Bedding manufacturer to open its first Md. plant in Havre de Grace

Bedding manufacturer Elite Comfort Solutions plans to open its first Maryland plant in Havre de Grace and add 224 full-time jobs within three years.

The Georgia-based maker of specialty foam for bedding and furniture production will run a foam pouring and fabrication operation in a leased facility at 1900 Clark Road, located in a Harford County Enterprise Zone, where new job-creating businesses are eligible for tax breaks. The facility is expected to open in 2024.

Tyson Hagale, president of bedding products at manufacturer Leggett & Platt, Elite Comfort’s parent company, said the new facility is part of an overall expansion of the maker and producer of polyurethane foam technologies.

It makes Advanced Memory Foam, temperature responsive foam and conventional comfort foams used for the company’s boxed and finished mattresses, mattress and furniture components and other fabricated items. The company operates more than a dozen facilities across the U.S.

Gov. Larry Hogan, in an announcement Monday, called Elite’s decision to expand to Maryland a “huge gain” for the state’s manufacturing industry and Harford County’s economy.

The company will receive a $900,000 conditional loan through a state Department of Commerce program, Advantage Maryland, formerly known as the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund. Harford County also is providing a conditional loan, of $90,000, which will go toward workforce training costs. The manufacturer is eligible for state and local tax credits, such as the Enterprise Zone Property Tax Credit and the Job Creation Tax Credit.

“They join a growing list of national brands that have chosen Harford as an ideal place to do business,” Harford County Executive Barry Glassman said in an announcement Monday.