Designing mattresses today is like starring on Broadway. It’s not enough to act or sing. These days to get a job on the Great White Way, you have to act, sing, dance, do gymnastics and perhaps even roller skate (for those of you who remember Starlight Express).
That’s how CT Nassau approaches design: The company does it all — mattress panels, borders, tapes, handles, sewn covers, foundation fabrics and more. The company also provides marketing materials, such as foot protectors, pillows or any textile complements.
Conceivably, a client could come in and design an entire mattress in one day.
“We can give them the total look,” says Andrea Lazzaroni, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “They can go home with paper simulations and a physical sample because we are very fast in our execution. We build not only a mattress but a full collection with different combinations of tastes that include tape, border, panel, decoration, foot protector and marketing materials to advertise in the showroom.”
How does the company do it all? Two words: vertical integration.
Done in a day
While the company is controlled by the majority shareholder Stellini Textile Group Milan, CT Nassau – Continental Ticking Corp. of America runs two manufacturing facilities in the United States and one cut-and-sew facility in Toronto, Canada. The company’s 75,000-square-foot plant is located at its headquarters in Alamance, North Carolina.
CT Nassau’s origin story lies in its tapes, which are designed to coordinate with the other elements of the bed, such as the borders, panels and handles.
“The factory is organized in a way that we start from the polymer, we produce our own yarn internally, and then we use it in both of our U.S. facilities, for tape and ticking,” says Paolo Stellini, managing director of Stellini, while giving BedTimes a tour of the Burlington plant.
“If somebody wants a new color, theoretically we can create the color, make the yarn, put the yarn on the loom, weave it and deliver the sample the same day,” he says.
Speed to market is critical now, according to Taber Wood, vice president of sales for CT Nassau. “All of our customers are trying to get the same piece of the pie,” Wood says. “So, it comes down to speed, who can get their concept in front of that person, that decision-maker, quicker and can promise delivery.”
Designing sustainably
Another high expectation on clients’ lists: sustainability. For mattress materials to be sustainable, they must be designed and manufactured sustainably from the start. Stellini is proud of the strides CT Nassau has made toward producing sustainable materials and achieving zero waste. (read more in our article here)
The next act
Thinking of the future, CT Nassau has big plans.
“Within two to three years, we’re looking into combining both tape and tick facilities under one roof to be more efficient and to reduce costs,” says Brooks, vice president of manufacturing. “We’ve always talked about enhancing our vertical integration. We also know that the industry wants to be made in the U.S. (due to supply chain issues), and that’s a concentration of ours.”
To become even faster and more vertically integrated, the company will leverage the local supply chain even more, she says.
Lazzaroni adds that merging the two plants will involve investing in new technology.
“We are speaking about an $8 million to $12 million investment that can happen in the next 36 months,” Lazzaroni says, emphasizing that the company is monitoring the economy and mattress market closely to decide when to make the move.
Meanwhile, the company will continue to focus on providing the total look to customers, being a one-stop shop, and acquiring and retaining talent.
“Technology is just a tool; then you need good people to use the tools,” Stellini says. “This is what we are invested in. CT Nassau is not just a nice name and a building; it’s the people that run the factory who make it possible.”
Cue the final bow, the standing ovation and the curtain call.