Rancho Cucamonga mattress maker merges with British company

Rancho Cucamonga-based E.S. Kluft & Co. merged with a British company Wednesday with the goal of becoming one of the largest luxury bed manufacturers in the world.

Vi-Spring, a wholly owned subsidiary of Flex Group of Spain, agreed to purchase 51% of E.S. Kluft & Co. as part of the deal. The company has operations in Europe, Asia and North America. Flex Group has operations in Southern Europe and Latin America.

Earl Kluft, founder and chief executive of Kluft, will be the chief executive of the combined North American company. The manufacturer, known for its $33,000 king-sized Palais Royale mattress and box spring, sells its products at 12 major outlets such as Macy’s and Bloomingdales in the U.S.

The deal had been in the works for about a year and a half, Kluft said.

“We’re hoping to become the dominant luxury mattress manufacturer in the U.S. and we hope the whole world,” Kluft said. “This far exceeds any goal I ever had when I started.”

The 200 employees at Kluft’s California and Pennsylvania facilities as well as sales staff will retain their jobs. They expect to add 25 employees at their Pennsylvania plant by the end of the year, when they hope to start producing some of Vi-Spring’s products.

Vi-Spring also expects to keep its 100 employees, Kluft said.

The move will also expand Vi-Spring’s presence in the United States, where it opened its first store in the country three years ago. It recently opened a new plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and expanded its production capacity in Chile.

“For Vi-Spring and the Flex Group, this is a strategic move as we will accelerate our growth in the American market,” said Mike Meehan, Vi-Spring managing director.

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