 2011 Atlanta Attachment Company 10122020911
Atlanta Attachment Company
362 Industrial Park Drive
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
(770) 963-7369 • FAX (770) 963-7641

Mattress Production Industry Worldwide!
Model 1392D
GoldenEagle Quilting Machine
Model 1393E
Panel Cutter,
Border Slitter , Rewinder
Call our sales department at 770-963-7369
and schedule an appointment to tour our facility.
Website: atlatt.com email: sales@atlatt.com
Manufacturing
High Quality
Products
Since 1969
Atlanta Attachment Company
is the recognized sewn products
industry leader in automated
workstations, labor saving devices,
folders and ergonomic risk
reduction. The Company, founded
in 1969, has made its policy of
SUDDEN SERVICE a way of
life in all aspects of operation.
Our entire staff is dedicated to
providing three-day shipments
of most custom folders and
attachments. Special gauge sets
and other work aids are available
in 10 working days or less. We
also offer a 72 Hours or FREE!*
expendable replacement
parts policy.
At our 225,000 square foot
state-of-the-art facility, we design,
manufacture, assemble and ship
products to customers worldwide.
Our skilled employees produce
the highest quality products
available to meet or exceed the
standards required in the sewn
products industry.
* Contact sales for more information on this
policy, the recommended spare parts list and
the model workstations covered.

CertiPUR-US (CM)
approved foams are:
• Low emission (low VOCS).
• Made without ozone depleters.
• Produced without PBDEs.
• Made without mercury,
lead and heavy metal.
• Made without formaldehyde.
• Made without phthalates.
PO Box 128, Hickory NC 28603
Certify your Peace of Mind
Hickory Springs goes one step further for quality foam.
By complying with the CertiPUR-US (CM) voluntary testing, analysis and certification
program, Hickory Springs confirms the proactive measures taken to verify that
its flexible polyurethane foam not only provides durable comfort but is produced
in a responsible, consumer-friendly manner.
How will CertiPUR-US benefi t your company?
• Focuses on current consumer concerns about foam involving health and indoor air quality.
• Provides comfort and confi dence, reassuring consumers about the foam in your sofa.
• Provides a reference source website for your customer service staff. You don’t need an
in-house expert on health regulations and concerns.
• Demonstrates your commitment to a healthy home environment.
Based on a similar program in Europe, CertiPUR-US provides added value to furniture
manufacturers – and eventually consumers — offering peace of mind and answering
questions typically asked by consumers. Hickory Springs is one of several founding
members of the CertiPUR-US program, which was officially introduced in early 2009.
To switch to Hickory Springs’ certifi ed CertiPUR-US foam, call 1.800.438.5341
or visit HickorySprings.com. Also see certipur.us.
CertiPUR-US is a Certifi cation Mark of Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam, Inc.
©2009 Hickory Springs Mfg. Co.

APRIL 2011
InSide
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
Features
18 Is your website lost in the Web?
You’ve poured money and time into your company’s website, but are potential
customers searching the Internet for information and products finding it?
BedTimes explains what you need to know about search engine optimization.
30 Shopping for a new bank
Are you seeking additional financing or refinancing, better credit card rates, more
robust online banking options or other financial services for your small business?
A banking expert walks you through the process of choosing a new financial
institution.
51 Interzum Cologne preview
With Interzum Cologne, the world’s largest home furnishings components
show just a month away, BedTimes gives you a sneak peek of exhibitors in the
International Sleep Products Association’s Bedding Centre and other ISPA
members showing at the fair.
Departments
7 Front Matter
Americans aren’t getting the uninterrupted,
restful sleep they need—
perhaps because almost all of them
are using some type of electronic
device—TV, computer, video game
or cell phone—within an hour of
bedtime at least a few nights a week, a
new poll suggests.
15 Factory Direct
Consumers increasingly use smart
phones to research product features,
compare prices and look for good
deals—all while standing in a store.
How can your factory direct use the
new technology to reach consumers
visiting your showrooms?
5 Editor’s Note
11 Employee Relations
39 Industry News
60 Newsmakers
62 ISPA News
63 ISPA Advocacy
64 Up Close
67 Management
Issues
68 Calendar
69 Classifieds
70 Advertisers Index
72 Last Word
BedTimes | April 2011 | 3

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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Julie A. Palm
571-482-5442
jpalm@sleepproducts.org
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Barbara Nelles
336-856-8973
bnelles@sleepproducts.org
CONTRIBUTORS
J. Tol Broome Jr.
Elaine Dumler
Marty Stanley
Dorothy Whitcomb
ART DIRECTOR
Stephanie Belcher
336-201-7475
stephanie@jimmydog.com
VICE PRESIDENT
OF ADVERTISING SAlES
Kerri Bellias
571-482-5444
kbellias@sleepproducts.org
AD PRODUCTION &
CIRCUlATION mANAGER
Debbie Robbins
571-482-5443
drobbins@sleepproducts.org
COPY EDITOR
Margaret Talley-Seijn
BedTimes deadlines
Editorial deadlines for the Industry
News and Newsmakers sections
of the June issue of BedTimes are
Monday, May 2.
Volume 139 Number 4
BedTimes (ISSN 0893-5556; Permit 047-620)
is published monthly by the International Sleep
Products Association. Periodicals postage paid
in Philadelphia, PA.
Administrative and ISPA offices
501 Wythe St., Alexandria, VA 22314-1917
Phone 703-683-8371; Fax 703-683-4503
Postmaster Send address changes to
BedTimes, 501 Wythe St., Alexandria, VA
22314-1917.
Contents © 2011 by the
International Sleep Products
Association. Reprint permission
obtainable through BedTimes.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
Editor’sNote
Things move quickly
on marketing front
It wasn’t all that long ago that a
broad, well-planned advertising
and marketing campaign included
television spots (if your budget
allowed and market reach required),
radio, newspaper and magazine ads,
and maybe some direct mail.
Then came the Internet and
websites. Then cell phones and text
messages. Then Facebook, Twitter,
smart phones, tablet computers, QR
(or “quick response”) tags… The list
goes on and on.
As I write this, someone somewhere
is creating the next technology
that will dramatically change the
way that you market your products
and reach customers. As quickly as
things are changing, by the time you
read this column, you might be using
that new technology. I exaggerate—but
only a little.
Complicating all of this is how
these new technologies interact
with each other and how consumers
interact with them.
Television, radio, newspapers,
magazines, direct mail—these are
fairly straight-forward media.
You prepare a message for a potential
customer, who then watches,
hears or reads it. The communication
is one-way and relatively isolated.
You might create a multimedia
campaign that crosses all of these
channels, but the potential customer
generally interacts with each one at
a time.
The newer digital media is a
mash-up. Messages are shared across
platforms, and not necessarily by
you.
A consumer may check your
website on a smart phone, tweet
about your brand and then one of
her followers might post a link on
Facebook. Word spreads quickly and
in ways you can’t predict.
Digital media began with the Web
and the Web remains critical to good
marketing efforts. It’s not enough
to have a well-designed, informative
website or even a well-“liked”
Facebook page.
The Web is an increasingly
crowded place and it’s far too easy
to get lost. This month’s cover story
examines the importance of search
engine optimization. (See Page 18.)
A good SEO effort means that
when someone goes looking online
for a mattress, she easily finds your
brand—and a dealer who can sell it
to her.
Sounds simple. In reality, it’s
anything but. In part, that’s because
all of your competitors are trying
to make sure that they are No. 1 in
search engine results, too.
SEO is a complex, quick-
changing field. BedTimes wants to
make sure that you’re keeping up. BT
Julie A. Palm
BedTimes | April 2011 | 5

PATRON: HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES

FrontMatter
Electronics keeping Americans awake
Too little sleep tied to TV, computers, games & phones, poll shows
In the National Sleep Foundation’s
2011 “Sleep in America”
poll, 95% of the 1,508 people
surveyed reported using some type
of electronic device—TV, computer,
video game or cell phone—within
an hour of bedtime at least a few
nights a week.
Poor sleep pervasive
The new poll, released in March,
found that 43% of Americans between
the ages of 13 and 64 say they
rarely or never get a good night’s
sleep on weeknights. And 60% say
they experience a sleep problem—
snoring, waking in the night, waking
up too early or not feeling refreshed
when they get up in the morning—
every day or almost every day.
About two-thirds (63%) of
Americans say their sleep needs
are not being met during the week.
Most say they need about 7½ hours
of sleep to feel their best, but actually
get about six hours and 55 minutes
on average weeknights. Roughly
15% of adults between 19 and 64
and 7% of those 13 to 18 sleep less
than six hours.
In exploring the role of technology
in poor sleep, the poll found that
nearly everyone (95%) is routinely
using some type of electronic device
within that critical hour before
turning in. The survey also identified
important generational differences.
About two-thirds of baby boomers
(67%) and Generation Xers
(63%) and half of Generation Zers
(50%) and Yers (49%) watch TV
every night or almost every night.
Across age groups, roughly six in
10 (61%) say they use their laptops
or computers at least a few nights
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
➤ The generations
Generation Zers - 13-18 years old
Generation Yers - 19-29 years old
Generation Xers - 30-45 years old
Baby boomers - 46-64 years old
a week within an hour before bed.
More than half of Zers (55%) and
slightly fewer Yers (47%) say they
surf the Internet every night or almost
every night within that hour.
Zers (36%) and Yers (28%) are
about twice as likely as Xers (15%)
and boomers (12%) to say they play
a video game within the hour before
bedtime at least a few times a week.
More than one in 10 (14%) Zers
say they do so every night or almost
every night before going to sleep.
“This study reveals that lightemitting
screens are in heavy use
within the pivotal hour before
sleep. Invasion of such alerting
technologies into the bedroom may
contribute to the high proportion
of respondents who reported that
they routinely get less sleep than
they need,” says Dr. Charles Czeisler,
a professor of sleep medicine at
Harvard Medical School and senior
physician at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital’s Division of Sleep Medicine
in Boston.
There’s a significant age gap in
nighttime cell phone use (both texting
and talking). More than half of
Zers (56%) and nearly half of Yers
(42%) say they send, read or receive
text messages every night or almost
every night in the hour before bed,
compared to 15% of Xers and just
5% of baby boomers.
Cell phones also are disturbing
sleep, especially among the young.
About one in 10 Xers (11%) say they
are awakened every night or almost
every night by a phone call, text
BedTimes | April 2011 | 7

FrontMatter
Better sleep tips from the Better Sleep Council
The BeTTer Sleep CounCil, The ConSumer eduCaTion arm of the International Sleep
Products Association, knows the importance of a good night’s sleep to overall
health and well-being. It offers consumers these tips for creating the right
environment for sleep:
1. Make sleep a priority by keeping a consistent sleeping and waking schedule,
including on weekends.
2. Create a bedtime routine that is relaxing. Experts recommend reading a
book, listening to soothing music or soaking in a hot bath.
3. Create a room that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool for the best possible
sleep.
4. Evaluate your mattress and pillow to ensure proper comfort and support. If
your mattress is 5 to 7 years old, it may be time for a new one. In general,
pillows should be replaced every year.
5. Keep work materials, computers and televisions out of the bedroom.
6. Exercise regularly, but complete workouts at least two hours before bedtime.
7. If you sleep with a partner, your mattress should allow each of you enough
space to move easily. A queen mattress is ideal for two people sharing a
mattress.
8. Avoid eating, drinking alcoholic or caffeinated beverages or ingesting
nicotine close to bedtime. These can lead to poor sleep, keep you awake
or disrupt sleep later in the night.
message or email. About one in five
Yers (20%) and Zers (18%) say this
happens at least a few nights a week.
“Over the past 50 years, we’ve
seen how television viewing has
grown to be a near constant before
bed, and now we are seeing new
information technologies such as
laptops, cell phones, video games
and music devices rapidly gaining
the same status,” says Lauren Hale,
associate professor of preventive
medicine at Stony Brook University
Medical Center in Stony Brook, N.Y.
“The higher use of these potentially
more sleep-disruptive technologies
among younger generations may
have serious consequences for physical
health, cognitive development
and other measures of well-being.”
Youngest are sleepiest
The two younger generations are
sleepier than the two older groups,
the poll revealed.
Zers and Yers report more sleepi-
8 | BedTimes | April 2011
ness than both boomers and Xers.
Those 13 to 18 are the sleepiest of
all. Roughly one in five Zers (22%)
and Yers (16%) are “sleepy” using
a standard clinical assessment tool
included in the poll. By comparison,
one in 10 Xers (11%) and baby
boomers (9%) were assessed as
“sleepy.”
Zers sleep an average of seven
hours and 26 minutes on weeknights—about
an hour and 45
minutes less than the nine hours and
15 minutes recommended by experts
for this adolescent group. More than
half of those 13 to 18 (54%) say they
wake up between 5 a.m. and 6:30
➤ Learn more
For more information on the
2011 “Sleep in America” poll,
check the National Sleep
Foundation’s website,
www.sleepfoundation.org.
a.m. on weekdays—compared to
45% of Xers and boomers and 24%
of Yers.
“As children develop into their
teenage years, their bodies are
biologically predisposed toward
later bedtimes,” says Amy Wolfson, a
professor of psychology at the College
of the Holy Cross in Worcester,
Mass., and an expert on adolescent
sleep. “If they are required to get
up before 6:30 a.m. to go to school,
it’s impossible for teens to get the
amount of sleep they need.”
Interestingly, teens and young
adults take the most naps. More
than half of Zers (53%) and Yers
(52%) say they take at least one
nap during the work/school week
compared to about four in 10 Xers
(38%) and boomers (41%).
Effects of sleepiness
Among those whose daily schedules
don’t allow for adequate sleep
(about one-quarter of all survey
participants), it’s their daytime
mood that suffers most. When
evaluating their day after getting too
little sleep, more than eight in 10
(85%) say that it affects their mood.
Almost three-quarters (72%) say it
affects their family life or home responsibilities
and about two-thirds
(68%) say it affects their social life.
For those who are employed
and don’t get adequate sleep, about
three-quarters (74%) of those over
30 say that sleepiness affects their
work. About two-thirds (61%) say
that their intimate or sexual relations
are affected by sleepiness.
Sleepiness also plays a role in
unsafe driving practices. Half of
Yers (50%) say they have driven
while drowsy at least once in the
past month. Four in 10 Xers (40%)
and about a third of Zers (30%) and
boomers (28%) also admit to driving
drowsy at least once a month.
An alarming number—about one
in 10—Xers (12%), Yers (12%) and
Zers (8%) say they drive drowsy
once or twice a week. BT
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

