International Bedding Corp history

Sealy was established as a licensing organization in Chicago in 1882.

Founded in 1905, Eclipse International brings with it a tradition of old world craftsmanship and advanced features.

In 1907 Morris Wuliger, a Hungarian immigrant, established Ohio Mattress Co. in an abandoned church.

Wuliger set out immediately to energize the 136-year-old Stearns & Foster brand, launching the label's first national advertising campaign since 1909.

The company bought its first Sealy license in 1924, when Frank Wuliger, son of the founder, inherited the presidency of Ohio Mattress.

In 1939 Frank called his son, Ernest, home from his second year of classes at the University of Chicago to help run the family business.

In 1956 Ohio Mattress acquired the Sealy Mattress Co. of Houston, Texas, signaling the start of Wuliger's push to dominate the Sealy organization and the mattress industry.

Jerry Gershaw inherited Bedding Industries of America from his father-in-law and maintained the trademark on the name even as he founded Therapedic Sleep Products Incorporated in 1957.

In 1960 the Justice Department had charged Sealy Inc. with two antitrust violations related to price fixing and the exclusive territories.

Ernest Wuliger succeeded his father as president of Ohio Mattress in 1963, and dedicated his $7-million-a-year company to several ambitious goals: surpassing $100 million in annual sales, national expansion, and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Seven years of appeals brought the case before the Supreme Court in 1967, when justices ultimately found Sealy in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

In 1970 Ohio Mattress became the only publicly held mattress manufacturer in the United States.

By 1973, the California Bureau of Furniture and Bedding had adopted waterbed regulations and, about that same time, Underwriters Laboratories began to certify waterbed heaters.

The case came to court in 1974, and within four months, a jury ruled in favor of Ohio-Sealy and awarded it triple damages of $20.4 million.

Appeals and a 1975 settlement with Sealy Inc. earned Ohio-Sealy $13 million, but its battle had just begun.

United States mattress makers were forced to turn to B.F. Goodrich in Canada—a costly option with imported latex mattress cores subject to a 15% duty charge, according to an August 1976 Bedding article headlined, “Is There a Future for Latex?”

But, after attending a round of furniture shows, the editors of Bedding magazine noted in August 1977 what they saw as the real beginnings of a move away from “the super-duper-extra-firm” mattress.

In December 1983 Wuliger also acquired Stearns & Foster, a prominent mattress brand, helping him to achieve two of his coveted goals.

Wuliger tenaciously fought Sealy for over a decade, winning a final judgment of $77 million in 1986.

One holdout, Sealy Mattress Co. of New Jersey, filed suit to block Ohio Mattress, but gave in before the end of 1987.

In 1989, less than two years after gaining control of the world's largest mattress brand, 67-year-old Ernest Wuliger suffered a heart attack and subsequently announced his intention to sell Ohio Mattress.

In mid-1990, Sealy also invested in its biggest advertising campaign ever.

In 1991 the Clipper Group swapped its $400 million in Sealy junk bonds for an additional 53.6 percent of the mattress-maker's equity, effectively buying out Gibbons Green van Amerongen.

The company’s Spinal Zone technology was first patented in 1993 and has been a mainstay of the Eclipse brand for more than 20 years.

When National Mattress Company announced it would be shutting down production of Eclipse Mattress in 1999, Cartliz jumped at the chance to acquire the nearly 90-year-old brand.

As part of its mission to promote back and spinal health, COCSA endorses products that meet its strict orthopedic standards with its “Seal of Approval.” The organization first endorsed BIA in 2003—an honor that the company has maintained for over 10 years.