Today, The Comfort Group is Australasia’s largest bedding and foam manufacturer, producing world-class products under brands such as SleepMaker – the products that have made it a household name across Australia and New Zealand.
In 2020, SleepMaker was recognised by Canstar Blue for being the top mattress brand for customer satisfaction, earning a five-star rating for overall customer satisfaction, quality of sleep, comfort, support, value for money and durability. However, its beginnings weren’t nearly as grand.
The fourth-generation, family-owned business, came to life in the 1930s in an old Auckland shed. There, the grandfather of the current owners, Graeme and Craig Turner started making mattresses from kapok, a silk-like fibre. While much has changed since then, the values of family and the commitment to quality haven’t faltered.
“Graeme and Craig are still very active in the business and passionately share decades of knowledge and experience,” shares CEO Peter Mullin. “We also have the benefit of the next generation of family members working in key roles across the business. They share the same level of passion and desire to continue the great work that’s been done by the generations that preceded them.”
The company is coming up on its 100-year anniversary, and Peter credits its longevity to many things, but its family values top the list. “One of our core values is that ‘we work as a team and care as a family’. It’s created a great environment that brings out the best in our team, one where everyone truly cares about the products and service that we provide our customers,” he says.
We make mattresses for everyone that are designed and manufactured right here in Australia and in New Zealand with careful consideration for individual difference.
“The Comfort Group has developed a deep understanding of what our customers want and how to provide the best sleeping solution to every person. We don’t believe that’s a one-size-fits-all slab of foam imported from China. We make mattresses for everyone that are designed and manufactured right here in Australia and in New Zealand with careful consideration for individual differences. Our purpose is to help people live healthier lives and it’s what drives us to innovate into the future.”
And in terms of the environment; with its dedicated research and development department, the company has achieved the remarkable feat of creating a mattress that’s entirely recyclable. “We have created the first fully recyclable mattress, that has been launched in New Zealand, under a new brand called Sleepyhead Zero,” Peter reveals.
“At the end of the life of the mattress, they come back to us and the mattresses are recycled into an underlay used in flooring products like carpet. It’s pretty exciting.” The Comfort Group has invested heavily in five complex manufacturing facilities in Australia and three in New Zealand, employing over 1,000 people. It is the only bedding manufacturer in Australasia making both of the comfort and support layers within a mattress, foam and springs that produce the level of quality their customers demand. The Comfort Group is also building for the future.
“We have consistently invested in new manufacturing capability that ensures we continue to lead the industry, protect local jobs and deliver the best products available,” Peter says.
“In addition, we have purchased a large amount of land about an hour south of Auckland and have commenced the construction of a manufacturing facility that will support the New Zealand business for the next decade. It’ll be roughly 100,000 square metres in size – it’s enormous. It will be state of the art and represents a continued commitment to local jobs and local manufacturing.
“It’s an exciting time to be a part of this great business. We’re coming up to 100 years that this business has been in operation – that’s almost a century of supporting our region with local ownership, local jobs and local manufacturing, quite a rarity these days, I think.”
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