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EmployeeRelations
Reporting for duty: Military is good HR source
Veterans bring
solid skills to
your company
By Elaine Dumler
In recent years, there has been
concern about new employees
coming into the work force who
may lack the loyalty, dedication
and work ethic that employers have
come to expect from earlier generations.
Times may be changing. But
there is an employee base that comes
with many of those values intact—
military personnel.
In this time of economic fragility,
hiring military personnel can help
you save money by reducing recruiting
and training costs. What makes a
veteran such a sought-after employee?
This is what many companies are
finding:
➤ Workers who have served in the
military have a history of commitment—to
themselves, to each other
and to an employer. This sense of
loyalty fosters their need to go above
and beyond when asked to complete
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
a project. They are used to reporting
for work on time and know
the importance of a professional
appearance and demeanor. Military
employees know how to take
responsibility for projects, tasks and
personal actions. They are trained to
see things through to their conclusion.
➤ The military instills other values
that are vital to a thriving business.
These include resiliency, respect,
patience, trust and honesty. Military
personnel have served in an environment
where leadership skills,
such as being highly motivated and
displaying an attitude of dedication,
are mandatory.
➤ Veterans are medically and physically
fit and ready for work, which
translates into fewer sick days and
injuries. They already have been
screened for drugs and were drugfree
while in the service. Members
of the military are trained to remain
calm in the face of stress and to analyze
and evaluate a situation before
reacting. This leads to level-headed
thinking and decision-making.
Veterans arrive with the skills,
personality and understanding to
do a good job but often don’t know
exactly where to put those skills to
work. Caring companies like yours
can help them refine and use their
talents.
Incentives for hiring
The federal government is continually
setting up programs that offer
financial incentives for hiring veterans,
especially wounded or disabled
veterans. These employees may
qualify for job training grants and
special employer incentives. To find
incentives for your business, check
www.va.gov or www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov.
When you employ someone in the
National Guard or military reserves, it
puts you in a unique position. You are
eligible to sign a Statement of Support
that sends a message to the employee
that he doesn’t need to be concerned
about his civilian job while serving.
You may be nominated for awards
given by the Employer Support of the
Guard and Reserve program, which
is designed to recognize employers
for their military employee practices.
These range from the Patriot Award
Certificate of Appreciation to the
prestigious Freedom Awards given
annually by the U.S. Secretary of Defense
to the nation’s most supportive
employers.
Such awards and resulting media
exposure can work for your bottom
line. You can market your company
as one that supports the men and
women who serve their country
through the military.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 11

EmployeeRelations
No small commitment
If you employ members of the
National Guard or military reserves,
you can lose them for a period of
time when they get called up for service.
This, admittedly, can be a huge
burden on a company with a limited
work force.
It takes strong corporate commitment
and organization to be able
to cover the projects and work that
needs to be completed, while holding
open the deployed person’s job
until he returns.
Most employers who make a
commitment to hire those in the
National Guard or reserves are
creative in the ways they extend
support. Often, employers will
provide supplements that make
up the difference between military
and civilian pay, set up programs to
send care packages to their deployed
12 | BedTimes | April 2011
workers and aid the families of deployed
service personnel.
For example, a Colorado police
department had one of its officers
deploy four times. That certainly
created a hardship for the department,
but it didn’t stop the department
from showing support. The
serviceman’s wife was having trouble
making mortgage payments, so the
department took up a collection to
fill the gap until he returned. It set
up a schedule so a different employ-
ee would send a care package every
two weeks. When he returned, he
was welcomed back with a luncheon.
This is an employer who went above
and beyond.
Many companies are enjoying the
advantages of putting our military
veterans and personnel to work.
Why not join them? BT
Elaine Dumler is an author, speaker,
consultant and separations expert
who helps military families transition
through all phases of deployment. Her
books, I’m Already Home: Again and
The Road Home, provide resources and
strategies for deployment and reintegration.
She is committed to helping
veterans get back to work through
www.deploymenttoemployment.com.
For more information, call
303-430-0592 or check
www.imalreadyhome.com.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

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FactoryDirect
When shoppers are armed—with smart phones
How to use the technology to your advantage
By Barbara Nelles
By year-end, it’s expected that
half of all Americans will own
a smart phone. Many of them
will use those phones to research
product features, compare prices
and look for good deals—and they’ll
want to do that while standing in
the mattress showroom of your factory
direct.
STORES magazine has labeled
2011 the year of “searchandizing”
because consumers increasingly
bring technology into the store
with them and are continuing their
research on a store’s products and
doing price comparisons from store
to store on the spot.
The mobile Web—which includes
smart phones, tablets like iPads and
other hand-held devices—is adding
new convenience, a sense of fun and
a mandate for a seamless shopping
experience from home to store to
mobile device.
Mobility also is adding convenience
to the many stages of shopping.
In the “old days,” say 2008, consumers
researched a product online
then went to a brick-and-mortar store
to make a purchase.
“Today’s path to purchase is no
longer centered on the store,” says
Laura Davis-Taylor, vice president of
global retail strategy at Retail Media
Consulting Inc. in Atlanta. “If you
look at how people shop now, there’s
preshopping—online research and
consulting your network. There’s the
in-store experience where you test
the product. There’s the purchase,
whether it’s in-store or online. And
then there’s post-shopping—you get
the product home, use it, reflect on
it and share with your friends and
network your impressions.”
In a panel discussion at the Na-
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
tional Retail Federation’s Big Show
in January, retail consultant Pratik
Pal of Tata Consultancy Services in
New York explained how mobile apps
will allow consumers to merge their
in-store and out-of-store shopping
with a “universal cart” they take with
them wherever they go; help improve
the in-store experience by providing
additional information, product
location and product reviews; provide
more customer relation management
insights; and give new tools to sales
associates.
It’s all very complicated—and getting
more so by the day. But consumers
don’t seem to mind.
In fact, 56% of smart phone owners
say these devices make shopping
more enjoyable, according to a 2010
study by global consultancy Accenture.
A whopping 73% of smart phone
owners would rather use their phone
to handle simple tasks in a store than
interact with an employee.
Many major U.S. retailers have created
their own smart phone apps and
sites. They are feeding shoppers coupons,
recommendations and advice
personalized to a shopper’s preferences
as she walks through a store.
What is a factory direct with only a
handful of locations to do? Consider
arming your employees with handheld
devices, tablets or smart phones
that will enable them to be as knowl-
A whopping 73% of smart
phone owners would rather use
their phone to handle simple
tasks in a store than
interact with an employee.
edgeable and helpful as possible.
In Disney stores, associates are
equipped with a modified iPod Touch,
allowing them to complete transactions
anywhere in the store and assist
shoppers with the entire 5,000 SKU
inventory. At Home Depot, associates
now have hand-held devices that act
as smart phones, walkie-talkies, inventory
management tools and mobile
credit card readers.
At the winter Las Vegas Market,
iPads and smart phones were just
beginning to make supporting-role
appearances in a handful of mattress
manufacturers’ showrooms, with
prototype apps for product education
and brand messaging. Factory directs
can anticipate more mobile support
apps from vendors in the future.
Factory directs can employ QR or
“quick response” codes in
your showrooms. These
graphic barcodes, which
can be deployed on
print materials as well
as screen media, are
beginning to play
an important role
in retailing.
Best Buy has
added them to
every shelf-edge
label. Simmons
Bedding Co. claims
to be the first mattress
major in the
United States to
BedTimes | April 2011 | 15

FactoryDirect
Raising the barcode
Consumers can
scan QR (or
“quick response”)
codes with their
smart phones to
learn more about
products. (This
one from the
Better Sleep Council takes people to episodes
of its ‘Suite 7’ Web series.)
use QR tags on beds. Other mattress
manufacturers using them include
Carolina Mattress Guild, Englander,
Natura World and Therapedic International.
Once the shopper scans a QR
code with her smart phone, she “is
taken to a website or some other
mobile-enabled content and provided
with information the retailer
controls,” writes Jeff Weidauer,
senior vice president of digital
16 | BedTimes | April 2011
shelf-edge services provider Vestcom
International in Little Rock, Ark., in
a blog post at www.retailcustomerexperience.com.
“At the same time,
a retailer can collect information
on the shopper, such as where and
when she scanned the code, how
many codes she scanned and what
actions she may have taken afterward.
Interface this with a retailer’s
loyalty database and the possibilities
for connecting in a meaningful
manner with the best shoppers
become clear.”
Factory directs can encode QR
codes that will allow shoppers to automatically
“like” them on Facebook.
QR codes can take smart phone users
anywhere on the Web you’d like them
to go—to a great customer review
of your brand or an article about
your business in the local paper. QR
code scavenger hunts are a popular
promotional tool. You can hide codes
throughout a store and offer shoppers
prizes or coupons.
You can create your own QR
codes—a relatively easy process. Find
a tutorial on Mashable, http://mashable.com/2010/08/23/how-to-createqr-codes.
“The next generation of smart
phones will be equipped with NFC
(near field communication) chips
that have the potential of storing
loyalty data, coupons and payment
information so we’ll probably stop
carrying around wallets,” says David
Dorf, director of technology for
hardware and software giant Oracle
in a speech at the NRF Big Show.
“The mobile phone will probably
replace our house and car keys, as
well.” BT
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

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Make your
website front,
center—and first
Use the latest search engine
optimization techniques
to help customers find you
18 | BedTimes | April 2011
By Barbara Nelles
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

Is your website—built several years ago and perhaps not frequently
updated—languishing in an undiscovered corner of the World Wide Web? Have you redesigned
your site—filling it with attractive product photos, engaging videos and well-written
content—yet find it’s still being slighted by search engines? Either could be the case,
say experts in the relatively new field of search engine optimization.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
Your website needs the right “front end” and “back end”—source
code, architecture and content—plus regular tuneups to boost
and maintain its popularity in search engine results, SEO experts
say.
Staying current with SEO trends is truly challenging,
even for the experts. Search engine algorithms—the
rules that determine how search engines crawl
the Web and categorize search results—are constantly
being tweaked. As this story was being
written, Google announced major changes to
its algorithm in an effort to downgrade
low-quality websites called “content
farms” from top search results.
Despite the complexity,
there are things business
owners can track and
even implement
themselves.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 19

For instance, your site may not be
showing up in searches if your content
is stale. Many companies rarely update
their sites, yet fresh, original content is
what search engines crave. Make it a priority
to regularly update your site: Post
company news, create new videos, start
a customer forum or blog, and add new
product information or photos.
The goal of any SEO effort is to
Seeking help with SEO
If you’re serIous about the complIcated and ever-changIng process
of search engine optimization, you’ll likely need some
outside help.
Some SEO experts—or just SEOs as they call themselves—are
employees of today’s new breed of Internet
marketing agencies, which offer SEO, search engine marketing,
Web design, content creation and social media
management under one roof. Others are part of a loose
network of specialists who refer work to each other.
“There is a trend toward connected agencies—individuals
or groups of consultants who have partnership
networks with all the right people in these different
functional areas,” says Douglas Karr, chief executive officer
of Indianapolis-based DK New Media LLC, a digital
marketing agency.
Whether the SEO expert is part of a full-service agency
or an individual consultant, be careful about whom you
hire, says Julia Rosien, owner and chief idea officer of
Social North, a social media and search optimization
consultancy in Kitchener, Ontario.
“An SEO company that uses ‘bad guy, black hat’
techniques to improve your rankings can actually harm
your business,” she says. “You need to hire someone who
explains how they work, what works and why.”
“The SEO space and the whole online marketing
world are ripe with a lot of shysters and folks who
aren’t doing a great job,” Karr says. “Beware of the easy
fix—$200 to buy 1,000 backlinks? Just say ‘no’.”
“Recognize that good SEO is ongoing,” Karr adds. “Everything
is constantly changing, from search algorithms
to relevant keywords to competitors’ tactics. If your company
is being solicited by an SEO firm that has a standard
20 | BedTimes | April 2011
boost your site’s ranking in “organic”
search results—the search results that
occur naturally, not via paid-search advertising.
According to a 2011 Forrester
Research study, 85% of major companies
are investing in organic search
engine optimization this year.
Jill Whalen, chief executive officer of
High Rankings LLC, an SEO and search
engine marketing company based in
Ashland, Mass., says that organic SEO is
“simply making your website the best it
can be for your users and search engines.”
“You want to make your pages the
best ones for those search queries that
relate to what you offer,” she says. “If
you do that, search engines will have no
choice but to show your pages in the top
results because of their mission to show
the best to their users.”
SEO done wrong is thinking too
much about what search engines “like”
and ignoring the needs of real people—
that can ruin a visitor’s experience at
your site and even make it unreadable.
SEO done right will rapidly show
results with improved search placement,
says Julia Rosien, owner and chief idea
officer of Social North, a social media
and search optimization consultancy in
Kitchener, Ontario.
“But it takes three to six months for
project fee where they’ll optimize your site for a set fee
and walk away, you may want to rethink the investment.”
Karr recommends a subscription model rather than a
one-time fee.
“It can range from $1,000 to $10,000 a month and a
lot gets done in those first few months,” he says. “If done
right, you start seeing results within 90 days. So rather
than spending $50,000 upfront for an SEO project, the
consultant proves his worth and you decide whether to
keep renewing.”
SEOmoz, a Seattle-based developer of SEO software,
offers an extensive list of SEO consultants in the United
States and abroad on its website, www.seomoz.org/
marketplace/companies/recommended.
Google Webmaster Central, a Google site with tips
and tools for webmasters at www.google.com/
webmasters, suggests using these screening questions
when hiring an SEO consultant:
➤ Can you show me examples of your previous work
and share some success stories?
➤ Do you follow Google’s webmaster guidelines?
➤ Do you offer any online marketing services or advice
to complement your organic search business?
➤ What kind of results do you expect to see and in what
time frame? How do you measure your success?
➤ What’s your experience in my industry?
➤ What’s your experience in my country/city?
➤ What’s your experience developing international sites?
➤ What are your most important SEO techniques?
➤ How long have you been in business?
➤ How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you
share with me all the changes you make to my site and
provide detailed information about your recommendations
and the reasoning behind them?
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

The social side of SEO
search engIne optImIzatIon Is gettIng more socIal by the day, experts say. Search engines
are tuned into chatter. They “see” all the people who talk about and
link to your website and use the information to gauge your site’s
popularity and importance to searchers.
“I combine SEO efforts with very specific, targeted social media
marketing or what I call ‘social validation’,” says Bill Hartzer, director
of SEO at the Dallas-based Internet marketing agency Standing
Dog. “It’s that human SEO factor that the search engines have been
looking to include in their algorithms for a very long time.”
In fact, if your company can’t afford an SEO overhaul and ongoing
monitoring, the next best thing is to grab your keyword list and
get more involved in social media, writes Kiran Bista in an article,
“Nonprofessional SEO for Small Business,” at Search Engine Journal
(www.searchenginejournal.com).
“In social media, mirror the keywords and phrases used on your website and
you’ll get served up first by search engines,” says Julia Rosien, owner and chief
idea officer of Social North, a social media and search optimization consultancy
in Kitchener, Ontario.
“Going social” will improve your company’s online visibility because “Google
is nothing more than a popularity contest,” explains Douglas Karr, chief executive
officer of Indianapolis-based DK New Media LLC, a digital marketing agency.
“Your site’s popularity used to be all about how many backlinks it had. Now
it’s starting to be about social,” he says. “So get the Facebook page up, interact
with bloggers, start tweeting. Google wants to put the most popular ‘person’ at
the top of the search engine results page.”
Karr continues: “As a mattress manufacturer, I might sponsor or participate in
a range of conferences—even a wedding-planning conference—to get related
bloggers and other commentators talking about my company and linking to me.”
“Social media can help get the word out about your website and its ‘amazingness,’
which in turn can help get links pointing to it,” says Jill Whalen, chief
executive officer of High Rankings LLC, an SEO and search engine marketing
company based in Ashland, Mass. “This means, however, that you really do have
to have something worth linking to.”
Rosien adds a word of warning: “Social media requires a commitment from
your company, otherwise your dormant Twitter account or empty Facebook page
will look like a failed project sitting in your front yard. You don’t want abandoned
accounts to be what greets people the first time they encounter you online.”
keyword campaigns to show sustainable
results, where you can see and understand
traffic patterns and decide what
needs tweaking,” she says.
“It’s not about getting on the first
page of search results—it’s about getting
into the top three results in organic
searches for at least some of your site’s
keywords,” says Douglas Karr, chief
executive officer of Indianapolis-based
DK New Media LLC, a digital marketing
agency. “Consumers are lazy. The first
result gets up to 80% of all clicks.”
Being at the bottom of Page 1 is not
being search optimized.
In the bedding industry, it’s not just
22 | BedTimes | April 2011
retailers and mattress manufacturers
who need to be search optimized in order
to reach ultimate consumers, Rosien
says. It’s component suppliers, too.
“With SEO, you can help raise
awareness about your features and benefits,
educate the public and stimulate
demand among retailers and consumers
for your products,” she says.
<strong>Getting</strong> started
Launching an SEO project is time intensive—and
it can be expensive. To start,
learn a little about search optimization,
beginning with some additional readings
and free online tools and tutorials.
(See story on Page 24.)
“Understand that search engines are
a little bit dumb,” Karr says. “They need
our help understanding what we’re talking
about and finding our sites.”
To get a taste of how search engines
“see” your website, try an instant SEO
assessment. Go to WooRank
(www.woorank.com) or Website
Grader (http://websitegrader.com) and
paste in your website’s URL.
How many pages of your site do
Google and Yahoo index? How many
external links point to your website?
What is its Google PageRank?
You can download an SEO tool bar
that allows you to view and compare the
SEO of every Web page you visit. (See
story on Page 24.)
There are many SEO audit checklists
available online.
“Just Google it and print one out,”
says Bill Hartzer, director of SEO at the
Dallas-based Internet marketing agency
Standing Dog. “They tell you all the
different things you need to look at. If
you have the time, you can learn to do
it yourself—or you can pay someone to
audit your site, usually for between $500
to $2,500 for a full audit.”
“Regardless of whether you do SEO
in-house or outsource it, you will have
to be a big part of the process,” Whalen
says. “You can’t just hire an SEO company
and have them do things on your
Many companies rarely update
their sites, yet fresh, original content
is what search engines crave.
behalf. SEO just doesn’t work that way.”
An audit may reveal that your site
isn’t coded correctly, Hartzer says.
“Many companies have greatlooking
websites that simply aren’t
being found by search engines,” he says.
“Technical issues and coding need to be
addressed by an expert.”
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

