It was the home of Daniel Haynes, a cotton gin builder, who in 1881
began making cotton-filled mattresses for his friends and neighbours. He went
on to invent a machine that compressed cotton for use in mattresses, receiving
a patent for his invention in 1889. His mattress became so popular that he sold
patent rights to people in other markets, who also began building the product
that, at the time, was known as the "Mattress from Sealy".
In 1906, Haynes sold all of his patents
and knowledge to a Texas company that took the name "Sealy". It was at this
time that a young advertising executive named Earl Edwards launched Sealy on
the road to national prominence.
Edwards placed Sealy mattress ads in The Saturday Evening Post and Ladies'
Home Journal. Edwards ensured that Sealy registered its name, developed a trademark,
and gave Sealy the slogan "Sleeping on a Sealy is like sleeping on a cloud".
Edwards' next idea was to be a pivotal step in Sealy's evolution. He felt
that more production facilities, in various locations, would be key to Sealy's
expansion, but knew the company didn't have the capital to do so itself. So
he followed Coca-Cola's lead and sought licensees. By 1920,
Sealy had 28 licensed plants and was the first mattress company to establish
a licensing program.
Business flourished until the Great Depression, when mattress sales drastically
declined. Sealy might have gone under, but, spurred on by Earl Edwards, the
eight strongest Sealy licensees pooled their resources, paid off the debt of
the licensing company, and created what was to become known as Sealy Inc. The
1930's
were tough, but these eight determined licensees survived and, in fact, introduced
a major new product at the same time -- the Button-free mattress.
In 1950, Sealy introduced its first Sealy
Posturepedic® brand mattress, the only mattress in the industry that focused
on the importance of correct back support, designed in co-operation with Orthopaedic
Surgeons.
The 1970s brought major product development
and refinements. Sealy Posturepedic bedding became high-tech with programmed
coils for increased support. At the same time, Sealy box springs became known
as foundations, due to the development of the torsion bar module.
The end of the 1980s saw the introduction
of the industry's newest innerspring innovation -- Sealy's PostureTech® Coil,
now used in most Sealy Posturepedic mattresses. It is highlighted by a patented
Sensory Arm feature that senses and cushions movement, then responds with increasing
support. Historically, Sealy entered into contracts with independent licensees
for manufacturing and marketing the Sealy brand abroad. There are licensees
operating in Australia, Dominican Republic, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, New
Zealand, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and of course South Africa. Sealy inc.
also has manufacturing plants in Canada and Mexico.
Today, Sealy Inc. is the largest bedding manufacturer in North America and
the Sealy brand has the largest market share and consumer awareness in North
America.
Sealy South
Africa
Sealy produced its first mattress at its factory in Johannesburg in 1967.
All products are made to the specifications set down by Sealy Inc. USA and their
consulting Orthopaedic Surgeons. The technical innovations introduced by Sealy
for improved sleep quickly led to Posturepedic becoming the number one choice
in South Africa - as it is in the USA.
Sealy Posturepedic is now produced at facilities in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Our product range is sold only at selected dealers throughout Southern Africa. All of our products are manufactured to the ISO.9001/2 quality system. Sealy is also a leading supplier to the hospitality industry in Southern Africa.
As one spends more time in bed than doing anything else in the home - it's
critical that the body gets the revitalisation it needs to face the new day.
