Historically, it has been commonplace for manufacturers in the bedding industry to compress mattress springs and roll encased coils to reduce shipping costs. The rolling of finished mattresses, however, had seemed too difficult a challenge to overcome. But about a decade ago, when low-end foam mattresses from Asia began entering the market – with the finished mattresses rolled and boxed – the challenge was renewed.
A Roll-Pack Partnership
Leggett & Platt’s Global Systems Group (GSG) noticed customer interest in a roll-pack approach and sought out Italian manufacturer Teknomac for a solution. Since GSG already partnered with Teknomac on a number of machine solutions, it was a natural pairing.
Terry Myers, Director of Engineering at GSG, served as an advocate to test and perfect the Teknomac roll-pack machines. Ultimately, the Teknomac provided a workable solution for GSG customers – one previously thought impossible.
Tony Garrett, President of GSG, and Terry Myers, Director of Engineering, with a Teknomac machine and roll-pack mattress.
Terry is optimistic about the Teknomac roll-pack machines and the opportunities they provide for customers. In just one minute, the machines can prepare up to three mattresses for shipment, whether they’re foam, spring, or encased coil mattresses. And the roll-pack process is fascinating: The machine encloses the finished mattress in plastic, compresses it to be about an inch thick using a 60-ton press, folds it, rolls it, wraps it in a second plastic bag, and finally places the compacted mattress in a box for shipping.
Installing and Servicing the Machines
Somewhat behind the scenes of but vital to the roll-pack process are two 2-man teams from our Gribetz facility in Sunrise, Florida. With a combined 112 years of service to Leggett among them, they work diligently to install and service the Teknomac roll-pack machines sold by GSG.
Field Service Technicians Jose Ramirez, Jesus Aponte, and Ramesh Narinejit, and Technical Training Instructor Jorge Gutierrez each travel across the United States for 40-45 weeks per year as they set up and maintain the machines at various locations. Depending on the machine model, the team can complete a Teknomac roll-pack machine installation in just five to ten days.
Teknomac installation and service team members: Jesus Aponte (left), Field Service Technician with 27 years of experience; and Jorge Gutierrez, Technical Training Instructor with 36 years of experience.
Looking to the Future
According to Tony Garrett, President of GSG, almost every bedding manufacturer today has a roll-packed product offering. In the last decade, GSG has sold over 60 Teknomac roll-pack machines to our bedding customers in the United States.
Customers utilizing the roll-pack process have discovered several advantages. Contrary to initial concerns from the bedding industry, compression actually preserves the integrity of the finished mattress once it is opened and recovers. It also helps to prevent foam layers from shifting and spring unit wires from tangling.
Roll-pack mattresses use only 25% of the shipping space of mattresses shipped flat, greatly reducing delivery costs. They can also be shipped directly to consumers, which saves warehouse space.