Established in 1899 by Enoch William Beard, A.H. Beard has been improving lives through better sleep for the last 120 years. With their commitment to creating the best sleep experience possible, the pursuit of excellence has long been a cornerstone of their business. Today, that continues with fifth generation brothers, Garry and Allyn Beard who are leading the company to new heights across Australia, New Zealand and beyond.
Allan Walton (Bedding Manager for McKenzie & Willis) and Bill Willis (General Manager for McKenzie & Willis) recently visited their head office to discover more about the history of the company, the process and technology behind their beds and what’s in store for the New Year.
Albert and Ada Beard
On their trip, Allan and Bill were hosted by Allyn Beard himself and spent time musing over the histories of both McKenzie & Willis and A.H. Beard. There are many similarities between the two companies, including the family business environment, dedication to quality and the fact that both companies are over 100 years old. As it happens A.H. Beard is one of only twenty Australian companies that have been in business for over 100 years!
Allyn Beard and Allan Walton in front of restored replicas of the original delivery vehicles used by A.H. Beard in the early 1900’s.
One of the purposes of their trip was to get a behind the scenes look at the detailed process of making an A.H Beard bed. They had a tour of A.H. Beard’s Sydney facility, which is one of seven across Australia and New Zealand. Here they can produce 350 beds a day. Allyn Beard tells us, “A.H. Beard manufactures between 6,000 and 10,000 mattresses per week for the Australian and international markets. The business continues to grow despite competition from low-cost imports.”
Allan Walton at A.H. Beard’s Sydney facility.
It was evident through this tour that A.H. Beard really are steadfast in their pledge to “improve lives through better sleep.” A.H. Beard takes extreme pride in producing some of the world’s best beds and they regularly test beds straight off the production line to make sure they are up to the very highest standards. “Each time we develop a new mattress, it undergoes extensive testing to ensure it meets our exacting quality standards” says Allyn Beard. “We can see how the various components hold up to extended use, and how their performance may change over time. If a component doesn’t withstand this test, it doesn’t make it into our mattresses.”
The rollator machine subjects the mattress to the equivalent of 10 years’ use by two average sized people.
The mattress pictured above has 23,000 cycles completed, which is the equivalent to 10 years use by two average sized people. Even to the trained eye of bedding expert Allan Walton, “the bed still looked amazing with no signs of deterioration or sagging.” The bed had another 7,000 cycles to go, taking its exhaustive testing to 30,000 cycles. This is the very reason A.H Beard can give up to a 15 year warranty on their beds.
Allan Walton and Allyn Beard inspecting the mattress to see how it performed.
Allan and Bill were also treated to a preview of the new hand tufted beds from A.H Beard’s Signature and Grand Luxury Collections. These mattresses are ultra luxurious and contain premium natural fibres such as wool, alpaca, cashmere and mohair to name a few. Allyn Beard explains “sustainable and biodegradable, pure Australian wools and fleeces provide natural, healthy and rejuvenating comfort. The natural fibres provide superior micro-climate control that cannot be artificially manufactured in polyester fibres. The resulting regulation of body temperature and humidity ensures a more comfortable night’s sleep that’s not only good for you, but good for the environment.”
Hand tufting and side stitching is extremely labour intensive (and can take a team of four people up to ten days to produce), but it allows for more comfort layers to be added to the mattress without the depth of the mattress increasing. In fact, the A.H. Beard Signature Collection mattresses have more comfort layers and support coils than any other New Zealand made bed. Hand tufting increases comfort level and reduces settling. Allan Walton describes the feel of them as just “like floating on a cloud.”
Both Bill and Allan were so impressed with the hand tufted range of beds that we will be adding three A.H Beard Grand Luxury beds to our collection in April/May. If you would like to be one of the first to try these amazing mattresses, contact us now for an in store bed consultation.
Did you know?
Right now and until the 27th of January 2019 we have amazing deals on top bed brands including A.H. Beard. Plus as an extra special offer for our blog readers, mention this post in store and we will give you an extra $100 off the sale price of any A.H Beard or King Koil Bed purchased before the 27th of January 2019!
Check out our Summer Big Bed Sale online now and receive FREE shipping NZ wide by road.
