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Take a walk through 135 years and see how Simmons introduced technological innovations like the Beautyrest® Pocketed Coil® spring mattress, the Hide-A-Bed® product and HealthSmart™ bed. Simmons Bedding Company is the maker of Beautyrest®, Beautyrest Black®, Natural Care®, ComforPedic® and Simmons Kids® mattresses, among others. Simmons is committed to helping consumers attain a higher quality of sleep and supports this mission by developing superior mattresses and promoting a sound, smart sleep routine. See how Simmons'® technology and innovations helps the world sleep better every night.
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1870 Zalmon G. Simmons built his first factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin. With the help of nine employees, Simmons originally manufactured wooden insulators and cheese boxes. |
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1876 Zalmon G. Simmons changed an entire industry with his decision to mass-produce woven wire mattresses. |
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1889 Spiral coil springs for woven mattresses were introduced. Simmons' innovative manufacturing process dropped the price of a woven wire mattress from $12 to 95 cents, enabling everyone to sleep much more comfortably. |
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1900 James Marshall patented a wrapped coil spring. Because each one was made manually, the time and labor involved drove the cost so high that they could only be found on luxury liners such as the Titanic. |
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1912 Simmons introduced the Wall-A-Bed® bedding product, the predecessor to the well-known Murphy bed that Simmons produced for the Murphy Company. |
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1916 Simmons started its first national advertising campaign with a double-spread ad in the Saturday Evening Post. |
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1918 After World War I, Simmons introduced cotton felt mattresses. |
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1919 Simmons had acquired manufacturing plants in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Elizabeth, Seattle and Atlanta. |
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1920 Simmons created a nationwide service-station program under which retail stores could only carry samples of Simmons® products but the customer would receive direct delivery from the Simmons® warehouse within 24 hours. |
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1925 John Franklin Gail, Simmons' top engineer, designed a machine that would coil wire and insert it into fabric sleeves quickly and independently. Gail's Pocketed Coil® Spring Machine generated the unique independent Pocketed Coil® springs that formed the basis of Simmons® Beautyrest® mattress. Also that year, Simmons commissioned one of the first definitive sleep studies. |
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1927 Eleanor Roosevelt was featured in print advertising for the Simmons® Beautyrest® line & collection. She continued to be an advocate through her radio show into the 1930's. |
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1929 Simmons used some of the most sensational testimonials in advertising history, including gratis testimonials from such giants as Henry Ford, H.G. Wells, Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi and George Benard Shaw. |
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1930 When the depression caused many families to give up their homes and double-up with others, Simmons launched a studio couch, which was an attractive piece of furniture by day and a comfortable piece of bedding by night. |
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1931 Dr. Harry M. Johnson released a Simmons commissioned study on sleep and sleep surfaces conducted at the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, using a motion picture camera and a device that recorded the number of times sleepers moved. On average sleepers changed their posture more than 35 times during an eight-hour night. Simmons' pioneering research formed the basis for modern-day sleep technology. |
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1941 During World War II, Simmons answered America's military demands by manufacturing 2,700 different items including parachutes and bazooka rockets. |
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1947 Simmons turned to glamour in advertising in the 1940's with advertisements including such movie stars as Dorothy Lamour and Maureen O'Hara. |
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1957 Simmons created its National Technological Center (NTC) in Munster, Indiana. It was a highly sophisticated engineering laboratory that was committed to developing products that helped consumers get better sleep. |
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1958 Simmons became the first mattress company to introduce the king and queen size mattresses. Years later, they were featured in Life magazine and other national publications. |
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1975 Simmons moved its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia. Shortly after, its research and development team relocated to Norcross, Georgia to a building known as the Simmons Research Center (SRC). |
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1980 Simmons became the Official Bedding Supplier of the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. |