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Keyword development
If a website audit shows that the usability
and architecture of your site are
technically sound, then the next step in
an SEO effort is to develop a list of core
keywords and phrases.
Rosien recommends that you outsource
keyword research.
“Find someone outside your business
with a track record of success,
then be prepared to sit down and work
closely with that person,” she says.
Hartzer explains: “Sometimes a business
owner is too close to the product
and they need an outside person. A
good SEO (expert) will do research
related to how people talk about your
product or service and come up with a
list of maybe 100 or more keywords and
phrases. Then, they’ll work with you to
➤ To learn more
24 | BedTimes | April 2011
narrow down that list.”
Bear in mind that different audiences
may have different ways of thinking
about and describing your products and
services, the experts say. Your keywords
need to reflect the way people talk about
BedTimes
and search for your products. Include
your trademarked brands and product
names, but don’t be overly brandcentric.
Many potential customers will
be doing broader searches and you need
to target customers who aren’t looking
for you.
Reading
➤ Jennifer Kyrnin’s “95 Tips & Tricks for Powerful Search Engine
Optimization” article at About.com,
http://webdesign.about.com/od/seo/tp/seo_tips_and_tricks.htm
➤ Bill Hartzer’s “Social Media Informer” news aggregator,
www.socialmediainformer.com
➤ Douglas Karr’s “Marketing Tech Blog,” www.marketingtechblog.com
➤ Jill Whalen’s “High Rankings Advisor” newsletter, www.highrankings.com
➤ George Aspland’s “8 Necessary SEO Steps During a Website Redesign”
article on Search Engine Land, http://searchengineland.com/8-necessaryseo-steps-during-a-website-redesign-65470
➤ SEOmoz’s “Beginner’s Guide to SEO,” http://guides.seomoz.org/
beginners-guide-to-search-engine-optimization
➤ Google’s “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide” (type title into
Google search engine and download the PDF)
Tools
➤ Download an SEO extension for your Web browser—
➤ Firefox – SEO Toolbar, www.seobook.com/seo-toolbar
➤ Chrome – Chrome SEO, https://chrome.google.com/extensions
➤ Internet Explorer – SEMToolBar,
www.bruceclay.com/web_rank.htm#semtoolbar
➤ Download the “SEO Audit Checklist” at LunaMetrics,
http://www.lunametrics.com/blog/2010/08/24/seo-audit-checklist
➤ List your site at the Open Directory Project, www.dmoz.org, and the
Yahoo Directory, http://dir.yahoo.com
➤ Sign up for Google Webmaster Tools to receive site performance and
analysis tools and notifications, www.google.com/webmasters
Training
➤ Take SEObook’s free seven-day training course,
www.seobook.com/free-account
➤ Attend the Search Marketing Expo SMX, held in cities around the world,
http://searchmarketingexpo.com
Some people may be using search
terms that you don’t regularly use to
describe your products, Rosien says.
For instance, a latex provider ought to
be aware that many people may search
“foam” instead of “latex.”
“In developing keyword lists, you
have to understand the stages customers
go through while shopping,” Hartzer
says. “There are certain keywords they’ll
search when they know little about your
product and, as their knowledge progresses,
their terminology will progress.”
When researching a keyword list,
start with Google Adwords’ Keyword
Tool (https://adwords.google.com.
You’ll need to create a Google account
to log in. There you can type in the
words and phrases that best describe
your products and services and you’ll
get a slew of recommendations and
search statistics on the terms. (Whalen
offers this tip when using the tool: To
see the most useful results for each keyword
you search, select “Exact” under
“Match Types,” not “Broad.”)
If you already do pay-per-click paid
search campaigns with Google Adwords
(the Bing/Yahoo version is called Ad-
Center), the program’s tracking features
allow you to assess which words and
phrases have brought the most traffic
to your site. Be sure to include the best
pay-per-click keywords and phrases
in your core keyword list for organic
search optimization.
“The hardest part is choosing
phrases,” Whalen says. “If you choose
phrases that are too competitive (too
many others have optimized for them),
you may not stand a chance to rank for
them unless you’re a huge brand. But if
you choose those keywords that nobody
searches for, while you may rank for
them, you won’t receive any traffic.”
“A few years ago you could rank for
the word ‘mattress,’ but now it’s so saturated
you have to look for the long-tail
keywords,” Rosien says.
A long-tail keyword is a word or
phrase of any length that gets a small
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

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amount of search traffic—but it’s valuable,
targeted traffic.
“Find the relevant terms that work
for you—perhaps some of them have
only 25 searches a month,” Karr says.
“It’s possible that an SEO effort will not
increase actual traffic to your site. But
if they drive meaningful visits to your
site—visitors who download your information,
sign up for your newsletter or
make contact with you—that’s all that
matters.”
Uncover the right long-tail keywords
using suggestions in the Adwords
Keyword Tool. Also, in a regular Google
search, use the “Wonder Wheel” and
“Related Searches” links for more
keyword ideas. After you click “Search”
click on the “More Search Tools” dropdown
menu on the left-hand side of the
screen.
“The reason most companies
can’t get SEO to work for them is
because they’re shooting for much too
competitive keywords,” Whalen says.
“Big brands with a lot of marketing
dollars can target highly competitive
keywords, but small companies have
to be more strategic in the keywords
they choose.”
Try to devise a list of unique yet
relevant keyword combinations, Karr
says. A mattress manufacturer may
want to target health-related phrases
like “bad back” and “back pain,” not
just mattress terminology.
“Mattress manufacturers ought to
be generous and share new productrelated
keyword lists with their retailers,”
Rosien says. “In a consumer’s
local search for a mattress, a manufacturer
shouldn’t rank above their retailers
in the search engine results page.
So, when you roll out new product
content and metadata to your site, roll
it out to retailers, too.”
More ‘on-page’ fixes
In addition to optimizing the site content,
there are other “on-page” factors
that must be optimized in a successful
SEO effort, writes Stoney deGeyter,
president and chief executive officer of
Canton, Ohio-based Pole Position Marketing,
in an article for Search Engine
Guide (www.searchengineguide.com),
“15 Questions That Will Change the
Way You Think About SEO Forever.”
26 | BedTimes | April 2011
“It’s not about
getting on the first
page of search
results—it’s about
getting into the top
three results in
organic searches for
at least some of your
site’s keywords.
Consumers are lazy.
The first result
gets up to 80% of
all clicks.’
The “title” tag, part of your site’s
HTML source code, is most important
of all. Does each page on your site
have a descriptive, unique and keyword-rich
title tag optimized for that
particular page? (To see your website’s
title tags, right click on any Web
page in your browser and select “View
Source.” You’ll see all the code behind
the page. The title is the text enclosed
within the HTML tags “” and
“.”)
“If you get nothing else right, get
the title right,” deGeyter says. “That
alone can work wonders in helping to
get your pages to rank in the search
results.”
About the search engines
“Internal linking” also is very
important. It increases SEO and
improves the usability of your site
for visitors. If there is more information
available to the reader at another
page on your site, link to it. Make
sure the “anchor text” in your link (it
will normally appear underlined and
highlighted in blue) is a keywordrich
descriptor like “How to shop for
a mattress.” Don’t use a phrase like
“click here.”
‘Link building’
“Once your own site is in good shape,
you turn to ‘off-page’ factors of SEO
and that includes backlinks—links
from other Web pages to yours,”
Hartzer says.
“Link building” or “linking campaigns”
are the backbone of SEO
because search engines want to give
searchers the most popular sites for
particular search terms.
To see who is linking to your site,
paste your website URL into Open Site
Explorer (www.opensiteexplorer.org).
Whenever it makes sense for your site’s
content and purpose, ask manufacturing
partners, customers and others to
link to your website.
But beware of unethical link
building techniques such as purchasing
links from low-quality websites
called content and “link” farms. Major
retailers JCPenney and Overstock.com
were among two major retailers recently
singled out for employing such
techniques. As a result, Google pushed
them way down in search rankings for
many product search terms. BT
hItwIse.com estImates that google captured 72% of the U.S. Internet search market
in 2010, Yahoo had 14% and Microsoft’s Bing had 10%.
Bing’s market share is climbing steadily in the United States and some
smart phone and computer operating systems now come bundled with Bing
as the default search engine. In North America, Bing’s search algorithm also
powers Yahoo, and the two are often referred to as Bing/Yahoo.
Searches in Google and Bing/Yahoo yield slightly different results. Good
search engine optimization experts will take that into account.
“For instance, Google has placed tremendous importance on integrating
video in search results while Bing/Yahoo has an enormous relationship with
Facebook,” says Douglas Karr, chief executive officer of Indianapolis-based
DK New Media LLC, a digital marketing agency.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

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There’s a lot to talk about in the GSG booth at Interzum...
The Galkin EFS-100 semi-automatic
serger/flanger utilizes an automatic
turning arm and air flotation table for
easy, precise mattress-panel flanging.
The GSG space will be bigger than ever with
nearly 40 pieces of equipment, including over a dozen machines
never shown in our booth at Interzum.
Gribetz International will display the most diverse lineup of quilters ever shown at one time in the world!
The Mattress Master Elite is the world’s most advanced semi-automatic
tape edge machine. A wide range of product sizes can be assembled and the
unique radial turning arm provides the smoothest turning movement.
interzum
cologne 25 – 28. 05. 2011
GSG Stand C-020, Hall 9.1
Look for the most current
show updates at our blog,
www.GSGexpo.com.

See the ingenuity of Naehtec – this
new zipper machine splits your border,
inserts a zipper and folds the material in
place to hide the zipper from view.
The PALS 2000 automatic border label
sewing machine improves sewing
quality, frees operators to multi-task
and it’s very affordable!
GSG will have about a dozen machines
focused on border production, including
several new machines designed for
high-fashion borders like these.
...but the thing they’ll talk about the
most will be our newest innovation,
debuting in an exclusive, sealed room.
Contact your local GSG representative for
your personal demonstration.
800-326-4742 954-846-0300 www.GSGcompanies.com
A masterpiece of efficiency –
the GS-15A flat goods cutter, from
Gateway Systems, is capable of handling
increasingly popular “stretch” materials.
See the easiest method to create ruffled pillowtops using the Porter
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A bank you
can bank on
30 | BedTimes | April 2011
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

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Now is a good time
for small businesses
to make a switch
By J. Tol Broome Jr.
One of the myths arising from the economic downturn is
that banks have lost interest in lending to small businesses.
The fact is that many banks are actively looking for opportunities
to develop new client relationships.
The primary cause of the Great Recession was that the huge housing
bubble burst. In most areas of the country, developers overbuilt,
residential real estate values plummeted and foreclosures reached
record levels. As a result, banks are stuck with the residue (i.e., slowmoving
housing inventory). As they work to reduce real estate exposure,
banks are looking for other profitable sectors and a key focus
for many is the small business arena.
A recent article in the online business journal The Street
(www.thestreet.com) described the availability of small business
loans as “ample” and said, “banks are expanding small business operations
to drum up new business.”
Despite evidence to the contrary, many business owners remain
skeptical about the willingness of banks to lend. Some have been
declined for loans, while others may feel neglected by their current
banker.
If you count your business in either of these groups—or if you aren’t
sure your bank is equipped to grow with you—now is the time to consider
finding a new bank for your business.
Here are tips for seeking a new bank:
1
Ask for input The first step is to see what options are available.
Even the smallest towns typically offer several banking options.
Start with a Web search of banks in the area to determine what
each offers. Talk with your attorney and accountant to see which banks
they would recommend as a good fit for your business. Another great
source of information is other business owners, who can share experiences
they have had with various banks.
As you talk with other professionals and business owners, ask if they
would be willing to introduce you to bankers. Lawyers and accountants
typically deal with several banks and other business owners often have a
close relationship with their own bankers. A warm referral is better than
a cold call when meeting a banker for the first time.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 31

