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From Home Furnishing Business
HSM Manufacturing Medical Mattresses and Free-Standing Metal Beds to Support Crisis Response
April 3,
2020 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
HS Manufacturing, LLC (Hickory Springs), a division of Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company (HSM), has developed a new medical mattress that can be produced quickly and efficiently at multiple facilities across the U.S. In addition, HSM has materials ready to immediately manufacture free-standing metal beds that meet specifications required for emergency assistance sites.
The company has produced medical mattresses for years at its Blue Ridge facility in Hickory. This new medical mattress product and shift in production was initiated to meet increased demand for sleep surfaces in hospitals, overflow triage sites and medical settings across the country resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
HSM is in the process of shifting production across facilities in North Carolina and Mississippi to produce the new six-inch mattresses that utilize a nylon cover that can be wiped and disinfected for sanitation. In anticipation of the surge in demand due to accelerating contraction rates for COVID-19, the company is ramping up capacity to initially produce approximately 4,000 mattress units and 2,000 metal bed units per day, with potential to expand production further. The company has established a temporary pricing program for both products that is below market price levels in order to support nationwide U.S. relief efforts.
This initiative not only aids in our nation’s disaster relief efforts, but also transitions some of HSM’s workforce back to a level of normalcy and sustainable activity, as manufacturing demand has softened as a result of temporary retail closures across the country. The foam and spring mattresses also utilize components from HSM’s spring, metal and wire plants in Hickory, supporting demand and capacity utilization at those locations.
“This is a time of national emergency and we want to deploy all the resources of our organization to help our nation,” said Michael W. Hinshaw, Jr., chief operating officer at HSM. “As one of the largest suppliers of OEM mattresses and mattress components for the bedding industry, we have the expertise and capabilities to produce these products quickly and efficiently to help address health care facility bed shortages as well as provide temporary sleep surfaces for emergency and overflow hospital sites nationally.
“In this unprecedented time, we are faced with many challenges, but as a company we are focusing all of our efforts on helping those in need, while also supporting the well-being of our employees by taking extra sanitary precautions for elevated cleanliness and adhering to workforce distancing guidelines as directed by the CDC and the WHO,” he continued.