PRINCESS SOPHIE TOURS VISPRING MATTRESS FACTORY

Chris Harrison, left, and Mike Meehan, both of Vispring, welcome Princess Sophie to the company’s headquarters in Plymouth.

Radoslav Grudlev of Vispring watches while Princess Sophie tries her hand at side-stitching, a key step in the mattress-making process.

Princess Sophie gets comfortable on a Vispring sleep set in the company’s new showroom in Plymouth, England.

PLYMOUTH, England – High-end bedding maker Vispring recently welcomed British royalty to its mattress factory here.

Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie, The Countess of Wessex, toured Vispring’s spacious factory here. She got a tour of the facilities and met many of the master craftsmen who build the Vispring sleep sets, some of which are sent to the United States for distribution there. Then she opened Vispring’s new showroom, located next to the factory floor.

Vispring is an active supporter of the Campaign for Wool, a cause that Her Royal Highness also supports, officials noted. They said Princess Sophie shares the company’s commitment to use British wool.

Vispring said it uses more platinum-certified pure British fleece wool than any other bed maker in the world. Vispring officials showed Princess Sophie how the fiber is used in Vispring’s beds.

Chris Harrison, Vispring’s operations director, explained the benefits of using wool for bed making. Then Kevin Webb, who has worked in the company’s natural fillings section for more than 15 years, explained how he creates blends of materials to hand-fill Vispring’s mattresses.

As a major local employer, Vispring also highlighted its apprenticeship program and commitment to ensuring that its specialist bed-making skills are passed on to future generations. Vispring’s training coordinator, Jenny Lambert, explained the company’s training initiatives before the company’s newest recruit, Radoslav Grudlev, demonstrated how to side-stitch a mattress by hand. Her Royal Highness then took the opportunity to try her own hand at side-stitching, a process that strengthens the mattress.

Vispring officials said the royal visit helped the company highlight its commitment to making beds of the highest quality.

“We are very grateful to The Countess of Wessex for taking the time to visit our factory,” said Mike Meehan, Vispring’s managing director. “We are devoted to using only the finest natural materials and highest standards of craftsmanship to make our bespoke beds and mattresses, so it has been a great honor to have the opportunity to show Her Royal Highness the process first hand.”

All Vispring mattresses are handmade to order in the company’s factory in Devon.