2Avoid problem banks While
you’re conducting your research,
check out the financial health of
the banks you’re considering.
One of the unfortunate consequences
of the collapse of the real estate market
has been a dramatic increase in bank
failures nationwide. In 2008, there were
several well-publicized failures of large
banks, including Washington Mutual,
Indy Mac and investment bank Lehman
Brothers, but they were just the tip of
the iceberg. In 2009 and 2010, more
than 300 U.S. banks failed—a staggering
number. And the current list of “sick”
banks is reported to be in excess of 500.
A troubled bank tends to be inwardly
focused and many must shrink their
loan portfolios to meet required capital
levels, detracting from client service.
How can you find out if a bank is in
trouble? First, see if the institution received
money from the federal Troubled
Asset Relief Program and whether or
not it has been repaid. Unpaid TARP
funding doesn’t necessarily portend
problems, but it is something to consider
in your decision-making. Second,
because many banks are publicly traded,
you should be able to obtain the latest
10-Q information reflecting the bank’s
financial performance. Recurring losses,
low capital levels and a shrinking balance
sheet could indicate significant
problems.
3Check your personal credit
rating If you are a small business
owner, a bank will consider you
and your business alter egos and your
personal credit rating will be closely
scrutinized by a new financial institution.
If you don’t pay your personal bills
on time, the banker will assume that
you will be late paying business obligations,
as well.
Credit scores are computed by three
primary credit agencies: Equifax, Experian
and Trans-Union—all can easily
be checked online. Find out your personal
credit score before you get too far
down the path of seeking a new bank.
The higher the credit score, the
better. The average score in the United
States is 693. Credit scores are determined
by five weighted factors: timeliness
of bill payment (35%), outstanding
credit (30%), length of time the credit
32 | BedTimes | April 2011
has been active (15%), types of credit
(10%) and acquisition of new credit
(10%).
If your score is low, it may be because
of inaccuracies. If you find mistakes, the
Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the
right to dispute or explain them. Even
if there are no mistakes that cause your
score to be low, you can strengthen it
over time by focusing on improving the
five score components.
4Focus on cash flow If your credit
score is solid, your next area of
focus should be cash flow. Banks
won’t loan money unless you can
demonstrate an ability to repay it—and
small business loans are repaid primarily
from cash flow.
Virtually every business suffered cash
flow problems during the prolonged
recession. Some companies failed, while
others struggled to survive. The fact that
you’re still in business provides some
proof of the resiliency of your venture.
A net profit is the best proof of
positive cash flow, but there are other
factors on which to focus. Not only do
the inflows of the business need to cover
all expenses, they also must meet all
debt payments, as well as increases in
inventory and accounts receivable not
financed by trade payables.
If your cash flow has been negative
and you have been forced to use personal
resources or support from outside
investors to keep the doors open, don’t
give up on finding a new bank. Analyze
your business for potential cost savings,
debt retirement and inventory reductions
to improve cash flow. A wellsupported
analysis that demonstrates
positive future cash flow as the economy
improves could be the difference between
a “yes” and a “no” if you seek new
financing or refinancing.
5Put it in writing While it may not
be necessary to write a full-blown
business plan, you should provide
a synopsis of your business and the
financial services you seek, particularly
if loans are involved.
The introduction should include a
history of the business (longevity and
reputation mean a lot to bankers), a list
of major milestones, background and
experience of the owners/key management
and an explanation of the ownership
structure. Following the introduction,
include an analysis of your market
and major competitors and explain
what makes your business stand out. A
SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats) can be an
excellent way to present this information
concisely.
If, like most businesses, you have
been through a difficult period financially
in recent years, explain how your
company has survived and what you are
focusing on to improve performance.
This is a good place to summarize your
cash flow analysis.
Finally, you should outline the
financial services you seek. If you are
requesting a loan (even if it’s a refinance
of existing bank debt), explain the terms
you’re requesting and how the loan will
improve your business. Bankers like to
see specifics—it demonstrates that the
owner has a good understanding of the
impact of debt.
6Be an open book Along with
your narrative, a banker is going
to want to see financial records.
Expect to provide at least three years
of accountant-prepared financial
statements or tax returns for the
business, as well as current personal
financial statements and tax returns
for the owners. If you have interim financial
statements (i.e., for the three-
or six-month period following your
fiscal year-end), include them. As the
economy continues to recover, your
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interim financial information is likely
to reflect corresponding improvement
in your company’s performance. This
will help build your case.
Be prepared to provide additional
information as requested by the banker
as part of a loan application process.
Follow-up information might include
schedules of accounts receivable, inventory
and accounts payable; checking
account statements; and asset appraisals.
7Ask about SBA loans The U.S.
Small Business Administration
guaranteed loan program is used
by many banks to extend financing that
otherwise might be considered marginal
or even unacceptable. The way the program
works is the bank extends the loan
directly to the business with the SBA
providing a guaranty for a percentage
of the loan—as high as 85% for loans
of $150,000 or less. The program has
been expanded by the federal government
to cover higher loan amounts (up
to $5 million), reduce fees on a temporary
basis and allow more flexibility in
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34 | BedTimes | April 2011
A. Lava & Son Co.
Introduces Our New Kit Line
Value Line
refinancing existing debt.
An SBA-guaranteed loan might be
the best option for your business. A
small business can qualify for a loan
even with insufficient collateral, as
long as cash flow can be documented
to cover repayment. And the allowable
loan terms are longer than those typically
available for conventional loans.
For instance, an equipment loan can be
extended for as long as 10 years, compared
to five to seven years for conventional
financing.
You will need to do some homework
to find out which local banks participate
in the SBA program. Rankings are
published and can be found online. You
also can contact the SBA directly and ask
for a list of banks in your market. To learn
more about the SBA, check www.sba.gov.
8Become a multiservice client
Just as you seek to cross-sell
as many products and services
as you can to your customers, banks
focus on multiservice client relationships
in their business develop-
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ment efforts.
In addition to loans and deposits,
many banks offer dozens of financial
services, including credit cards,
debit cards, cash management,
online banking and automatic bill
pay. Some banks offer trust services,
plan administration (such as 401k),
brokerage and investments. Others
sell insurance. Your new bank will
want the opportunity to work with
your business and with you personally.
The more services you are willing
to buy from your new bank, the
stronger relationship you will have.
Many banks are hungry to
establish new small business relationships.
Now might be the right
time to find a new financial services
provider for your business. BT
J. Tol Broome Jr. has spent nearly 30
years working in commercial lending
at various financial institutions and
currently is an executive vice president
and manager of the Specialized Lending
Group at BB&T.
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IndustryNews
Culp reports overall sales dip; mattress segment up
The high PoinT, n.C.-based TexTile suPPlier CulP inC. reported net
sales for the third quarter of its fiscal 2011 were $51.7 million,
a 4.3% decline over the prior-year period. Sales in the
mattress fabric segment totaled $28 million, an increase of
3.9% over $27 million in third-quarter fiscal 2010. Upholstery
fabrics sales were down 12.5%.
The company’s fiscal third-quarter ended Jan. 30.
“Our mattress fabrics business has continued to deliver
a consistent performance,” said Frank Saxon, Culp chief executive
officer. “Sales were higher compared with a strong
third-quarter period in fiscal 2010, even with the discontinuation
of a product line since a year ago. On a comparable
basis, we are pleased with the favorable sales trends in our
continuing product lines, which were up 8%.”
Saxon said profitability for the third quarter was negatively
affected by higher raw material costs and noted that
the company doesn’t expect improvement in global pricing
trends for raw materials in the near term.
Still, he said, the future of Culp’s mattress fabric segment
looks good.
“We have continued to enhance our capabilities in mattress
fabrics and Culp is well positioned with a large and
modern, vertically integrated manufacturing platform in the
major decorative product categories. We have substantially
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
improved upon our supply logistics from pattern inception
to fabric delivery,” Saxon said. “With the completion
in the second quarter of our multiyear, $45 million capital
investment initiatives, we are now more focused on product
development and sales and marketing initiatives.”
The company reported net income of $2.4 million, or
$0.18 per diluted share, for its third quarter, compared to
net income of $3 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the
third quarter of fiscal 2010. On a pretax basis, the company
reported income of $2.9 million compared with pretax
income of $3.8 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
Culp said it strengthened its financial position during the
third quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments
building to $22.8 million. Total debt was $11.6 million.
“Given the continued macroeconomic challenges in
the U.S. and increased raw material costs we experienced,
we are pleased with our results for the third quarter, even
though they are down from last year’s strong third-quarter
performance,” Saxon said. “For the year-to-date period, our
sales and profitability are up over the prior year and we
continued to report solid returns on our capital. Further, our
net cash position is the highest in the company’s history,
which is enabling us to pursue an aggressive growth strategy
during these challenging times.”
Select Comfort: Fourth-quarter sales rise 9%
Airbed manufacturer and retailer
Select Comfort, with headquarters
in Minneapolis, reported net sales of
$148.7 million for the fourth quarter of
2010, an increase of 9% over the same
quarter in 2009. The increase was driven
by a 12% increase in same-store sales,
offset by the impact of the closure of 24
stores in 2010.
Net income for the quarter was $7.1
million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared
to net income of $35.3 million, or
$0.69 per diluted share, in the prior-year
period.
Operating income increased by 53%
to $11.5 million. Operating margin rose
220 basis points to 7.7%.
Gross profit margins increased 10
basis points, from 62.9% in the prioryear
period to 63% in fourth-quarter
2010. The company said the increase
reflects a relatively stable cost structure
and channel mix when compared to
2009.
Sales and marketing costs in the
fourth quarter increased 6% to $68.6
million, representing 46.1% of net
sales. This compares to $64.8 million,
or 47.5% of net sales in the prior-year
period.
Net sales for all of 2010 totaled $606
million, an increase of 11% over 2009.
Net income for 2010 was $31.6 million,
or $0.57 per diluted share, compared to
net income of $35.6 million, or $0.77
per diluted share in 2009.
Cash flow from operating activities
was $71 million for 2010. This compares
to $67 million, including a $26 million
tax refund, for full-year 2009. At year-
end, cash and cash equivalents totaled
$81 million as compared to $18 million
at 2009 year-end. During the year, the
company had no borrowings under its
revolving credit agreement.
“Our fourth-quarter and full-year
performance demonstrate consistent
execution against a focused set of priorities,
as well as solid progress against our
profit and sales growth goals,” said Bill
McLaughlin, Select Comfort president
and chief executive officer. “We are
particularly pleased we have continued
to increase profit margins and grow
faster than the industry as we lapped
tougher year-over-year comparisons.
As we move into 2011, we’re confident
we’ve built a solid financial and operational
platform from which to accelerate
growth and improve market share.”
BedTimes | April 2011 | 39

IndustryNews
Amerigon offering climate-control technology
Interzum Preview
Amerigon, based in Northfield,
Mich., will showcase its Climate
Control Sleep System technology at
the Interzum Cologne May 25-28 in
Cologne, Germany.
The system will available for sale to
non-North American mattress manu-
40 | BedTimes | April 2011
facturers. It’s based on the same technology
used in more than 8 million
automotive seats worldwide and is
the same thermo-electronic technology
used in the YûMê bed that is sold
exclusively through Houston-based
sleep shop chain Mattress Firm.
The heating and cooling technol-
ogy employs a low-noise, solid-state
heat pump with integrated convection
to blow conditioned air through the
mattress via proprietary air-distribution
methods. The system allows sleeping
partners to maintain independent temperature
control of their side of the bed.
The Climate Control Sleep System
is ideal for warm or cold climates, the
company said. Because it creates a microclimate
within the bed, it can lead
to significant energy savings in home
heating and cooling.
The technology also has an “optimized
footprint,” making it compatible
with innerspring, all-foam and
adjustable beds.
Short
Bedding sales up in January
Beginning the year on an up
note, unit sales (mattresses
and foundations) rose 3.4% in
January 2011
when compared
to the
same month
in 2010,
according to
the Bedding
Barometer,
a monthly
report of U.S. mattress sales activity
produced by the International
Sleep Products Association.
The wholesale dollar value
of the units was up 3.3% over
2010. The average unit selling
price dipped 0.1%.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

Bodet & Horst stresses stretch with new knit
Interzum Preview
Mattress fabric supplier Bodet
& Horst, with headquarters
in Elterlein, Germany, will feature
its new Bielastic Comfort Streeetch
fabrics at Interzum Cologne May
25-28 in Cologne, Germany. Bi-
Shorts
Transfer Master aids veterans
After sponsoring a Valentine’s
Day Sweetheart Contest for
veterans of wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, adjustable bed
maker Transfer Master Products
announced two winners of
adjustable beds: Army veteran
Donald Gene Swiney Sr. of
Fort Rucker, Ala., who served
during the first Gulf War, and
Army veteran William Owens
of Largo, Fla., who has done
two tours of duty in Iraq. The
contest was promoted on the
Postville, Iowa-based company’s
Facebook page and blog,
where spouses, sweethearts,
family members and others
explained why their loved ones
deserved a new bed. Winners
were announced on “The Jim
Bohannon Show” syndicated
radio program. The company
said nominations were so compelling,
it decided to award two
grand prizes.
Bodet & Horst has new number
Mattress fabric supplier Bodet
& Horst USA, which recently
relocated to Greensboro, N.C.,
has a new office phone number,
336-510-4255. Karsten
Siewert, Bodet & Horst vice
president of sales and marketing,
continues to be available
via his cell phone at
336-710-0194.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
elastic is inspired by nonconstricting
athletic apparel that provides
freedom of movement in every
direction.
The highly elastic double-jersey
knit provides comfort, high performance
and adaptability to the
body, the company said. It has 50%
stretch side to side and longitudinally,
with “a permanent restoring
force.”
Bielastic has been tested at Germany’s
Textile Research Institute
Thuringia-Vogtland.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 41

IndustryNews
GSG unveiling ‘most radical machine’ at Interzum
Interzum Preview
To satisfy the trend of optimizing
production efficiency, Sun-
and overhead costs.”
“This newest innovation has been
in stealth development for over two
The machine, dubbed the V16, will
debut at Interzum Cologne May 25-28
in Cologne, Germany. Demonstrarise,
Fla.-based machinery supplier years,” the company said in a news tions will be held in an enclosed room
Global Systems Group and its Gribetz release. “The advanced design is the in the GSG booth, Hall 9.1, Stand
International division have created “a most radical machine since GSG C020. To schedule a time to see the
unique machine designed for high- introduced the Gribetz Axiom nearly V16 at Interzum, check
speed production that reduces labor 10 years ago.”
www.gsgcompanies.com.
GSG is keeping many details
about the V16 under wraps until In-
w w w . s t a r s p r i n g s . c o m | w w w . s t a r s p r i n g s . c o m | w w w . s t a r s p r i n g s . c o m
terzum. It said its field tests indicate
the new machine can “operate at
speeds nearly twice as fast as average
equipment of its kind.” In addition,
the machine has a simplified
operating system to reduce labor,
parts and maintenance requirements
and features uniquely designed parts
Always in the zone
and assemblies to reduce “nonvalue
added touches,” GSG said.
ActiveZone
42 | BedTimes | April 2011
Don’t forget to visit us
at Interzum 2011
Cologne 25.05-28.05
You will find us in hall
10.1 B-044
w w w . s t a r s p r i n g s . c o m
SWEDEN BRASIL POLAND
ActiveTM
Z O N E
p o c k e t
A D V A N C E D
Short
ComforPedic dazzles at Oscars
Hollywood celebrities
could
test Simmons
Bedding Co.’s
ComforPedic
memory foam
mattresses and pillows during
2011 Academy Award festivities
in February. The products were
featured in the lounge at the W
Hotel in Hollywood, visited by
Oscar nominees and presenters.
Celebrities who stopped by
received a ComforPedic Free
Spirit pillow; select Oscar presenters
received ComforPedic
Mystic bed sets. “We wanted
to get the ComforPedic brand
in front of an exclusive group
of people in a big way,” said
Scott Smalling, president of the
Atlanta-based mattress maker’s
Specialty Sleep Division. “This
was a fun opportunity to share
ComforPedic mattresses and pillows
with a new audience.”
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

Sleep is a natural process,
enjoy it, now and for ever!
We would like to welcome you at
our booths during interzum 2011
Please visit us at G-026, G-059 and H-059 in Hall 10.2
and discover the future of mattress fabrics and DesleeClama solutions!
REB RN
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by desleeclama

