April

Quester Group.
9am on Thursday the 10th April saw six members being made very welcome for the start of our tour around the Millbrook Bedding factory. It’s always a plus when we start with tea & biscuits. Both the guys (Colin & Ross) who showed us around were really enthusiastic and proud of the quality of their beds. Every part is made at the premises save the mattress buttons and, probably, the castors.
We started with the machinists sewing the fabric for the divan sides, then the wire being made into springs, the springs being sewn into individual pockets which formed the base of the mattress. Quality mattresses have 3000 springs in them! Then it was on to the men who hand stitched all the springs to the edges. From there it was time to add the flocking (which can be a combination of lambs wool, mohair, horsehair and silk depending on the price of the bed) and latex and then the top fabric. Once passed by the quality inspectors we saw them packaged and ready for delivery. Having seen the mattresses made we then moved on to see the bed bases being made from pre-cut wood from green forests in Scandinavia. We also passed (and sat in) some ‘Houses of Commons’ chairs which Millbrook refurbishes under government contracts which also includes beds for the forces and prisons. All of their beds are made to order and, massive though their warehouse is, there is no stockpile.
After more tea and biscuits we were let loose in the show room to try out all the beds. Starting on the £4000.00 bed and progressing down to a mere £700 they all seemed quite comfy though I wasn’t to keen on the bed that vibrated! It was a truly interesting morning and a real insight into the quality and comfort of beds. None of us realised how much work goes into a quality bed – most of which is hand-made- and justifies the cost. Well done Julie – we look forward to the next quester visit.