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1995 Simmons launched the Simmons® BackCare® mattress. Designed to help keep proper spinal alignment, Simmons® BackCare® mattresses provide the sleeper with the proper support and comfort in all five zones of the body. The same year, Simmons introduced "The Bowling Ball Mattress" ads to illustrate dramatically how the movement of one person on the mattress is less likely to disturb his or her partner on a Simmons® Beautyrest® bed. Also that year, the new Simmons Institute for Technology and Education (SITE) opened its doors. |
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1996 Simmons began working with famous sleep experts like Dr. James Maas, Professor of Psychology at Cornell University and the author of the best selling book "Power Sleep", and Dr. James Wellman, the director of one of the nation's largest sleep disorders clinics, to further its sleep research. That same year, Simmons became the Official Bedding Supplier of the 1996 Centennial Summer Olympics in Atlanta. |
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2000 Simmons celebrated the 75th anniversary of its Beautyrest® line by introducing a no-flip, no-rotate product line, and providing choice to the consumer with the Motion Separation Index. |
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2001 Simmons introduces the first new mattress size in 42 years. The Olympic® Queen mattress was developed to be a full six inches larger - that's 10% more sleeping space - than a queen size mattress, but made to fit on a traditional queen frame. It's ideal for those people who want more elbow room than a queen size mattress provides, but don't want a king, either because they don't have room, don't want to buy new bedroom furniture or simply don't prefer it. |
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2004 Simmons announced the revolutionary Pocketed Cable Coil™ design. Select mattresses feature these Pocketed Cable Coil™ springs alternating with our classic Pocketed Coil® springs. The result is a mattress that helps you sleep luxuriously undisturbed, night after night with a higher Motion Separation Index and more durability. |
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Simmons also introduced HealthSmart™ Bed, the best mattress for a clean and healthy sleep environment. Now you can wash away stains, germs, bacteria, dust mites, odors, and perspiration just like when you clean your sheets.
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2005 The "Bowling Ball" ads are brought back by popular demand. Both dealers and the public applaud the return of the dramatic television commercial demonstrating the unsurpassed motion separation of the Beautyrest® mattress. |
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2006
With the launch of the Natural Care® line, Simmons offers consumers remarkable comfort and support on a mattress featuring a natural latex core. Extracted from the rubber tree, natural latex is one of the most soothing and responsive sleeping surfaces in the world.It's also naturally anti-microbial, hypoallergenic, dust mite, mold and mildew resistant. Simmons® BackCare® mattresses make a technological breakthrough by offering Technogel™ support. Flexible and highly elastic, the Technogel™ material is a layer of gel in the lumbar area that gently massages and cradles the back throughout the night for ideal support. |
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2007 Simmons takes the popular memory foam sleeping experience to new heights with the release of the ComforPedic by Simmons™ line. Featuring Next-Generation Memory Foam, the ComforPedic® mattress offers consumers the perfect body-conforming combination of soft comfort and firm support. |
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Today, Simmons has 18 manufacturing plants in the US and Puerto Rico, as well as 23 international licensees and sub-licensees. The Beautyrest® continues to distinguish itself from other mattresses and helps Simmons promote its Better Sleep Through Science® philosophy. Simmons' research continues to form the basis for modern-day sleep technology designed to improve people's lives. Simmons is a firm believer that the mattress you sleep on can make a difference in the quality of your life. Plans for the future include the continuance of consumer sleep education and the development of products that help people everywhere achieve quality sleep. |
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2008 Danny Seo, renowned environmental lifestyle expert, joins the Simmons team in helping design the Simmons Natural Care® latex mattress. The Natural Care® collection is an eco-friendly sleep system that features a natural rubber tree based latex layer made from biodegradable materials like rubber tree sap and a layer of base foam enhanced with soy. As Danny says, "I feel better at night knowing the latex foam mattress I'm sleeping on is good for me - and the environment." Simmons broadens the Beautyrest® line with the addition of Beautyrest Studio™, a mattress featuring sleek European design with Beautyrest® performance. With the Beautyrest Studio™ line, customers can enjoy the superior conformability, durability and motion separation benefits of Pocketed Coil® spring technology in a value line of mattresses. |
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2009 As an entrée into the world of better sleep, Simmons introduces the BeautySleep® line. These durable, affordable mattresses boast a High Performance Coil System featuring heavy gauge coils to deliver years of performance. Select models also offer Visco Memory Foam, BackGuard® support and Foam Support. To keep up with the demand for the ComforPedic® Collection with its NxG® Advanced Memory Foam, Simmons introduces the ComforPedic Loft™ mattress. It gives customers the consistent comfort, heat dissipation and quicker recovery benefits of NxG® memory foam at an attainable price. |
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