IndustryNews
White Lotus hosts eco-friendly anniversary
White Lotus Home, a domestic
manufacturer, retailer and
distributor of hand-crafted natural and
organic mattresses, pillows, bedding and
hardwood furniture, is celebrating its
30th anniversary with a three-day Earth
Weekend festival.
The event will draw attention to the
44 | BedTimes | April 2011
importance of caring for the planet and
being environmentally responsible, said
the Highland Park, N.J.-based company.
The festival kicks off April 8 with
an event called Earth Hands: Highland
Park. Hundreds of community members
will be recruited to form a human
chain through Highland Park and share
an eco-conscious message.
The next day the public is invited to
a daylong “green” products expo at the
company’s Highland Park facility and
store.
Consumer advocate and author
Debra Lynn Dadd, whom The New York
Times once described as “the Queen of
Green,” will deliver a keynote address.
There will be tastings of organic food
and wine and displays of organic
products, as well as educational sessions,
crafts and a petting zoo.
On April 10, the company will host
an art exhibit with organic-themed
artwork available for sale from various
local artists.
“For the past 30 years, White Lotus
Home has provided natural and
organic bedding and home furnishing
products, which have helped ‘change
the world while you sleep’, ” said Marlon
Pando, White Lotus Home owner
and president. “Our goal during the
anniversary celebration is to inspire
awareness and appreciation for the
earth’s natural environment—a major
principle that White Lotus Home has
practiced since its formation.”
Short
Ashley Furniture helps kids
Ashley Furniture HomeStores,
based in Arcadia, Wis., is extending
its “A Hope to Dream”
program, which provides new
Ashley Sleep mattress sets to
needy children. Since the program
began in 2010, Ashley has
made a $5 donation for every
mattress purchased by customers
at participating locations. The
money goes toward purchasing
new beds for children who are
nominated by local community
members. Thus far, the company
has contributed 183 beds.
The next round of beds will be
awarded the first week of April.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

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IndustryNews
Asheboro Elastics celebrates 25 years
I ndustry
supplier Asheboro Elastics Corp. is
marking its 25th anniversary by introducing
new company branding and hosting events to
thank its employees. The new image includes a
logo incorporating the company’s initials and tag
line, “Narrow Fabrics. Infinite Possibilities.”
The privately held company has worldwide distribution with manufacturing
in Asheboro, N.C., and Central America. In addition to mattresses and
home furnishings, AEC products are used in apparel, automotive, medical,
military, public safety, recreational and technology applications.
“When we started our company, we were in the insert elastic business.
Now we make a wide range of narrow fabrics,” said Keith Crisco, AEC founding
partner. “We’ve built our company over time by taking good care of our
customers and diversifying our products to reach broader audiences. However,
our mission, company culture and commitment to Asheboro haven’t changed.”
Crisco’s sons, Jeff and John, and son-in-law Gifford Del Grande provide
leadership in marketing and research and development.
The 2004 acquisition of Southern Webbing Mills, a producer of mattress
tapes, launched AEC into mattress components. The company said it has
grown its mattress tape business by listening to the industry, broadening its
product line and designing tapes in complex designs and new colorations.
Looking ahead, the company is focusing on continued global expansion and
customized products for current customers and niche markets.
“We will continue to grow our market share here and in new markets,”
Crisco said. “As we celebrate this anniversary, we’re envisioning our future.”
Shorts
Paramount Sleep contributes to ‘Extreme Makeover’ show
The ABC reality TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” recently
turned to Paramount Sleep to help furnish the Hill family residence in
Virginia Beach, Va. The show aided the Hills, in part, because of their devotion
to caring for foster and needy children. The Norfolk, Va.-based mattress
maker donated seven bed sets—a king-size Boutique Hotel and six full-size
Back Performance models. “While Paramount Sleep continues to add retailers
across the country and more and more people are discovering the quality
and value of our complete line of mattress products, we feel it’s our civic
duty to help a local family in need,” said Richard Fleck, Paramount executive
vice president of sales and marketing. At press time, the episode had not
yet aired.
Glideaway lends a hand, too
Specialty sleep provider Glideaway Sleep Products and retailer All American
Sleep & Mattress in Georgetown, Texas, helped “Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition” outfit the home of Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler and his fiancée,
Jessica Hansen, with four new SleepHarmony mattresses. Zeigler was among
those wounded in a mass shooting at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, in 2009.
“His story and recovery are inspirational,” said Ron Fredman, executive vice
president of sales for St. Louis-based Glideaway. “Last December, our retail
partner All American Sleep & Mattress contacted us with this fabulous opportunity.
We were honored to participate in helping this heroic couple start
a new chapter of their life together.” The episode aired Feb. 20.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

It’s not a miracle. It’s a Mammut!
The new Mammut VMK Select. Automatic set-up of any needle position/plan
as required by a selected pattern, program controlled and immediate.
VMK Select
The world’s fi rst double chainstitch
multi-needle quilter that turns more
than a hundred needles into solists
within a second.
VMK Select offers highest effi ciency
for the smallest batch sizes and an
endless array of new quilt patterns.
Benefi ts
• Automatic change of any needle setting without set-up time
• Highest effi ciency even with smallest batches
• Very precise sewing of diffi cult contours
• Automatic top and bottom thread cutter
• Very secure stitch formation with very fi ne needles
• Excellent access to sewing units
• Quick adaption to largest variety of fi lling thickness
• „myMammut” programming software for independent
creation of quilt designs
• Sewing speed: max. 1600 stitches/min.
Contact us:
Mammut Germany: +49 2234 2180 | info@mammut.de
P. Bjerre, Inc.: +1 952 448 1935 | info@pbjerre.com www. mammut.de
Made in Germany
Since 1880

IndustryNews
New digs
Wright of Thomasville, a supplier of graphic and marketing services, has expanded its Showroom
Solutions division into a freestanding 30,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center
in Thomasville, N.C. The company also has hired 16 new employees. Wright of Thomasville recently
began manufacturing top-of-bed branding items such as pillow shams, foot protectors and
embroidered labels in-house. In the past, the items had been produced by an outside
manufacturer. “There has been an immediate benefit to our customers as the additional space
and people make it easier for clients to get a quick turnaround on product,” said Greg Wright,
president and chief executive officer.
48 | BedTimes | April 2011
SSA adopts Oeko-
T he Specialty Sleep Association
has added Oeko-Tex certification
to its Environmental & Safety
Program.
SSA’s three-tier label and seal
program outlines requirements for
natural materials and addresses
carbon footprint monitoring, VOC
emission assessments and other environmental
and safety guidelines.
Latex foams and textile components
of mattresses that carry the
Level II and III seals must meet the
Oeko-Tex Standard 100.
Products that meet the Oeko-
Tex Standard 100 have been tested
and found to be free of unsafe
levels of more than 100 chemicals
believed to be detrimental to hu-
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

Tex requirement
man health. These include lead,
formaldehyde, heavy metals, carcinogenic
dye stuffs and phthalates.
Oeko-Tex also tests for color
fastness and pH levels.
“Consumers are concerned
about the environmental and
health safety of their sleep products
and that they are made in
ecologically responsible ways,”
said Dale Read, SSA president.
“We developed this comprehensive,
three-level system to allow
manufacturers and retailers to
clearly convey these critical points
through a comprehensive labeling
system and easy-to-understand
seals that help consumers identify
the best product choices for them.”
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
Market visitors pick winner of Anatomic Global contest
Corona, Calif.-based mattress
maker Anatomic Global created
a stir in its showroom at
the winter Las Vegas Market
when five artists sculpted and
painted their interpretations
of “Comfort by Design,”
the name of the company’s
new premium memory foam
mattress line. Sculptor Alex
Carbet and painters Diane
Mifsud Giusti, Beti Kristof
and Niki Sands created
original artwork in front of
Short
First place Alex Carbet earned $1,000 and a new
foam bed for his sculpture.
showroom visitors, who were asked to choose their favorite. Carbet’s
foam sculpture of a woman floating in a cloud was the winner, earning
him $1,000 in cash and a foam bed valued at $3,000. Kristof’s painting
of a woman unlocking the secrets of sleep was runner-up.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 49

In response to growing concerns in many healthcare and institutional settings over
certain harmful or suspect chemical compounds, Vintex has introduced the Safe Guard
Barrier Systems certification. This is your assurance that pillows, pads or mattresses
covered with Vintex SoffTICK ® fabrics are manufactured to be free of lead, cadmium,
mercury, arsenic and phthalates. So, look for the Vintex name and rest assured that you
have purchased the safest most durable product on the market.
M a d e i n n o r t h a M e r i c a | w w w . v i n t e x . c o M | 1 . 8 0 0 . 8 4 6 . 8 3 9 9

Agro International GmbH
& Co. KG
Senfdamm 21
D-49152 Bad Essen
Germany
Phone: 49-5472-94200
Fax: 49-5472-1577
www.agro.eu
info@agro.eu
Martin Mannel, sales manager
Hall 10.1, Stand A071
Products: Springs
Agro International
GmbH & Co. KG
is a family-run
company that has
become today’s
market leader
in the European
production of spring
cores. Qualified specialists have been
creating intelligent innovations and
customized solutions for more than 60
years. A work force of approximately
400 employees enables us to develop,
produce and market the entire
product range, including Bonnell,
LFK and pocket spring mattresses.
In Germany and throughout Europe,
Agro is recognized as a top provider
and a performance leader in the highquality
product segment and as a
bulk supplier. We supply renowned
companies in the bedding sector
worldwide with premium products
and outstanding service.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
www.bedtimesmagazines.com
Interzum Preview
A sneak peek of the show floor
Interzum Cologne, the largest home furnishings components show in the
world, provides an opportunity for mattress and sleep products manufacturers
to see the latest innovations from industry suppliers. This year’s event will
be May 25-28 at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. On the following pages,
you’ll find information about products and services available from exhibitors in
the International Sleep Products Association’s Bedding Centre and other ISPA
members showing at the fair. All information has been provided to ISPA by the
companies. ISPA does not endorse companies, products or services. (List as of
March 4.)
Ateja Tritunggal
Jl. Raya Batujajar KM 2.8
Padalarang
Bandung, Jawa Bart 40561
Indonesia
Phone: 62-22-686-6322
Fax: 62-22-686-6320
www.ateja.co.id
ateja@ateja.co.id
Rudy Zhu
Hall 10.2, Stand D053
Products: Knit fabrics, woven fabrics,
ticking
For more than 35 years, Ateja Tritunggal
has been a pioneer in fine interior
fabrics, dominating market share locally
and exporting worldwide. Annually,
Ateja can produce more than 40 million
linear meters. As an ISO 14001-certified
company, Ateja has a great concern for
environmental issues, emphasizing the
use of recycled yarn and natural fiber.
Natural gas is used as an energy source
to reduce CO² emissions and many
investments are being made to save
water and reduce energy consumption.
Currently, Ateja is an integrated
company—from manufacturing yarn to
providing cut-and-sew services to our
customers.
* Exhibiting in ISPA Bedding Centre
Bekaert Textiles NV
Deerlijkseweg 22
Waregem 8790
Belgium
Phone: 32-566-24111
Fax: 32-566-24113
www.bekaerttextiles.com
info@bekaerttextiles.com
Lien Sinnesael, marketing &
communications coordinator
Hall 10.2, Stands E020, F021
Products: Knit fabrics, woven fabrics,
ticking
Bekaert Textiles NV was founded in
1892 by Ivo Bekaert and has been a
member of Gamma Holding since
1992. Gamma Holding, headquartered
in Belgium, is a multinational
company with production units in
nine countries worldwide, making it
one of Europe’s largest textile groups.
Bekaert is the leading specialist in
manufacturing jacquard, dobby and
knitted fabrics and is the market
leader in the worldwide production
and supply of mattress cover
materials. Bekaert is a fully integrated
group of companies providing
spinning, polypropylene extrusion,
preparation and dyeing of warp and
BedTimes | April | April 2011 2011 | 51 | 3

Interzum Preview
weft, weaving, knitting and finishing.
Bekaert employs 1,650 people
worldwide with production amounts
up to 180 million euro. Bekaert is at
home in important world markets
and has a long tradition of excellent
customer service and support.
Building on its experience, expertise
and total quality management,
Bekaert continues to develop
innovative products.
Boyteks Tekstil AS
1 OSB 8. Cadde No: 60
38070 Kayseri
Turkey
Phone: 90-352-322-0588
Fax: 90-352-322-0589
www.boyteks.com
info@boyteks.com
Onder Honi, vice general manager
Hall 10.2, Stands C020, D029
Products: Knit fabrics, woven fabrics,
ticking
Boyteks Tekstil AS is the leading
jacquard woven and knitted mattress
ticking producer in the world. From
the beginning, a success story has
been created by supplying a wide
range of products incorporating new
trends, different designs, concepts and
research-and-development studies.
Boyteks reaches worldwide markets
with high-quality goods, exceptional
customer service and flexibility.
Our performance products and
innovative sleep technologies—from
Oxygen Plus to Vitamin E to Biocare
to Thermocool—are offered to all
partners.
52 | BedTimes | April 2011
Chamay Mattress
Manufacture Co. Ltd.*
No. 256 Highway 325 Long Jiang,
ShunDe
Foshan City, Guangdong 528319
China
Phone: 86-757-23221683
Fax: 86-757 23223490
www.chamay.com.cn
info@chamay.com.cn
Eric Ho, general manager
Hall 10.2, Stand F067
Products: Knit fabrics, ticking
Chamay Mattress Manufacture Co.
Ltd. has been a major producer of
mattress ticking since 1986. We now
offer a weaving (warp knitting, circle
knitting, woven) machine, printing
machine, washing machine, dyeing
machine and finishing machine. We
also have automatic plate machines.
Our company’s objective is to provide
the best service to our customers. Our
main markets include Africa, Asia,
Canada, China, the Middle East and
the United States.
CT Nassau/Continental Tape/
Continental Ticking
P.O. Box 39
Alamance, NC 27201-0039
United States
Phone: 800-397-0090
Fax: 336-570-0680
www.ctnassau.com
taber@ctnassau.com
Taber Wood, vice president of sales
Hall 10.1, Stand A068
Products: Knit fabrics, woven fabrics,
mattress tape, ticking
Specialty mattress tapes have
forever changed the way we look at
mattresses. CT Nassau offers more
ways to differentiate your beds from
* Exhibiting in ISPA Bedding Centre
all the rest by creatively combining
both woven and knit top panel fabrics
with decorative borders, handles and
mattress tapes. All of our components
are specially designed to work
together as a color-coordinated unit
to enhance your brand recognition on
the retail floor.
Ergomotion*
19 E. Ortega St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
United States
Phone: 805-979-9400
Fax: 805-979-9399
www.ergomotion.us
gp@ergomotion.us
Gui Peres, director of international
sales & marketing
Hall 10.2, Stand E060
Products: Adjustable bases
Ergomotion is a California-based
company that specializes in adjustable
bed technology. As one of the largest
adjustable bed manufacturers in the
United States, Ergomotion caters
to the international market and is
present in more than 20 countries
worldwide. In the growing sector of
adjustable beds, Ergomotion stands
alone in providing a quality product
with innovative design and excellent
customer service. The company’s
design team includes Chief Executive
Officer Alain Clenet, whose experience
in automobile technology combines
classic and reliable construction
techniques with the innovation and
technological skill of Senior Product
Designer Joe Ermalovich. The result is
a top-of-the-line adjustable bed that
fits your interior design as well as it
fits your lifestyle.
www.bedtimesmagazines.com

