Patented design boosts Sleepyhead demand

By ELLEN READ Manufacturing Writer

Business is booming for one of New Zealand's few remaining privately owned big manufacturing businesses, Sleepyhead.

In October, the firm launched a new bed range including what it says is a world-first in bed design. And the response has been overwhelming.

The Auckland-based company spent six years and $6 million developing the Sensorzone Sleep System concept - which provides custom-built comfort in beds queen-sized or bigger.

The core of the Sensorzone Sleep System is made from either elasticell foam or pure natural Latex Gold rubber. Within the core, each spring is contained in its own individual zone and responds independently to pressure and movement. In most innersprung mattresses, the springs are linked to each other.

The launch has been an outstanding success, said the company's marketing manager, Alastair McLaren.

"We're 20 per cent up on a very optimistic budget and our retailers say they are getting good through-sales," he said.

The range had sold well over budget and retailers reported confidence in the product and strong consumer support, he said.

As a result, the company has taken on new staff and expanded production, effectively doubling capacity to keep pace with demand, as well as keeping its factory running 20 hours a day.

The system has attracted interest from overseas but Sleepyhead has had to delay an Australian launch due to the unprecedented local demand.

The Sensorzone patented technology could win the company millions of dollars in export earnings.

Joint managing director Graeme Turner would not estimate the international value of the technology, saying "plainly, if it had no value we wouldn't have patented it".

Sleepyhead Manufacturing was founded in 1935.

The Turner family have run the business for three generations, pouring $2 million a year in recent times into product research and development.