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Memory mattress guides manufacturer to success

Sarah Walters
25/ 4/2006

A MATTRESS with a memory is helping a Manchester manufacturer towards ambitious growth plans.

French Trading makes products from memory foam, a substance originally developed by NASA for the space programme, that moulds to the weight and temperature of the body.

The firm, which owns a manufacturing and distribution site in Clayton and turns over '1m, has developed a mattress that helps people with bad backs and sleeping problems.

Founder Peter Robinson, who set up the firm with David French in 1996, said the company is now hoping to achieve turnover of '3m within five years after securing design and supply contracts with Littlewoods, Argos and shopping channel QVC.

Peter says the firm's strengths are in its manufacturing and machining capabilities, which mean it can make almost anything that its clients commission and follow growth markets.

"A couple of years ago we were doing almost the same amount of turnover as we do now on a pet bed made from covered foam," said Peter. "It looked like a settee and originally the buyers laughed at it, but at its height it was making '850,000 a year.

"With the contracts we have going forward, growth to '3m turnover is sustainable. It's hard to be a manufacturer in the UK, but we're proud to be producing here. We don't import, we utilise skills in this region."

The relationship between the duo behind the firm is much deeper than a business one. The pair met through David's sister, who married Peter after meeting the Canadian on a Kibbutz in Israel.

"My wife is from Hale. I came to this country in 1970 and decided I was going to cycle around. I went to the nearest bus stop and said, `Do you go anywhere near a bicycle shop?', and my future wife was only 100 yards away from the one he took me to.

"But it wasn't until I was on the Kibbutz that I met her and when I came back to the UK, I started working with David. We were both involved in designing products for the NHS, such as pressure relief cushions and mattresses."

The duo teamed up to cater for the health service, but they also saw an opening in the retail market. "We started French Trading because it was a sector I was familiar with and I understood textiles.

"Now we want to grow from being a general manufacturer of memory foam products to being a brand."

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