Foshan Ruixin Nonwoven
Co. Ltd. (Rayson Global)*
Hongxing Village, Guanyao Shishan
Town
Nanhai District
Foshan City, Guangdong 528237
China
Phone: 86-757-85806388
Fax: 86-757-81192378
www.raysonchina.com
deng@raysonchina.com
Deng Hongchang, manager
Hall 10.2, Stand F063
Products: Nonwoven fabrics, springs
Foshan Ruixin Nonwoven Co.
Ltd. (Rayson Global) is a leading
manufacturer of nonwoven fabric
and spring units for the furniture and
bedding industries. Established in 1985,
we are able to supply approximately
30 tons of nonwoven fabric and 3,000
spring units each day at competitive
prices and with high quality. We carry
a wide range of nonwovens (including
FR, printed nonwoven and antislip)
and springs (including Bonnell,
continuous and pocket). We also extend
our product line to finished mattresses.
OEM accepted.
Galkin Automated Products
13800 N.W. Fourth St.
Sunrise, FL 33325
United States
Phone: 800-326-4742
Fax: 954-846-0381
www.galkin.com
gsginfo@gsgcompanies.com
Russ Bowman, president of sales
Hall 9.1, Stand C020
Products: Engineering services/
consultants; machinery & fixtures;
parts, supplies & tools
Galkin Automated Products has been
providing labor-reducing sewing
equipment for more than 100 years.
Innovation and ingenuity have lead
Galkin to create a successful line
www.bedtimesmagazines.com
www.bedtimesmagazines.com
of automated systems to increase
mattress production while decreasing
operator effort. Galkin, part of the
Global Systems Group, manufactures
most mattress factory sewing
equipment, such as binders, flangers,
tape-edge machines and more. The
unique designs of Galkin equipment
provide GSG customers even more
flexibility in deciding how to most
profitably build their product.
Gateway Systems
Unit 3 Northgate Terrace
Northern Road, Industrial Estate
Newark Notts
NG24 2EU
United Kingdom
Phone: 44-1636-676194
Fax: 44-636-611367
www.gsgcompanies.com
sales@gatewaysystems.co.uk
David Elsdon, general manager
Hall 9.1, Stand C020
Products: Engineering services/
consultants; machinery & fixtures;
parts, supplies & tools
Gateway
Systems,
based in
the United
Kingdom, is
part of the
Global Systems Group. Specializing
in mattress-making solutions for
more than 20 years, Gateway Systems
offers compression tufting machines,
handle systems, sergers, automated
tape-edge machines, panel cutters/
slitting machines and border measure/
cut machines. Gateway’s Mattress
Master Elite is the latest generation
of automated tape-edge machines.
See the Mattress Master Elite’s unique
radial turning arm in action at
Interzum Cologne.
* Exhibiting in ISPA Bedding Centre
Interzum Preview
Gel Solutions*
8600 N. Central Freeway
Wichita Falls, TX 76301
United States
Phone: 801-808-9595
www.naturaworld.com
david@gelsolutions.com
David Malpas, executive vice
president of sales
Hall 10.2, Stand F061
Products: Licensing opportunities, gel
Pressure-relieving gel is the newest
and most indestructible material in
the mattress industry today. Come
and see why!
Global Systems Group
13800 N.W. Fourth St.
Sunrise, FL 33325
United States
Phone: 800-326-4742
Fax: 954-846-0381
www.gsgcompanies.com
gsginfo@gsgcompanies.com
Russ Bowman, president of sales
Hall 9.1, Stand C020
Products: Engineering services/
consultants; machinery & fixtures;
parts, supplies & tools
Global Systems Group offers
all the machinery required to
assemble mattresses, box springs
and other bedding-related
products. The industry’s leading
machinery manufacturers—Gribetz
International, Porter International,
Galkin Automated Products, Gateway
Systems, Spuhl-Anderson and
Nähtec—have been gathered into a
single resource for the convenience
BedTimes | April | April 2011 2011 | 53 | 3

Interzum Preview
of the mattress producer. Mattress
manufacturing methods have
changed a lot in recent years. GSG has
developed new, faster equipment in
response to these changing needs. Our
machines offer speed and versatility,
but one machine will set the pace
for all. GSG’s newest innovation will
debut at Interzum Cologne.
Gribetz International
13800 N.W. Fourth St.
Sunrise, FL 33325
United States
Phone: 800-326-4742
Fax: 954-846-0381
www.gsgcompanies.com
gsginfo@gsgcompanies.com
Russ Bowman, president of sales
Hall 9.1, Stand C020
Products: Engineering services/
consultants; machinery & fixtures;
parts, supplies & tools
Gribetz International is the world’s
leading manufacturer of quilting
machines and other equipment for the
bedding and home textile industries.
Gribetz offers a complete range of
products designed to modernize
and automate the handling, sewing,
quilting and cutting processes. Gribetz
has been a leading innovator in the
mattress industry for 70 years and
offers the most complete lineup of
quilting machines around the world.
Revolutionary quilting patterns
and processes have been shaped by
technology developed at Gribetz.
Gribetz will demonstrate the most
diverse lineup of quilters ever shown
in one place at Interzum Cologne.
54 | BedTimes | April 2011
Lava Textiles
55 Sleepy Time Drive
Waterloo, SC 29384-5137
United States
Phone: 864-998-4899
Ann Weaver, vice president
Hall 10.2, Stand F010
Products: Knit fabrics, ticking
Lava Textiles is a third-generation,
family-owned circular knitting
company with production facilities
in Wielsbeke, Belgium, and York,
S.C. We specialize in knitted mattress
fabrics in three-dimensional, four-way
stretch and double knits in jacquard
constructions. Through product
development and our highly qualified
team of designers, we strive to offer
the leading edge in quality, innovation
and design. Customers are serviced
worldwide with strategically placed
sales associates or through our sales
offices. Lava will be introducing
exciting novelties at Interzum Cologne
(Hall 10.2, Stand F010), for which it
has (once again) revolutionary new
knitting machines developed by one
of the leading circular knitting
machine constructors, as well as new
yarns and new finishings.
Leggett & Platt
No. 1 Leggett Road
Carthage, MO 64836
United States
Phone: 417-358-8131
www.leggett.com
mark.quinn@leggett.com
Mark Quinn, vice president of
marketing for residential furniture
Hall 9.1, Stands C010, C060, D010,
D019, D069 (also Halls 5.2, 7.1)
Products: Machinery & fixtures;
parts, supplies & tools
Leggett & Platt, which pioneered sleep
* Exhibiting in ISPA Bedding Centre
technology when it introduced its
bedspring more than 125 years ago, is
an S&P 500 diversified manufacturer.
Serving a broad suite of customers
that comprise a “Who’s Who” of
international companies, Leggett &
Platt conceives, designs and produces
a diverse array of products that can
be found in most homes, offices and
vehicles. Founded in 1883, the company
is made up of 19 business units, 20,000
employee-partners and more than
140 facilities in 18 countries. Leggett &
Platt continues to infuse its products
with its trademark innovation, helping
customers enjoy more comfortable lives.
Nähtec
Carl-Zeiss-Str. 18
74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen
Germany
Phone: 49-7142-90410
Fax: 49-7142-904110
www.gsgcompanies.com
v.wissing@nahtec.de
Volker Wissing, president
Hall 9.1, Stand C020
Products: Engineering services/
consultants; machinery & fixtures;
parts, supplies & tools
Nähtec is one
of Europe’s
innovative
technology
leaders in
bedding
sewing
applications.
This Germany-based company is part
of the Global Systems Group. Nähtec’s
innovative mattress handle machines,
zipper machines and other automated
mattress sewing equipment are
gaining popularity among GSG’s
customers around the world. The
creative engineers of Nähtec also
can provide customized solutions
to customers in need of specialized
products. See Nähtec’s latest machines
www.bedtimesmagazines.com

omposite

Interzum Preview
at Interzum Cologne in Hall 9.1,
Stand C020.
Porter International
13800 N.W. Fourth St.
Sunrise, FL 33325
United States
Phone: 800-326-4742
Fax: 954-846-0381
www.gsgcompanies.com
gsginfo@gsgcompanies.com
Russ Bowman, president of sales
Hall 9.1, Stand C020
Products: Engineering services/
consultants; machinery & fixtures;
parts, supplies & tools
Porter International, part of the
Global Systems Group, builds,
sells and services sewing machines
for the bedding and home textile
industries. Specializing in sewingroom
operations, Porter is the
industry leader with more than 65
years of experience. Porter supplies
the bedding industry with superior
machines for flanging panels,
border systems and multitasking
assembly systems, such as the
GPT-1000AP Ruffler. We fulfill our
commitment to the modern factory
through new product research,
advanced technology developments,
ergonomic designs and new ways to
streamline the flow of goods through
automation.
SABA
5420 Lapeer Road
Kimball, MI 48074-1427
United States
Phone: 810-824-4964
Fax: 810-824-4986
www.saba-adhesives.com
sales@saba-adhesives.com
Jim Turner, president
Hall 10.1, Stand D073
Products: Adhesives
56 | BedTimes | April 2011
Dedicated to foam bonding, SABA’s
water-based adhesives are second to
none. SABA has the right product to
match your foam-bonding production
process. Whether manual spray, roll
coat or automatic spray, SABA has the
solution. With the Access Adhesive
Delivery and Monitoring System,
SABA customers will experience the
highest level of efficiency and control
resulting in cost savings, better
product quality, and a cleaner and
safer plant. Only SABA provides its
customers with the latest and most
efficient application technologies,
ensuring the lowest possible adhesive
cost per unit produced. You do have
access to SABA adhesives, right?
Sunds Velour A/S
Navervej 3-5
DK-7451 Sunds
Denmark
Phone: 45-97141322
Fax: 45-97142827
www.sunds.com
mail@sunds.com
Steffen Romer, vice president of sales
Hall 10.2, Stand C029
Products: Knit fabrics, FR
components, ticking
Sunds Velour A/S could be your future
partner for mattress ticking, knitted
textiles, ready-made zippered mattress
covers and stretch sheets. Our knowhow
and expertise with circular knitted
tricot, double-jersey and velour fabrics
dates to 1972 and covers all production
processes, from knitting to dyeing to
printing to finishing. The head of our
* Exhibiting in ISPA Bedding Centre
operation is based in Denmark and all
production takes place in Ukraine at our
20,000-square-meter production plant
that employs 650 people. Let Sunds
help you turn your foam mattresses or
pillows into an attractive commercial
end-product. Meet us at Interzum
Cologne Hall 10.2, Stand C029.
Therapedic International*
103 College Road E.
Princeton, NJ 08540-6611
United States
Phone: 609-720-0700
Fax: 609-720-0797
www.therapedic.com
gb@therapedic.com
Susan Mathes, executive
administrator
Hall 10.2, Stand F065
Products: Licensing opportunities,
mattress materials
Therapedic International is a licensing
organization with manufacturing
partners in the United States and
more than 20 international locations.
We are a global brand partner
with consumer products designer
Kathy Ireland Home®. Our other
brands target various segments
of the bedding market, including:
Memory Touch®, our visco foam line;
PureTouch®, our latex brand; and
BackSense with HourGlass Support®,
our chiropractic series providing
additional support in the shoulder,
lumbar and hip areas. Therapedic
expanded its product reach into
the soft goods category, branding
the Therapedic name for national
specialty stores to include mattress
pads, pillows, sheet sets, heated
blankets and mattress pads.
www.bedtimesmagazines.com

SLEEP
SCIENCE
COME SEE US AT
INTERZUM 2011
Cologne
Hall 10.2
Booth E020-F021
W W W . B E K A E R T T E X T I L E S . C O M

Interzum Preview
Tietex International Ltd.*
3010 N. Blackstock Road
Spartanburg, SC 29301-5500
United States
Phone: 864-595-7778
Fax: 864-574-9440
www.tietex.com
wwallace@tietex.com
Wade Wallace, vice president of
Mattress Solutions Group
Hall 10.2, Stand E068
Products: Knit fabrics, woven
fabrics, nonwoven fabrics, FR
components, ticking
Tietex International Ltd. is a global
manufacturer and marketer of
nonwoven and traditional textiles.
Our technologies in fiber and fabric
forming enable us to develop unique
58 | BedTimes | April 2011
solutions for the bedding industry.
Our Mattress Solutions Group is the
leader in FR performance fabrics
and consulting for 16 CFR Part
1633 compliance. Our SleepFree
family of FR solutions includes
filler cloths, prints, knit socks and
comprehensive consulting and
quality assurance assistance. In
addition to the bedding industry,
our advanced fabric products are
used in athletic footwear, roofing,
home furnishings and various
technical end-uses.
* Exhibiting in ISPA Bedding Centre
2010 mattress industry
Annual Cost Survey
for U.S. & Canadian Producers
Make the most of your ISPA Membership…
Participate in the Cost Survey!
Benchmark your company’s operating expenses against your peers by participating in
ISPA’s Annual Cost Survey. Participation is free and is a key ISPA member benet
funded by your annual dues.
Your report is a valuable tool that will provide
information to help you identify weaknesses, control
costs, and improve nancial performance.
Find out what it takes to be considered a "high
prot" rm, and whether your company falls in
that category.
Tuodao Strong Nails Mfg.
Co. Ltd.*
Zone B, Shatou Industrial Area
Shatou, Jiujiang Town, Nanhai
District
Foshan City, Guangdong 528208
China
Phone: 86-757-86906799
Fax: 86-757-86906802
www.tuodaostrong.com
viptuodao@vip.163.com
Susan Guo, sales manager
Hall 10.2, Stand F069A
Products: Accessories, mattress
materials
Tuodao Strong Nails Mfg. Co.
Ltd., established in 1990, is an
excellent enterprise that specializes
in the production of nails, staples
The survey closes on
April 30th and results
will be available in
early July, so act now!
If you are a U.S. or Canadian manufacturer member and you have not received your
questionnaire, please contact us right away.
Call Jane Oseth at 571-482-5434 or email joseth@sleepproducts.org.
www.bedtimesmagazines.com

and other furniture fittings. We
insist on honesty and quality
and seek continual innovation
and improvement. Our company
has become one of the leaders in
this industry worldwide and we
commit ourselves to making the
industry develop faster. We are
the best in setting standards for
high-quality finished products that
meet international standards. Our
company offers favorable prices. We
surely must be your best choice.
www.bedtimesmagazines.com
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Wright of Thomasville*
5115 Prospect St. Ext.
Thomasville, NC 27360
United States
Phone: 336-472-4200
Fax: 336-476-8544
www.wrightlabels.com
salesinfo@wrightlabels.com
Hall 10.2, Stand F069
Products: Accessories, labels,
mattress materials
We are a global, full-service
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Standing behind these capabilities
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is how we deliver high-end solutions
that exceed your expectations.
It’s likely you haven’t thought about that
phrase since you were a kid. However, it’s
shaping the way Pristine® manufactures
bedding fabrics. Now that bed bugs are
becoming a national epidemic, we’ve
developed barrier fabrics used for mattress
encasements and pillow covers that have
been proven to effectively block bed
bug bites. Pristine’s one-of-a-kind nonlaminated
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Pristine is a registered trademark of Precision Fabrics Group, Inc.
To learn more about how Pristine® Bedding Fabrics can protect your bottom line, simply contact
Traci Broughton, Pristine Product Manager at 1-888-733-5759 or email traci.broughton@precisionfabrics.com.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 59

