[Report] A Factory Like a Gallery... Visiting 'Simmons Factorium'

Simmons Mattress Production Factory Located in Moga-myeon, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi
R&D Center and Production Line Tours Offered to the Public
Promoting Local Cooperation at 'Simmons Terrace,' a Hot Place in Icheon

Simmons Factorium located in Moga-myeon, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do.

'Simmons Factoreum,' established in 2017 on a 74,505㎡ site in Moga-myeon, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, with an investment of 150 billion KRW by Simmons. Simmons beds, familiar for their advertisement slogan "Unwavering Comfort," are all born here. Factoreum is a compound word combining 'Factory,' meaning manufacturing facility, and 'Rium,' meaning to show. Simmons confidently reveals the entire bed production process to the public under the guidance of professional curators. When visiting Simmons Factoreum on the 11th, it felt more like a gallery with a subtle diffuser scent tickling the nose rather than a factory filled with the smell of oil and dust.

Entering the Simmons Factoreum, built with red bricks, the first thing encountered was the Sleep Research and Development (R&D) Center. Here, over 250 detailed tests are conducted using 41 types of testing equipment. In the 'Rolling Test' area, hexagonal cylindrical rollers weighing up to 140 kg were pressing strongly on the mattress and rolling back and forth. The rollers roll more than 100,000 times at a speed of 15 times per minute to measure fabric damage or spring deformation of the mattress.

The 'Vertical Drop Tester,' which drops a bowling ball from 100 cm onto three bowling pins set on the mattress, was also intriguing. This test compares the support of Simmons' proprietary pocket springs with other companies' springs. In repeated experiments, Simmons products never toppled a single bowling pin. A Simmons representative explained, "The bowling ball experiment became widely known through a 1995 TV commercial," adding, "It was the experiment that imprinted the brand image of 'unwavering comfort' on the public."

'Vertical Drop Tester' for testing the independent support of springs. (Photo by Simmons)

The mattress performance is being tested at the Simmons Factorium Sleep Research and Development (R&D) Center. (Photo by Simmons)

Simmons presents radon and thoron safety certification, flame retardancy, and eco-friendliness as the three major safety keywords for mattresses. Simmons is the only domestic bed company to have obtained radon and thoron safety certification for all household mattresses, which are carcinogenic substances. Besides sending products to the Korea Standards Association (KSA) for testing, Simmons also maintains a separate space within the R&D center to conduct radon tests on raw materials and finished products at all times. A Simmons representative said, "Maintaining radon certification for all products is a promise made to consumers after the radon incident," emphasizing, "Since the bed is the most comfortable and longest-stayed space, safety is our top priority."

Simmons developed a flame-retardant mattress by applying the newly developed and patented material 'Maximum Safety Padding.' This is to secure the golden time to prevent rapid fire spread in case of a fire. While advanced countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada have legislated the distribution of flame-retardant mattresses, domestic laws are still insufficient. Nevertheless, Simmons strictly manages by applying flame retardancy to all household mattresses. A Simmons representative said, "In home fire accidents, mattresses are surprisingly often the ignition source," adding, "There have been customers who repurchased beds solely because of Simmons' flame-retardant technology."

Mattress production line inside Simmons Factorium. (Photo by Simmons)

Moving to the mattress production factory, we stopped in a space with blackout curtains. When an employee pressed a button, the curtains were raised, revealing the mattress production line at a glance. It was arranged as if an audience member was looking down at the stage from the second floor. At each line, employees meticulously inspected mattress springs, internal materials, covers, and more. They produce an average of 600 mattresses per day, with a maximum of 1,000. Park Sang-woo, Director of Brand Communication at Simmons, explained, "So far, the length of high-tensile wire used to make springs at Factoreum has reached 1.55 million kilometers," adding, "That is enough to circle the Earth 36 times." High-tensile wire is the raw material twisted to make springs.

Near Simmons Factoreum is 'Simmons Terrace,' known as a 'hot place' in Icheon on social media (SNS). Simmons Terrace is a complex cultural space consisting of a brand experience area, caf?, and museum. It is famous for the French illustrator Jean Julien, who visited and left paintings on walls and glass windows throughout the space. Finding the paintings and taking 'proof shots' is quite enjoyable. Since opening in September 2018, the cumulative number of visitors exceeded 600,000 as of September last year. As of the previous day, there were about 110,000 posts tagged with 'Simmons Terrace' on Instagram.

Simmons Terrace also hosts an annual 'Farmer’s Market,' a direct transaction market where local farmers from the Icheon area can sell agricultural and specialty products. This has been held since 2018 as part of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management. Director Park said, "We pre-purchase a certain amount of agricultural products to reduce the economic burden on participating farmers," adding, "This is the starting point of Simmons' circular social contribution."