Mechanical Innovations, New Habits Change Local Firm

Mattress Company In Business For 33 Years In City

Repairing Accounts For 60 Per Cent Of Industry’s Work

Thirty-three years of steady business for the Ann Arbor Bedding Co, have been punctuated by great changes wrought by new living habits and mechanical innovations.

The firm was started in 1922 by Thomas S. Colvin, sr., in a building across the street from its present home at 1003 Broadway.

In those early years, featherbeds constituted most of the daily output. Mattresses were a secondary product.

Thomas S. Colvin, jr., who now manages the Ann Arbor Bedding Co., links the evolution of the mattress as we know it today to the advent of central heating which provides ample warmth for the bedroom.

Today, work at the local industry consists primarily of mattresses and springs, with pillow making following up the list. Approximately 60 per cent of the output consists of renovating old mattresses and pillows with new construction accounting for the remainder.

Owners of the Ann Arbor Bedding Co. attribute its steady output and financial success to two factors. First, the firm makes and sells products direct to the consumer, eliminating costs to the buyer necessitated by middlemen – in this case retail stores.

Second, the firm keeps consumer prices at a minimum in the renovation phase of its business by reusing those parts which are in good condition. Colvin emphasized that all merchandise leaving the factory is guaranteed.

The Ann Arbor Bedding Co. has a rather unusual organizational arrangement in that there are no employer-employe relationships. Those working at the plant are full partners. Besides Colvin, there are his mother, Mrs. T. S. Colvin, sr., and Maurice L. McGee, who joined the firm in 1947.

The manager said that the staff turns out an average of 1,250 mattresses, including springs (both new and renovated) each year and about 1,200 pillows.

Operations at the Ann Arbor Bedding Co., which has been at its present location since 1936, are highly departmentalized. This is more necessary than in many industries because of the dust which is collected by feathers and hair. Despite this handicap, the plant is kept clean.

Feathers - all feathers used are from waterfowl - are stored in sacks. A third floor room is devoted entirely to feather renovating and stuffing.

The old feathers come in dirty and matted into lumps. These are put into a large tumbler-like machine. Steam is forced into the machine and a handle enables them to be rotated. The feathers contain natural animal fats and when steamed and tumbled, the once again “come to life.” That is, they expand and come out of the operation white and fluffy. Colvin suggests that all feather-containing pillows be renovated at least every five years. The firm also keeps a supply of new feathers valued at several thousands of dollars.

When the feathers are cleaned, they are stuffed by hand – a job, which, though cumbersome and tiring, is termed most effective.

Mattress construction is an exacting phase of operations. This is handled in a downstairs room, far removed from the dust of the feathers. Colvin explained that the basic parts of a mattress are the steel springs, covered by burlap, cotton packing over the burlap and the outer covering or casing.

A key machine in the completion of a mattress is a tape-stitching device. This binds and sews the casing at the edges. The visible result of this is the rough and tough raised lining about the top and bottom edges of the mattress.

There are many types of mattresses, each of which has its strong and weak features. Mattresses with the steel springs bound may come apart when the springs break. Colvin believes that the best mattresses of this type are those which have strong wiring.

Inner spring mattresses have their popular features. They are comfortable for the sleeper and the springs need not be bound together by the manufacturer. They are held in place by a cloth binding. But here again a problem arises, for the cloth may tear, in which case the springs flop out in all directions.

The most satisfactory type of all-around mattress is the foam and rubber type, according to Colvin. Cost is the major holdup here. The manager looks for an eventual price decline as production is stepped up. Foam rubber, though popular only in recent years, is not a new development. It was in its experimental states as early as 1928.

To turn out the completed foam mattress, about all that needs to be done is to stitch-tape the top edge to prevent it from squashing and sew on the casing.

Still another phase of the business is found in a basement room. Here, box springs are prepared for customers. With these, the bed is completed – frame, box springs, and mattress. The box spring gets its name from wood supports which give it strength and provide a means of laying it onto the frame of the bed.

Colvin points out that the Hollywood-type bed is becoming very popular, especially in smaller homes. For a little more than $3, a set of legs can be screwed into the box spring, eliminating the bulky frame which adds several inches more in consumed area in each direction and costs a great deal of money.

When a customer picks his box spring, he knows that the right one will be covered, for the bottom is covered with a transparent cloth through which the customer may see the completed product.

The Ann Arbor Bedding Co., with its new and renovated springs, mattresses and pillows, includes the entire county in its trade area. And, it has had direct orders from such far away places as the Philippine Islands.

This local industry, reaching throughout the county with its steady production based on direct sales, is living testimony to the ability of smaller industries to thrive in a highly competitive field.

[captions]

HAND STUFFED: Thomas S. Colvin jr., general manager of the Ann Arbor Co., finds that stuffing pillows by hand is most efficient, though it is tough on the hands. Colvin says the local company produces some 1,200 pillows each year.

INTRICATE WORK: Maurice L. McGee, partner in the Ann Arbor Bedding Co., 1003 Broadway, needs skill and patience to repair strings such as these.

IMPORTANT OPERATION: M. L. McGee stitch tapes the casing around the mattress, performing the last job before the complete product is ready for the customer.

MORE SEWING: Mrs. M. L McGee sews cases with a deft hand. Much of the work here takes time and ability.