Covid-19 no nightmare for mattress maker A.H. Beard

The COVID-19 crash has turned into a bed-driven rebound for mattress maker A.H. Beard, with September sales at their highest ever.

A.H. Beard chief executive Tony Pearson at their warehouse in Padstow in Sydney’s west: ‘Building a supply channel has becomemore challenging.’ Picture: Britta Campion

The COVID-19 crash has turned into a bed-driven rebound for Australian mattress maker A.H. Beard, with September sales at their highest ever.

The lockdown has seen thousands of Australians barred from overseas travel, with money to burn on brand new plush premium mattresses from the Australian manufacturer.

Things have been so good for A.H. Beard that chief executive Tony Pearson has had to expand staff numbers by almost 30 per cent, keeping 433 people across the group in work. He said the recovery had been uneven after an overall 40 per cent collapse in business in April, with commercial sales still well down. But retail sales are up 60 per cent on the same time last year.

“Six months ago across my network I may have manufactured 900 mattresses a day. Over September I was manufacturing 1400 a day,” Mr Pearson said.

“To be able to build that capacity means more employment. We build high-quality hand-made products so I need to build the skill set and in some cases acquire machinery.”

He said the expected tax cuts in the budget, coupled with more home building measures, could stimulate further business, although an expected a return to international travel might hit sales.

Mr Pearson said things were looking good, but like many manufacturers in Australia he wants the federal government to address issues in the broader economy that could crimp any potential growth of the company in the years ahead.

“Building a supply channel has become more challenging. A good proportion of our materials come from Australia but because we purchase some of the highest-quality commodities we do have global supply chains.” He said for too long governments had not supported manufacturing capabilities, which had led many to close or head offshore.

“Historically it’s been incredibly difficult to be a manufacturer in this country and it’s no surprise not many are left. Those that are left have had to be incredibly agile to be in this market,” he said.

In recent weeks the federal government has made several announcements aimed at buoying the manufacturing industry, but Mr Pearson was unsure how effective they would prove in removing the barriers his sector faced.

He said the main issues were rising prices of energy, insurance and commodities.

“We should as an Australian nation have a competitive advantage in our ability to provide cheap and efficient energy to our manufacturing sector — it should be a strategic advantage. I don’t believe it is currently,” he said.

Mr Pearson said accessing skilled labour was difficult, particularly given bed making was no longer taught as a trade. He said there ought to be some recognition, through payroll or other tax relief, of the cost of training staff.

“We have a high commitment to manufacturing really high-quality products; the only way to do that is through employing highly skilled and accessible people,” he said.

“Any ability to provide that, whether that’s through tax relief or payroll tax relief, employment incentives, or providing skilled incentives to individuals to get training (would be positive).”

Mr Pearson said he hoped the recent experience of supply shortages could see a return to manufacturing of components by his and other businesses.

“We have heard some talk around promoting local investment in manufacturing onshore.

I can manufacture all my finished goods here but I’d love to set up my own spring plant, my own fibre plants,” he said.

“What I’ll personally be looking at is whether I can manufacture all my springs in regional NSW or SA … rather than bringing them from the UK or China.”