Bed manufacturing brothers Graeme (pictured right) and Craig Turner have been inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame this year.
Their Comfort Group is Australasia’s biggest mattress and foam manufacturer, which includes the Sleepmaker, Simmons, Dunlopillo, Design Mobel and Serta bedding brands as well as flexible foam manufacturer Dunlop Foams.
The hall of fame honour recognises and celebrates past and present business leaders who have significantly contributed to the economic and social development of New Zealand.
The brothers are the third generation to run the company and have 1200 employees on both sides of the Tasman, some of whom have been with the company for more than 40 years.
The Comfort Group was bought from Arthur Mudd by the brothers’ grandfather, Sidney Turner, in 1946. Since then the business has been family-run and -operated.
The 71-year-old company has also been voted one of New Zealand’s most trusted brands for the past three years and the brothers say their business has always been about making high-quality products.
While the company is now being run on a day-to-day basis by the fourth generation of Turners, Graeme and Craig are both still involved in the innovation and growth of the Sleepyhead brand.
One ambition they have still not realised is consolidating their Sleepyhead bed business on to one Auckland site in a 45,000sq m factory.
A couple of years ago the brothers paid $120 a metre for 14.8ha of horticulture land at Tidal Rd, Mangere, for a new state-of-the-art factory and have been held up while sorting out some issues with the site, which is now valued at $300 a metre.