NewsMakers
Englander honors factories at ceremony
Kudos At an annual awards ceremony during the winter Las Vegas Market, mattress licensing group Englander honored two plants for their
achievements. Kevin Toman, (first photo, right) president of the Olive Branch, Miss.-based company, presented John Hagglund, president of Englander
Northwest in Tualatin, Ore., with the Manufacturing Excellence Award. President Terry Spears and Vice President Bob Ashburn of Englander Southeast
in Rome, Ga., accepted the Outstanding Sales Achievement Award from Toman.
Wick joins IB as sales VP
InternatIonal BeddIng, with headquarters in
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has hired industry
veteran Jeffrey Wick as northern regional
vice president of sales, a newly
created position.
He is responsible for leading sales
development efforts and managing
Jeffrey Wick
retail relationships for IB in more than
20 states. He is based in Summerfield, N.C., and reports
to Dennis Straily, vice president of sales.
Wick has an extensive background in mattress manufacturing
and retailing. Most recently, he was principal
60 | BedTimes | April 2011
of the consulting firm Innovative Bedding Products, as
well as vice president of national accounts for bed frame
supplier Mantua Mfg. Prior to that, he spent 11 years with
Sealy in a variety of sales and sales management posts,
rising to vice president of department stores/national
accounts. He began his career as a market representative
for mattresses at May Department Stores Co., now part of
Macy’s.
“Jeff is another great addition to the talented team
of sales professionals that we’ve been building,” Straily
said. “His wide-ranging expertise includes sales, account
management, market development and team leadership,
among many other key industry skills. We look forward
to cultivating Jeff’s talent and experience.”
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ISPANews
Better Sleep Council takes on ‘zombieitis’
62 | BedTimes | April 2011
A
tongue-in-cheek national campaign
to “Stop Zombieitis!” kicks
off May 1 as part of the Better Sleep
Council’s annual Better Sleep Month.
“Zombieitis is an insidious plague
that threatens the very fabric of our
society,” said Mark Quinn, BSC chairman
and vice president of marketing
for Leggett & Platt’s Residential Furnishings
Segment. “It’s the root cause
of decreased worker productivity,
rising health care costs and strained
interpersonal relationships.”
According to sleep disorder experts,
physical manifestations of zombieitis
include irritability, depression, high
ISPA welcomes more than 80 members in 2010-11
The InTernaTIonal Sleep producTS aSSocIaTIon reports that more than 80 companies
in the mattress industry joined the association as members in 2010 and the
first part of 2011.
“We would not be where we are today without the dedication and trust of
both our long-standing and new members,” said ISPA President Ryan Trainer.
“Thank you for your loyal support and also to the many industry members
who participate and support our programs.”
Advanced Urethane
Technologies
Adfast Corp.
Alhouda
Alliant Insurance Services Inc.
American Niagara
American Plant & Equipment Inc.
Apropa Machinery Ltd.
Asheboro Elastics Corp.
Automated Tag & Label
B&C International/OS Depot -
Z.L. Latex Products
Banks Machine & Tool
Bavaria Wolltex/Carico
International
Bo Mei
Bob Barker Co. Inc.
Clearwater Fabrics
Cornerstone Institutional (dba
C3 Solutions)
Cotton Clouds Futons
Credo O.O.O.
Demand Foam Cutting
Domtar Inc.
Earnhardt Mfg.
P.T. Eternal Panelindo Persada
Fine Cotton Factory Inc.
Flexitex - Fabrica de Tecidos
S.A.
Foshan Quan Li Spring
Hardware Factory
Foshan Yuantian Mattress
Machinery Co. Ltd.
Four Seasons Stitching
Furnistem Co. Ltd.
Global Procurement Services
Hot Melt Technologies Inc.
Imperial Bedding Co.
Industrias Marves S.A. de C.V.
Info Retail Joao Oliveira Lda.
JSP New Market
Development Group
Kayfoam Woolfson Ltd./
Kaygel
King-Hughes Fasteners
Latex Systems Co. Ltd.
Lien A Co. Ltd.
Mexican Manufacturers Inc.
MicroClimate Solutions
NVC Logistics Group
OHCO Inc.
Otto Bock Polyurethanes
Pacific Spring Inc.
Precision Blades Inc.
Priotex
Quilting Inc.
Remex AG
Residue Regency Pad Corp.
Rock Island Industries
S. Kaplan Sewing Machine
Co.
SC Invest Management SRL
Selther Mfg. S.A. de C.V
Shandong Helon Textile
Science & Tech. Co. Ltd.
Shenzhen Vico Furniture
Co. Ltd.
Sleep Studio LLC
SMI-ITS
Spring Into Action
SpringCo Inc.
Squire Sleep Systems LLC
Stein Fibers Ltd.
Stepan Co.
Superior Packaging Products
Inc.
Suzuran Bed (HK) Ltd.
T.J. Beall Co.
Technogel U.S.
Thomson Research Associates
Inc.
Toyo Cushion Lanka (Pvt.)
Ltd.
Toyota Tsusho America Inc.
Triskel Consulting
Tuodao Strong Nails
Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Unifi Inc.
Uretek Inc.
Vintex Inc.
W. Silver Products
Wenzhou Jiatai Latex
Product Co. Ltd.
World Wide Mattress
Machinery
Xsensor Technology Corp.
Yekaterinoslavskie Mebelnie
Masterskie
blood pressure, anxiety, malaise or apathy,
weight gain, headaches, decreased
brain function and circles or bags under
the eyes. Zombies also can be identified
by their unkempt appearance, unsightly
drooling, frequent mumbling or moaning
and a lumbering gait.
While the pressures of modern society
certainly contribute to zombieitis,
poor quality bedding is a primary cause.
“A majority of us are sleeping on old,
lumpy mattresses that make it virtually
impossible to get a good night’s sleep,”
Quinn said. “Instead of investing in
better beds, many people choose to rely
on everything from prescription sleep
aids to white noise machines and antisnoring
devices. Unfortunately, these
products fail to address the underlying
problem.”
The recent recession also has contributed
to the increase in zombieitis.
“Many consumers have postponed
buying new mattresses because of
uncertainties about the economy. But
when you stop to think about it, sleep
deprivation can lead to poor job performance
and an increased risk of termination.
So a new mattress might be one of
the best investments a person can make
in long-term job security,” said Ryan
Trainer, president of the International
Sleep Products Association. The BSC is
ISPA’s consumer education arm.
The highlight of Better Sleep Month
will be “Stop Zombieitis! Day” on
Friday, May 20. Special events will take
place nationwide to raise awareness of
zombieitis and how it can be cured with
better beds.
A consumer-oriented website,
www.stopthezombies.com, has been set
up for the campaign.
Mattress manufacturers and retailers
who would like to do tie-in campaigns
can find toolkits on the websites
www.bedtimesmagazine.com and
www.sleepsavvymagazine.com beginning
April 20.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

ISPAAdvocacy
ISPA calls on state lawmakers to protect consumers
The International Sleep Products
Association has begun a new
campaign to protect consumers
from unnecessary health and safety
risks.
Specifically, ISPA is leading
efforts in several states to enact
tougher laws to address the spread
of bedbugs in used mattresses.
The Florida Legislature is considering
an ISPA-supported bill that
will add new tools to combat the
spread of bedbugs. The legislation
would require renovators of used
mattresses to sanitize their products
prior to resale. Currently, no such
requirement exists in the state.
Legislation has been introduced
in Connecticut that would require
state regulators to inspect renovated
mattresses for bedbugs prior
to resale. Chris Hudgins, ISPA vice
Bedbug summit focuses on national plan
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency held its second Bedbug
Summit Feb. 1-2. The first day of
the meeting focused on new approaches
to combating bedbugs.
The second day laid the groundwork
for creating a national bedbug
strategy that will be developed in the coming months by
EPA and a federal interagency working group. The working
group is expected to hold meetings for stakeholders. To
view presentations made at the summit or for other information,
check www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/ppdc/bedbugsummit/2011/2nd-bedbug-summit.html.
CPSC extends stay of enforcement for lead
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has extended
the stay of enforcement of the third-party lead testing requirement
for children’s products until Dec. 31. The notice announcing
the stay was published in the Federal Register on Feb. 8
(http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/2011-2704.htm). The
stay applies only to lead testing and does not affect other
CPSC requirements. The CPSC defines children’s products
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
president of government relations,
testified at a recent hearing, expressing
support for the bill and
requesting that the state provide
additional enforcement resources
and safeguards to address renovated
mattresses as a source of bedbugs.
In Tennessee, Senate Bill 1073 would
Shorts
require mattress renovators to register
with the state, label their products
and sanitize them prior to sale.
ISPA also is leading and supporting
efforts in New York and other
states to enact tougher safeguards.
Though bedbugs are the most
recognizable threat from used
mattresses, bedding may contain
other hidden risks. Too often these
mattresses don’t meet federal flammability
requirements, meaning
that families sleeping on unscrupulously
renovated beds are needlessly
exposed to fire risk.
For more information about ISPA’s
advocacy efforts on this issue, check
www.sleepproducts.org/advocacy. If
you live or have facilities in these states
and are interested in supporting ISPA’s
efforts, contact Hudgins at 703-683-
8371 or chudgins@sleepproducts.org.
as those products intended primarily for children 12 and
under. At ISPA’s request, CPSC previously ruled that the
internal components of all children’s mattresses are exempt
from the lead testing requirements, as are most outer coverings
of children’s mattresses.
OSHA withdraws musculoskeletal proposal
Following opposition from manufacturers, the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration has
withdrawn its proposal to require the reporting of musculoskeletal
disorders. The proposed
regulation, announced in March
2010, would have required manufacturers
to report “disorders of the
muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments,
joints, cartilage and spinal discs”
among workers. The requirement was
seen as a possible precursor to the development
of a national ergonomics
standard. The move follows OSHA’s
recent reversal of a proposed workplace noise exposure
rule, which the International Sleep Products Association
and other groups had opposed.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 63

UpClose
Industry veteran Lilly still going the distance
Former CEO of Serta finds new challenges in consulting firm
By Dorothy Whitcomb
Ed Lilly has been running—literally
and figuratively—for most
of his life. As a track star in
high school and college, he piled up
an impressive string of victories. As
a corporate executive charged with
leading whole teams to victory, his eye
was seldom off the finish line.
In business as in track, agility, the
ability to act strategically and endurance
over the long haul lead to success.
A look back at Lilly’s long career
in the bedding and furniture industries
proves the point.
After leaving the Army and working
at Philadelphia department store
Strawbridge & Clothier for nine years,
Lilly joined mattress maker Sealy in
1978. He worked there for 11 years in
senior corporate and sales management
positions. Landing the Sears
account was a highlight of his time
with the company.
“I was a good salesman and I was
able to convince them that we could,
as a single mattress supplier, provide
all of the services that three suppliers
could,” Lilly says. “The next year, Sealy
was chosen as Sears’ Vendor of the
Year out of 12,000 vendors.”
Lilly worked his way up to senior
vice president of national account
sales for both Sealy and its Stearns &
Foster brand.
But when the company asked
him to move to Cleveland in 1989,
he declined and joined Townhouse
Penthouse Industries, a Northbrook,
Ill.-based manufacturer of privatelabel
upholstered furniture.
“TPI had 14 plants and, in 1989, a
volume of about $350 million a year,”
Lilly says. “Being the vice president of
marketing was a great opportunity.”
Lilly sees all of those positions
as preparation for the career
64 | BedTimes | April 2011
Garden getaway Ed Lilly enjoys both working
in and just enjoying the garden he tends with
his wife, Nancy. ‘It gives you time to yourself
and allows you to see things in new ways
while accomplishing something very
satisfying,’ he says.
challenges that lay ahead.
“I learned the business from the
bottom up,” he says. “There’s a real
advantage to knowing something
inside out. It helps you create strategies
that actually work. You grow into
responsibility.”
In 1990, Lilly was appointed
president and chief executive officer of
Serta and, in 2001, was named chairman
of the board. When he joined
the company, Serta’s sales volume
was about $240 million annually. Ten
years later, U.S. sales had tripled and
Serta was the second-largest mattress
producer in the country.
“Being president and CEO for 14
years was the greatest accomplishment
of my life,” he says. “Staying that long
doesn’t happen these days and was a
reflection of what we accomplished. It
was very satisfying.”
Lilly left Serta when National Bedding
Co.—the largest Serta licensee—
acquired control of the corporate
entity in 2004.
“I wasn’t ready to retire. The offense
and defense of business was still
in my blood, but I had no interest in
ever working for another corporation,”
Lilly says.
In 2005, he founded Lilly Management
Group, a consulting firm that
provides management and development
services to the bedding industry.
Staffed by former Serta executives,
LMG leverages the talent and experience
they once used to triple Serta’s
business to help other mattress companies
grow theirs.
Although LMG has evolved in a
different direction than Lilly originally
imagined, he is pleased with what his
team has accomplished.
“We have worked with about 350
clients over five years,” he says. “The
bulk of our business comes from suppliers
and smaller manufacturers. We
really duplicate what larger manufacturers
do for themselves.”
The bulk of LMG’s business comes
from corporate communications,
branding and FR programs, but it
offers a broad range of consulting
services, including strategic planning,
procurement, best practices and crisis
communications.
In the garden Lilly’s wife, Nancy, is a
master gardener and he is her willing
apprentice. “Gardening is good for
you,” he says. “It gives you time to
yourself and allows you to see things
in new ways while accomplishing
something very satisfying. We go out
in the morning with coffee or at night
with wine and just look at the garden.
It changes all the time.”
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

Going the distance “I ran five days
a week for 40 years—11 miles in a
Philadelphia snowstorm once,” Lilly
says. Although he stopped for a while
in his 50s, Lilly has returned to the
sport and finds it a great way to control
stress and stay healthy.
Home away from home The Lillys
travel to their second home in Santa
Fe, N.M., frequently. They love the
mountains, the city’s vibrant art scene
and attending productions of the
world-famous Santa Fe Opera. “We
go to the opera as many as five times
a season,” he says. “One of my favorite
memories is of taking my 14-year-old
granddaughter to see backstage at the
Santa Fe Opera House.”
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
Out of necessity… It was need that
drew Lilly to woodworking; it’s passion
that keeps him interested. “When you’re
in retail, you don’t make a lot of money,
so you make what you need,” he says.
“I’ve been woodworking since early
in our marriage and still find making
something beautiful and functional out
of nothing very pleasing.”
Outlook Although the recession has
made growing his firm more challenging,
Lilly is a realist. “You have to
live in the environment that you live
in. I’m one of the fortunate few who
have had the opportunity to control
my own destiny,” he says. “I don’t need
business for fulfillment as much as I
used to. I’m much more driven by the
process than the end result.” BT
➤ Bio in brief
Name Ed Lilly
Company Lilly Management
Group
Title Founder and partner
Location St. Charles, Ill.
Education Lilly earned a bachelor’s
degree in business administration
from St. John’s University
in New York
Age 67
Family Lilly and his wife, Nancy,
have been married for 42 years.
They have three children and five
grandchildren.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 65

Going the distance “I ran five days
a week for 40 years—11 miles in a
Philadelphia snowstorm once,” Lilly
says. Although he stopped for a while
in his 50s, Lilly has returned to the
sport and finds it a great way to control
stress and stay healthy.
Home away from home The Lillys
travel to their second home in Santa
Fe, N.M., frequently. They love the
mountains, the city’s vibrant art scene
and attending productions of the
world-famous Santa Fe Opera. “We
go to the opera as many as five times
a season,” he says. “One of my favorite
memories is of taking my 14-year-old
granddaughter to see backstage at the
Santa Fe Opera House.”
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
Out of necessity… It was need that
drew Lilly to woodworking; it’s passion
that keeps him interested. “When you’re
in retail, you don’t make a lot of money,
so you make what you need,” he says.
“I’ve been woodworking since early
in our marriage and still find making
something beautiful and functional out
of nothing very pleasing.”
Outlook Although the recession has
made growing his firm more challenging,
Lilly is a realist. “You have to
live in the environment that you live
in. I’m one of the fortunate few who
have had the opportunity to control
my own destiny,” he says. “I don’t need
business for fulfillment as much as I
used to. I’m much more driven by the
process than the end result.” BT
➤ Bio in brief
Name Ed Lilly
Company Lilly Management
Group
Title Founder and partner
Location St. Charles, Ill.
Education Lilly earned a bachelor’s
degree in business administration
from St. John’s University
in New York
Age 67
Family Lilly and his wife, Nancy,
have been married for 42 years.
They have three children and five
grandchildren.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 65

