Tempurpedic

Spring Air Co., maker of Spring Air mattresses, has merged with Consolidated Bedding Inc and is now expanding its mattress operations in the United States.

Effective July 2, the chief executive officer of Spring Air will be Robert W. Hellyer, 48 of Roswell, Ga. Hellyer was most recently president of Simmons Mattress Co. Previously, he was the head of national sales for Stearns and Foster, a division of Sealy Inc. Jim Nation, the current president of The Spring Air Company, will hold the same title in the new Spring Air. Steve Antinori, currently chairman and chief executive officer of Consolidated will become chairman of the Spring Air board, the company said in a statement.

In business, the inevitable always happens. Companies have to do everything in their capacity to cut loses. Every now and then we encounter news of plants closing and as much as mattress sales are picking up in the last couple of years, the downsizing in some companies still happen.

Spring Air Co. said Thursday it will close its Birmingham mattress facility as part of a streamlining plan. Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Spring Air said the Jefferson County plant will close in the next 60 days and that a regional sales force based in Birmingham will be shifted to Atlanta.