US Bedding owner: New site in Fall River Sam’s Club could create 100 new jobs – Fall River Herald News

Charles Winokoor|The Herald News

FALL RIVER David Nguyen says hes been courted by no less than the governor of South Carolina to move his US Bedding manufacturing plant out of Fall River.

They have a lower tax rate and cheaper materials, he said, referring to South Carolinas selling points.

But Nguyen says hes developed a fondness for Fall River and its people since 2006, when he relocated his business to the Spindle City from Canton.

I love it here. Its a beautiful city, Nguyen said.

Back then he bought an old mill building at 451 Quarry St. in the Flint. But as his business grew, Nguyen found himself running out of space.

Instead of South Carolina or nearby Rhode Island, which he says was also a relocation option, Nguyen is moving his bedding company into the former Sams Club building less than a mile away in the commercial plaza known as Crossroads at 24.

Nguyen recently paid Walmart, parent company of Sams Club, $5.25 million for the vacant building and parking lot.

The only other tenants of the sprawling, elongated commercial plaza, which sits between Brayton Avenue and Jefferson Street, is a Walmart supercenter store and a McDonalds restaurant.

Nguyen, who says he fled Vietnam in 1979, said hes committed to doing business in the Spindle City.

The first time I come here, I loved it I see all the mill buildings, he said

Its been nearly five years since Walmart closed its Sams Club stores in Fall River, Seekonk and Warwick.

Nguyen says US Bedding should be up and running by late March inside the 140,000-square-foot, single-story structure.

The move, he says, will increase efficiency and allow him to ramp up manufacturing capacity by more than three fold.

More: Fall River company transforms mid-pandemic to fill urgent need

Nguyen says US Bedding, with a current workforce of 36 full- and part-time employees, has been manufacturing and assembling up to 300 mattress units per day.

He expects that daily capacity to increase to 1,000 at the new location, which has an address of 941 Grinnell St.

And hes more than willing to hire the people needed in order to achieve that benchmark.

Nguyen, 58, says he expects to eventually hire as many as 100 additional workers to keep up with demand from his client list of hotels, colleges, nursing homes and mattress and furniture store retailers.

I think I can do a good thing for the community here, and thats the bottom line, he said.

Nguyen credits Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan and Ken Fiola, vice president of Bristol County Economic Development Consultants, for their support.

Fiola says Nguyen paid a fee for his consulting services, which resulted in a $4.5 million loan from Fall Rivers BankFive and a million dollar loan agreement from Bristol County Economic Development Consultants the latter of which obligates Nguyen to create at least 50 new jobs within four years.

He wont need that much time, and I have no doubt hell add 100 jobs, said Fiola, who says that he and Nguyen worked closely on the project during the past eight months.

Nguyen says entry level salary at US Bedding is $14 an hour and can eventually go as high as $35 an hour.

Were willing to train to sew and do other things, he said, adding that its easy if anyone wants a job.

Fiola said he also advised Nguyen on how to go about getting a zoning variance from the city to change the official use of the former Sams Club site from commercial to industrial.

This is a tremendous success story for the city on a couple different fronts, Fiola said.

He cited the potential for US Bedding to become known as one of the largest mattress manufacturers on the East Coast. Fiola also noted that Nguyens initiative will result in the re-energizing of a previously abandoned piece of property.

Nguyen says the situation at the Quarry Street building in terms of functionality has become untenable.

There is virtually no parking available in front for large truck deliveries and only one loading dock. The Sams Club building, on the other hand, has 10 loading bays and wide-open interior space that can be divided into sections.

Nguyen said hell create a showroom, or design lab, where clients can lie down on mattresses and evaluate how they want their product to be built.

The building also has an array of skylight windows that can produce an abundance of natural light: I dont even have to turn on the lights (during the day), Nguyen said.

He says the Quarry Street buildings wooden floors were never meant to support the weight of a forklift or any other piece of heavy equipment.

Nguyen said that alone creates inefficiency.

He cites the example of truck shipments of heavy rolls of industrial plastic wrap used to protect mattresses. Nguyen says it takes six workers four hours to manually unload half a shipment of rolls per truck.

He said when a full shipment comes to the new site it will take a single worker with a forklift less than 45 minutes to unload a truck.

One of Nguyens major accounts is Houston-based Mattress Firm with its 3,500 retail stores, including one on Mariano Bishop Boulevard, some of which go under the Sleepys brand name.

Its a very important customer, he said. But its almost impossible to keep pace where we are.

Nguyen says two years ago he became franchisee of the New England division of Spring Air International, an Illinois company known for such high-end mattress lines as Four Seasons, Chattam and Wells and Sleep Sense.

Theyre a very important partner, he said.

Nguyen says he also at any given time makes mattresses for six to eight independently owned furniture storesincluding Cardis Furniture, which has a Swansea location.

And he says he sells mattresses to e-commerce bedding businesses such as Casper Sleep and Thuma, the latter of which is known for platform bed frames made in both the U.S. and Vietnam.

Nguyen says he buys his raw materials from domestic companies, some of which are in New England

He also says he has a 40-percent interest in Anchor Uniform Manufacturing LLC, which operates on the fourth floor of the Quarry Street mill building and which for decades has manufactured uniforms for the military, firefighters, police and the airline industry.

Nguyen says if he sells the Quarry Street property there will be enough room inside the former Sams Club for Anchor Uniform.

The second floor of the old building has been used by US Bedding for sewing work to make mattress borders and pillow toppers, while the third floor is used as a warehouse storage area for mattresses.

Nguyen said he had his share of difficulties and challenges in 2020.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March he saw his orders drop off as businesses across the country, including his clients, figured out how to adjust.

He said he managed to not lay off any workers when he realized he had enough non-woven materials on hand to begin manufacturing face masks.

Nguyen said he was allowed to remain open as an essential business because he sold masks to nursing homes and schools. He said he also donated a few hundred masks to the city.

There was no profit, for more than a couple months, he said.

Later in the year, Nguyen said, one of his workers tested positive for COVID-19. That led to his closing down US Bedding for two weeks until everyone tested negative.

He also had a major problem last year with the Quarry Street buildings sole elevator. Nguyen said it took four months before an elevator part became available to make the repair.

He says during that time his workers had to carry mattresses up the stairs to the third floor storage area.

Nguyen, 58, and his wife have five grown children, none of whom work with him in his bedding business.

He says the capital investment in new equipment and hiring more workers will pay off in the long run, both for him and the city.

I think I can do a good thing for the community here, and thats the bottom line, Nguyensaid.

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US Bedding owner: New site in Fall River Sam's Club could create 100 new jobs - Fall River Herald News