AUSTRALIAN STORY A .H. BE A RD

INNOVATIVE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES HAS ENSURED A GOOD NIGHT ’S SLEEP FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS.

Sydney-based bed manufacturer A.H. Beard marks its 120th anniversary in November. “When you consider that less than four per cent of companies survive four generations, you realise what an achievement that is,” says Allyn Beard, director of A.H. Beard. Allyn (below) and his brother Garry, part of that fourth generation of the Beard family, currently helm the business.

In 1899, Enoch William Beard founded The Australian Bedding Mill, hand-making straw and tufted-horsehair mattresses – a far cry from the sophisticated bedding A.H. Beard makes today.

Unfortunately, the Australian Bedding Mill burnt down in 1926, leaving Enoch ruined. In 1927, Enoch’s son Albert and his wife Ada rebuilt the business, again making mattresses by hand. After WWII, Albert’s son Austin imported bedding-spring machinery into Australia, opening the door to innovative production methods. By the 1970s A.H. Beard’s King Koil, the first chiropractor-approved mattress, was a household name. Allyn and Garry came onboard in the 1990s. “We now produce 7000 to 10,000 mattresses per week across seven factories, which are exported to New Guinea and all over Asia,” says Allyn, who adds that his great-grandfather would be astonished by the company’s growth.

A.H. Beard prides itself on innovation. “The inclusion of built-in sleep-monitoring technology is one of our proudest achievements,” says Allyn.

The mattresses might be soft but the future of A.H. Beard is looking very strong indeed. “We’re now transitioning to our fifth generation,” says