Manuel Campbell opened Campbell Mattress Inc. in 1933 in Cape Girardeau. In the early 1970s, Norman Wood purchased the business.

"Manuel Campbell certainly had grit opening the factory in the period of the Great Depression," says Matthew Wood, one of three current owners of Campbell Mattress. "My father, Norman, acquired Campbell Mattress in 1972, and it has remained a family business."

Matthew now operates the company along with his brother, Mark Wood, and sister, Cindy Wood.

"The original factory was on Hanover Street in Cape," Wood says. "My father purchased the building at our current location on Minnesota Street as he upgraded the factory and equipment..."

Campbell produces bedding for residential and dormitory use.

Stephen Johnson watches a rolled-up mattress come out of the rolling machine for shipping at Campbell Mattress Co. in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

"We work exclusively with Ross [Furniture] and Missouri Mattress in the Cape area, but we have multiple dealers in the region that we partner with, such as Hefner's in Poplar Bluff, plus many small dealers," Wood says. "We have dealers throughout the Midwest now, and we produce dorm bedding for colleges throughout the country."

The company recently purchased a new machine that makes transporting a new mattress much easier.

"Our new mattress rolling machine is state of the art, and technicians were flown in to Cape to assist with the installation," Wood says. "The machine initially compresses and then vacuum seals the mattress. Next, the mattress is gently placed into a box for shipping, or the rolled mattress can be placed in the trunk of your car or in the back seat, and you can set it up at home. The rolled mattresses are much easier to handle and transport."

The mattresses that Campbell manufactures are designed and engineered to be compressed and rolled.

"We are the only mattress company producing extremely high coil count mattresses that can be compressed and rolled," Wood says. "Some of these mattresses have over 3,500 coils, whereas the average mattress has about 400 to 500 coils."

Stephen Johnson loads a mattress into the rolling machine that flattens and rolls it up for shipping at Campbell Mattress Co. in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

Mattresses with an ultrahigh coil count create substantial comfort and support.

"Independent lab tests reveal that our ultrahigh coil count mattresses have extreme durability," Wood says.

Campbell Mattresses also come two-sided for extra durability.

"[We] were the first company to offer a two-sided mattress with separate comfort levels," Wood says. "One of our ultrahigh coil count mattresses has a soft side and the other side is medium to firm. This can take the risk out of buying a mattress. Once you get it home, simply flip it over if you need a different comfort level."

Wood believes working closely with mattress dealers has helped the company stay successful. He also feels the team at Campbell has been a major part of its success.

"Our team ... is tremendous when it comes to creating and producing our bedding, and we always strive to give superb customer service," Wood says. "We approach producing our mattresses like we were making all of them for our own families. For example, we use only safe foams and components in our mattresses, certified free from harmful chemicals. Everyone at Campbell has the authority to pull a mattress out of production if it does not meet our exacting quality standards ... Also, we ... handcraft our mattresses ... as we believe this allows us to create a better quality mattress. And, we use only U.S.-made components for consistent quality."