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Brian Croft, president of Foreverbed, shows off the Luna & Sol line of beds now made at the firm’s new factory in Webb City.
Up to 120 beds per day are shipping out of new mattress factory
The new Foreverbed factory with showroom is at 805 N. East St.
Foreverbed, a company on a stated mission to be the very best mattress company, not the biggest, was showing off its new factory last week – in Webb City.
The factory, on East Street in the Centennial Retail and Industrial Park, has been in operation since Dec. 27.
Prior to that, Foreverbed had been making beds for 3 1/2 years off Range Line Road in Joplin near Derailed Commodity. It had to move because it was thought grocer HyVee was buying the land to build a new store. HyVee backed out, but the threat sparked Foreverbed’s search for a new site.
“We weren’t going to have a home” and needed a new one within 5 months, says Brian Croft, president and founder of Foreverbed. Houk Construction committed to build the 30,000 square foot facility within that timeline.
Corporate offices are at the entrance.
The higher-end beds are displayed for wholesale customers in a show room.
Croft says he talked to other cities in the area, “but the attitude of the city was the deciding factor” in selecting Webb City.
Besides the city’s attitude, City Administrator Carl Francis says Foreverbed was able to purchase 3.8 acres at a discounted price of $5,000 per acre.
Part of the reason for the attractive price is that the ground is reclaimed mine land. Francis says he tells all those who purchase ground from the city in Centennial Park to “do their own diligence” by hiring soil engineers before building.
Croft says Foreverbed heeded those precautions and built the slab 8 inches thick on 8-foot-deep footings.
As important as the cost of the property, he says, is the site’s easy access to Highways 171 and 249, which lead to Interstates 49 and 44. “Literally, we’re at the crossroads of everything.”
And, he says driving to Webb City isn’t a hardship for the company’s 25 long-tenure employees.
Bill Rayborn covers hundreds of wood frames.
Michael Johnson sews tape edges.
Brandy Proffitt sews the edges of a mattress foam topper.
Foreverbed’s business grew when “we changed from only making for ourselves to wholesale.”
Now, in addition to selling beds at Croft Mattress stores, including the one at 1720 S. Range Line Road (with the “free naps” banner out front) the factory is shipping beds to 114 wholesale customers.
Croft says the new factory is better than the old one because it includes offices and a showroom.
In the showroom, wholesale customers can see and are encouraged to try out the different variations.
It’s not a retail store. If you want to buy one of the beds made here, you can purchase one locally at the Croft Mattress story or nine other stores in the immediate area, or go to Springfield or Northwest Arkansas.
All of the beds made at the factory come with a lifetime warranty, including the Luna & Sol queen-size, which sells for $299.
There are three other lines: Ascend, on par with most national brands, Elevate and Origin.
The top-of-the-line Origin name alludes to when the company got its start by making beds to order.
“We’re proud we have the most luxurious mattress you can buy in the Midwest,” says Croft. Customers can select options that raise the cost of the bed up to $15,000.
“Whatever you dream up, we want to be able to offer that for you” with the Origin, says Croft.
Then there’s the Odyssey, a twin-size mattress made to give truckers a better night sleep and double as a couch cushion. It can be purchased locally at 4 State Trucks, the MHC Kenworth and Frightliner dealers and MidAmerica RV.
The secret to making a “bed to last a lifetime,” says Croft, is using the same premium components used to make fine furniture.
He says the Luna & Sol (moon and sun) beds are built with the same high quality components as Origin beds. They just have four layers instead of the Origin’s 14 layers.
“You’re not going to get a bed built like this from anyone else for $299,” Croft says about the Luna & Sol.
Josh Wilson, vice president of sales, leads a tour of the factory for wholesale customers.
Bagged mattresses are ready to be shipped out. A stack of Odyssey truck mattresses is at the left.
The Webb City Sentinel isn’t a newspaper – but it used to be, serving Webb City, Missouri, in print from 1879-2020. This “newspaper” seeks to carry on that tradition as a nonprofit corporation.
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