NEW PLANT WILL SUPPORT GROWTH IN CENTRAL REGION OF U.S. WACO, TX - Kingsdown, Inc., the nation's largest independent and employee-owned mattress manufacturer, has entered into a long-term lease agreement for the former U.S. Postal Service regional sorting center on Imperial Drive. The company is investing $2 million in the 100,000-square-foot facility to convert it into a state-of-the-art sleep products manufacturing and distribution center that will support its growing business in the central portion of the country.
The new plant will create 50 new local jobs.
Kingsdown worked closely with the Greater Waco Chamber and its economic development team, as well as other government entities to close the deal.
"We are extremely excited about the opportunity to expand our operation to McLennan County to more effectively support our business growth in the region," said Kingsdown President and CEO Frank Hood. "The dedicated professionals in both the public and private sectors of the City of Waco and McLennan County have been fabulous to work with and we look forward to long and successful partnership together."
Hiring at the Waco plant is expected to begin immediately, and the company plans to start manufacturing byJan. 19, 2015. This will be Kingsdown's sixth domestic manufacturing facility.
"We are extremely proud that Kingsdown has chosen McLennan County for its newest manufacturing location," said McLennan County Judge Scott Felton. "We are very excited to welcome Kingsdown to our community and we are looking forward to its positive impact on our economy."
"I am sure that we will all rest better knowing that Kingsdown, Inc. is coming to Waco! They are a great company and we are looking forward to working with them on this great project," said Waco City Manager Dale Fisseler.
About Kingsdown:
Kingsdown, Inc. founded in 1904 and headquartered in Mebane, North Carolina, USA is a manufacturer of premium mattress systems serving leading retailers across the United States and in more than 20 countries. The company was honored in 2014 as the North Carolina Manufacturer of the Year. Each Kingsdown product is manufactured using handcrafted techniques combined with state-of-the-art research, materials and equipment. Research and development, training and distribution facilities, as well as two manufacturing facilities, are also headquartered in Mebane. International offices are located in Tokyo, Japan and Melbourne, Australia. Additional manufacturing and distribution centers are located in Winchester, VA; Muskogee, OK; Lakeland, FL; Stockton, CA; Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, Canada; Leicestershire, England; Tuscany, Italy; Istanbul, Turkey; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Shenzhen, China; Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, Australia. For more information, visit
www.kingsdown.com.
About Greater Waco:
Greater Waco is located in McLennan County, Texas along the Interstate 35 corridor and is home to more than 14,000 companies, 234,906 people and a regional workforce of approximately 320,000. To prepare and market the Greater Waco region for the businesses and jobs of the future, Greater Waco is strategically positioned with centralized access to Dallas and Austin (90 miles) and Houston and San Antonio (185 miles).
Since 2006, Greater Waco has seen more than $965 million in new capital investments and $596 million in riverfront and downtown development, making it an attractive place to live, work and play. Greater Waco is landscaped with top-rated higher educational institutions, including Baylor University, McLennan Community College and Texas State Technical College Waco.
The Greater Waco Chamber leads economic development efforts for the area, targeting five key industries for growth, including: Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace and Defense, Health Care, Professional and Financial Services and Supply Chain Management. For more information, visit
WacoChamber.com.