ManagementIssues
Does your conversational style need a conversion?
Why you should try
interacting instead
of just transacting
By Marty Stanley
When you talk to people face to
face are you focused on the
transaction or your interaction?
There’s a difference.
In a transactional encounter, you
go through the motions to get the
discourse done. Maybe you’re daydreaming,
texting at the same time or
even talking on the phone to someone
else. The bottom line is that you’re
not engaged in the process or with the
other person. In contrast, interaction
occurs when two people are engaged in
a dialogue and actively participating in
the exchange.
Think about the last time you went
out to eat. When you ordered, was the
waiter friendly, knowledgeable and
quick? Did he show authentic interest
and offer assistance in assuring that you
had a good dining experience? Will you
go back? Will you tell your friends?
Real interaction is noticeably different
from a typical transaction and today,
it’s rare.
Ask yourself: When you’re talking to
people, are you clear about the purpose
of the conversation? Are your thoughts,
words and actions aligned with that
purpose and the outcomes you seek?
If you’re focused on the transaction,
there can be a tendency to treat the conversation
in a matter-of-fact way—cover
all the bases and move on to the next
topic, person or activity. Your attitude
can be interpreted as, “I don’t have time
for you or what is important to you.”
During these challenging economic
times, when companies are doing more
with less, employees can suffer fatigue,
increased absenteeism, low morale and
diminished productivity or quality of
work. All of these impact the end-
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
user or consumer of your products or
services.
There is a lot of talk about “employee
engagement.” If you want to foster
employee engagement, take a look at the
quality of conversations you’re having
with them. Are they transactional or are
you really interacting?
How do you move from transaction
to interaction?
It’s all about the level of participation
in a conversation. Are you actively
listening? Or are you thinking about
what you’re going to say next or, worse,
editorializing in your mind about what
the other person just said?
Good managers and leaders understand
that conversations require participation—it’s
more than exchanging facts.
If you’re looking for improved
employee engagement or increased
customer retention, an easy and cost-
effective place to start is by examining
your conversations. Are you talking
about things that are relevant and important
to the other person?
Chatting about the weather or
sports scores is OK, but unless you’re
a meteorologist or coach, you’ll get
more mileage with an interaction that
is focused on the person, her work or
her purchase.
A good interaction is heartfelt.
There is a lot of
talk about ‘employee
engagement.’ If you
want to foster
employee engagement,
take a look at the
quality of conversations
you’re having with them.
It comes from a place of caring and
wanting to be of service or making a
difference. It’s about leaving the other
person feeling glad he had the interaction
with you. Even difficult conversations
can be authentic and leave a
person feeling respected. How do you
start? One conversation at a time.
Begin by really listening to the
conversations that you’re having with
people. Are you approaching it like
a transaction or an opportunity for
interaction? Do you care enough
about yourself, your company and
the people with whom you interact to
have authentic conversations?
If not, you may be missing out on
an opportunity to make a difference
in someone else’s life. It’s a choice.
And you can choose to change it with
your next conversation. BT
Marty Stanley, president of Dynamic
Dialog Inc., is an author, speaker and
facilitator who helps organizations create
their “new normal.” Contact Stanley to
speak at your next meeting or to facilitate
visioning, planning and teambuilding
sessions at 816-822-4047 or
martystanley@alteringoutcomes.com.
For more information, check
www.alteringoutcomes.com.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 67

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68 | BedTimes | April 2011
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604-574-7900
Calendar
April
April 2-7
High Point Market
International Home Furnishings
Center & other locations
High Point, N.C., U.S.
Phone 336-869-1000
dawn@highpointmarket.org
www.highpointmarket.org
MAy
May 25-28
Interzum Cologne
Koelnmesse
Cologne, Germany
Phone 49-221-821-2379
info@koelnmesse.de
www.koelnmesse.de
www.interzum.com
June
June 2-4
China International
Furniture Exhibition
Shanghai New International
Expo Center
Shanghai, China
Phone 86-21-50550628
shby888@hotmail.com
www.furnitureshanghai.com
July
July 21-24
Furnitex
Melbourne Exhibition Centre
Melbourne, Australia
Phone 613-9654-7773
furnitex@aec.net.au
furnitex.com.au
August
Aug. 1-5
Las Vegas Market
World Market Center
Las Vegas, U.S.
Phone 888-416-8600
info@lasvegasmarket.com
www.lasvegasmarket.com
septeMber
Sept. 6-10
International Furniture Market
Malaysia Agro Exposition
Park Serdang
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone 603-8024-7736
info@ifm.net.my
www.ifm.net.my
Sept. 14-17
Furniture China
Shanghai New International
Expo Centre
Shanghai, China
Phone 86-21-64371178
furniture@ubmsinoexpo.com
www.furniture-china.cn
Sept. 14-18
Habitare
Helsinki Exhibition
& Convention Centre
Helsinki, Finland
Phone 358-9-150-91
info@finnexpo.fi
www.finnexpo.fi
OctOber
Oct. 22-27
High Point Market
International Home Furnishings
Center & other locations
High Point, N.C., U.S.
Phone 336-869-1000
dawn@highpointmarket.org
www.highpointmarket.org
Furnitex The show will be July 21-24
in Melbourne, Australia.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

Classifieds
TAPE-EDGE MACHINES, MULTINEEDLE AND SINGLE-
NEEDLE QUILTERS, long-arm label machines, sergers, etc.
Contact Victor LeBron, American Plant and Equipment.
Phone 864-574-0404; Fax 864-576-7204;
Cell 864-590-1700; Email apesales@charterinternet.com;
Web www.americanplantandequipment.com.
REBUILT AND RECONDITIONED MULTINEEDLE
QUILTING MACHINES. Specializing in PATHE precision
parts and service. Technical consultants.
SEDCO. Phone 201-567-7141; Fax 201-567-5515.
QUILTERS: FOUR AVAILABLE, INCLUDING TWO
TACk-AND-jUMPS. ALSO:
Panel cutters: James Cash, Gribetz
Tape-edge machines: James Cash, Spuhl-Anderson
Tape masters, serger-flangers, rufflers, crate openers.
All are serviced and ready to go.
Contact Pete Sasser, Worldwide Mattress Machinery Inc.
Phone 864-285-4454; Fax 864-699-9424;
Email wwmattmachinery@yahoo.com;
Web www.mattmachinery.com.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com
For Sale
For Sale
TAPE-EDGE MACHINES, QUILTERS AND
MISCELLANEOUS SEWING MACHINES.
Contact Frank Carlino, U.S. Mattress Machinery.
Phone 815-795-6942; Fax 815-795-2178;
Email usmattmach@hotmail.com.
Place your classified ad today!
Reach mattress industry professionals around the world
with your advertising message through the BedTimes
Classifieds. Rates: $3 per word for the first 100 words and
$2.50 thereafter; minimum charge of $75. “Blind” box
number: $50 per insertion. Ad copy and payment must be
received by the first of the month preceding publication.
Send ads and payment to BedTimes Classifieds,
501 Wythe St., Alexandria, VA 22314-1917.
Contact Debbie Robbins, advertising production manager,
for additional information. Phone 571-482-5443;
Fax 703-683-4503; Email drobbins@sleepproducts.org.
BedTimes | April 2011 | 69

AdvertisersIndex
A. Lava & Son Co. 34
Steve Appelbaum
800-777-5282
(800-777-LAVA)
www.alavason.com
AFT Corp. 14
Rick Brumfield
800-631-1930
Amelco Industries Ltd. 66
Andrea Georgallis
357-22-484444
www.amerlco.com
Atlanta Attachment C2-1, 33
Co. Inc.
Hank Little
770-963-7369
www.atlatt.com
Bekaert Textiles NV 57
Lien Sinnesael
32-566-24160
www.bekaerttextiles.com
Bloomingburg Spring 65
& Wire Form
Vickie Schwarm
740-437-7614
www.bloomingburgspring.com
BLR 35
Martin Leroux
819-877-2092
www.blrlumber.com
Boyçelik 55
Erol Boydak
90-532-274-3193
www.boycelik.com
Boyteks Tekstil AS 36-37
Deniz Boydak
90-352-322-0588
www.boyteks.com
Cranston Trucking 60
Dianne Francin
336-887-9712
www.cranstontrucking.com
70 | BedTimes | April 2011
Creative Ticking 9
Jerry Pratt
704-861-1536
www.creativeticking.com
CT Nassau 25
Taber Wood
800-397-0090
www.ctnassau.com
Deslee Textiles USA 43
Eric Delaby
864-472-2180
www.desleetextiles.com
Diamond Needle Corp. 65
Abe Silberstein
800-221-5818
www.diamondneedle.com
P.T. Dunlopillo Indonesia 69
Sham Bharwani
62-21-3858626
www.dunlopillo.co.id
Duroflex International 69
George Mathew
415-990-4343
www.latexglobal.com
Edgewater Machine Co. Inc. 61
Roy Schlegel
718-539-8200
www.edgewatermachine.com
Enriquez Materials 13
& Quilting Inc.
Silvia Enriquez
323-725-4955
www.enriquezquilting.com
Foshan Ruixin Nonwoven 46
Co. Ltd. (Rayson Global)
Himy Lee
86-757-85806388
www.raysonchina.com
Global Systems Group 28-29, C3
Russ Bowman
954-846-0300
www.gsgcompanies.com
Gommagomma 45
Isabella Mariani
39-02-965100
www.gommagomma.com
Hengchang Machinery Factory 21
Ren Ying
86-769-83307931
www.hcjixie.com
Hickory Springs Mfg. Co. 2
Rick Anthony
828-328-2201
www.hickorysprings.com
Integrity Software Solutions 68
Bill Seres
604-574-7900, Ext. 101
www.efreedomis.com
John Marshall & Co. Ltd. 6
Peter Crone
64-3-341-2004
www.joma.co.nz
Jomel Industries Inc. 41
Phil Iuliano
973-282-0300
www.jomel.net
Kenn Spinrad Inc. 71
Randy Weinstock
800-373-0944
www.spinrad.net
Latex Systems 38
Kitti Charoenpornpanichkul
66-2-326-0886, Ext. 204
www.latexsystems.com
Lava USA Inc. 17
Ann Weaver
864-998-4892
www.lavatextiles.com
Mammut 47
Nikolaus Fremery – Germany
49-2234-2180
Peter Poulsen – U.S.
952-448-1935
www.mammut.de
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

New England Needles Inc. 12
Thomas Lees
800-243-3158
www.newenglandneedles.com
Pacific Spring Inc. 48
Victor Nguyen
626-272-8882
Precision Fabrics 59
Traci Broughton
336-510-8009
www.pristinefabrics.com
www.therapeuticbedding.com
Quilting Inc. 16
Dave Pritchett
614-873-6667
www.quiltinginc.com
P.T. RubberFoam Indonesia 49
Andreas Janssen
62-21-53662190
www.rubberfoam.co.id
SABA North America LLC 4
Jim Turner
810-824-4964
www.saba-adhesives.com
Simalfa 27
Darren Gilmore
973-423-9266
www.simalfa.com
SpringCo. Inc. 44
Carlos Luna
305-887-3782
Starsprings International 42
Kai Christensen
46-513-17800
www.starsprings.com
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Subiñas Confort S.L. 40
Javier Subiñas
34-94-416-04-40
www.subinas.es
Therapedic International 10
Gerry Borreggine
800-314-4433
www.therapedic.com
Tietex International Ltd. C4
Wade Wallace
800-843-8390
www.tietex.com
Vertex Fasteners Inc. 23
Tom Fowler
847-329-8530
www.vertexfasteners.com
Vintex 50
Customer Service
800-846-8399
www.vintex.com
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www.bedtimesmagazine.com BedTimes | April 2011 | 71

TheLastWord
Clutter could doom career
I f
you have a messy workspace, you may be doing damage
to your career, according to a recent survey conducted
on behalf of OfficeMax, an office supply retailer
based in Naperville, Ill.
More than half (53%) of respondents say they think
negatively about co-workers who have cluttered desks.
About 40% assume that their messy colleagues lack
skills in other aspects of their job and 13% have a lower
overall opinion of less-than-organized co-workers. More
than one-third (33%) are more charitable, believing their
co-workers are simply overworked and don’t have time
to clean up.
“The condition of your desk can shape your boss’ and
co-workers’ perception of you and your work habits,”
says Peter Walsh, an organizational expert and creator
of the Peter Walsh You•Organized line of organizational
tools. “If there’s no semblance of order and purpose, it’s
easy for people—particularly your boss—to think that
Startup lessons learned
S mall
business owners
acknowledge
making a number of
mistakes when launching
their ventures. The
top missteps:
➤ Underestimating
monthly expenses
(32%)
➤ Hiring the wrong
people (20%)
➤ Not knowing how to market and sell the product (18%)
➤ Not securing enough financing (18%).
The results are part of a phone survey of 501 small business
executives conducted in January by Hiscox, an international
insurer with headquarters in Bermuda.
The research also highlights the gaps in knowledge small
business owners face when starting out. These include not
understanding enough about the impact of taxes (33%),
financing and credit (26%), and hiring and firing (24%).
“People who take the leap often have great energy and
passion for their area of expertise. They have a clear goal,
but as they embark on their journey they may not foresee
the bumps along the highway,” says Kevin Kerridge, a small
business insurance expert at Hiscox USA. “Cash flow, human
resources, marketing and insurance issues can seem
boring, but are hugely important.”
72 | BedTimes | April 2011
you are not on top of projects and that you’re overwhelmed.”
Those surveyed have good intentions of cleaning up:
45% would like to tackle their workspace, 36% want to
tidy their computer files and 28% need to organize their
email. Kelton Research conducted the online OfficeMax
survey.
BIG number
$6.4million
That’s the price of a
new bed being offered
by a British designer
who might very well
have secured the
title “world’s most
expensive bed” with
a canopy bed carved
from ash, cherry
and chestnut woods,
festooned with Italian
silk curtains and gilded with solid 24-carat gold leaf.
If you buy one of the two beds that Stuart Hughes
plans to make with Italian production partner Hebanon
by Fratelli Basile Interiors, you can add a little
bling by incorporating diamonds into the headboard.
Each handcrafted bed is expected to take three
months to make, giving purchasers plenty of time to
pick out the perfect—and presumably also pricey—
mattress to go along with it.
www.bedtimesmagazine.com

You’ve got to see “the V”
Dubbed the “V16,” it’s the most radical machine we’ve introduced in nearly 10 years.
It’s a “must see” for anyone in the mattress industry.
You can only see “the V” in an enclosed, special-purpose room
demonstration at Interzum, May 25-28, 2011, at the
GSG booth in Hall 9.1 Stand C-020.
Contact your local GSG representative to schedule
your personal demonstration.
800-326-4742 954-846-0300 www.GSGcompanies.com or www.GSGexpo.com

That’s the sound of your product snoozing on a container ship halfway around the world. Eventually – maybe in 8 weeks, or maybe
10 weeks, or maybe 12 weeks, you’ll take delivery. Maybe you’ll get what you expect. Maybe the quality will be acceptable. Maybe
the real cost is worth the wait. That’s a lot of maybes – enough to put your customers sound asleep and your sales in a coma.
M A T T R E S S S O L U T I O N S
I N N O V A T E
E C o Fa B R I C S , C o T T o N S , P R I N T S , j a C q u a R d S , P o Ly E S T E R S , B L E N d S , S T I T C h B o N d S , wa R P k N I T S , F I L L E R C L o T h S .
Tietex International Ltd., 3010 North Blackstock Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29301, Ph. 864.574.0500, Fax 864.574.9490, www.tietex.com