ADVERTORIAL

Cyprus’ mattress production has prospereddespite facing hardships including labourshortages and the adoption of an ailing euro in2008.

Historically, the country has had a uniquerelationship with foreign markets, thanks to itsinter-continental location and a diverse andprogressive population that is heavilyinfluenced by the demands of the leisureindustry.

The legacy of these relationships andmindsets manifests itself in the high quality ofCypriot products – often produced to Britishand European specifications and sizes, andbolstered by local technical knowledge.

The country has a population of around800,000 – plus more than two million tourists

and holiday home owners. Most of the island’sinhabitants are willing to pay for a goodnight’s sleep, helping the domestic industryflourish on several levels, from standard hotelsupply to the creation of high-end bespokemodels.

Modern mechanisation and skilled labourersensure competitiveness, and the Cypriotapproach to sales and marketing blendsflexibility, care and trend savvy.

Having played a regular part in both localand international trade shows for many years,some of the companies discussed in this articleare well established in locations as far as Braziland Russia – but their current role in the UKfurniture industry is significant too, and it is setto develop further in the near future …

PanstromasewIndustry LtdPanstromasew is a relatively young companythat manufactures and retails springmattresses and divans.

Offering a combination of sprung, memoryfoam and latex models – of which the latter isthe current favourite – as well as divans,headboards, pillows and bedlinen,Panstromasew is skilled in the fastmanufacture of models to customspecifications, and prides itself on havingexcellent after-sales service which has beentested by high sales of late.

Sleeping Matters!An insight into Cyprus’ mattress industry

Cyprus has weathered the recession better than much of the EU – its GDP is set to grow by more than doublethe Eurozone average this year. Cyprus boasts a strong complement of mattress manufacturers, many ofwhich enjoy strong links with both retailers and manufacturers in the UK. Furniture News investigates themanufacturing capabilities behind a handful of these companies, and discovers a wealth of potential formeeting international demands …

Panstromasew offers a range of sprung, memory foam and latex models

Cyprus Update:Layout 1 21/10/10 11:32 Page 2

ADVERTORIAL

Panayiotis Polycarpou, the company’smanaging director, takes much of his productdevelopment inspiration from internationalevents including Germany’s Interzum andHeimtextil, and has dealings with exportpartners in Dubai. Like the majority of Cyprus’mattress suppliers, he is well educated onmatters of international product tastes anddemands, and his knowledge is reflected in thecompany’s high quality range.

Panstromasew’s key products include:Beautysleep, a mattress containingindependent pocketed coils, patented barrel-shaped constructions that work independentlyfrom each other to achieve maximum support;and Top Memo, a visco-elastic mattress; SevenZone Latex, which features different supportzones, and is double-sided to suit sleepingpartners’ different requirements.

Also offered are firm and soft Orthopaedicmodels and the Princess and Relax mattresses.In addition, Panstromasew offers recliningdivans, headboards, mattress protectors, quilts,sheets, covers, blankets, pillows, mattresstoppers and throws.

All the company’s own models are made tostandard British sizes, with Europeanvariations possible.Website: www.panstromasew.com

DA Stroman LtdThe company is a medium-sized organisationof low overheads with long experience in thebedding industry. Its dynamic managementand personnel, together with the use of state-of-the-art production equipment, lead tohigh-quality products at a low production costand hence low market price. DA Stroman maybe known to Furniture News readers, havingenjoyed plenty of UK exposure at exhibitions.

The company is on the cusp of launching arange of new, Furniture Industry ResearchAssociation (FIRA)-accredited models, and hasbig plans. Managing director NeophytosTheodosiou says: “Now, our contact isdeveloping more business in the UK. He’sresearched, and found there is a market forour products. We just have to make a fewchanges specially for the UK market.”

Certification is currently pending forStroman’s new collection, which will beavailable to retailers in the UK imminently.

Exporting is a priority for Stroman. Arecipient of the Cyprus Export Merit forIndustrial Products, the company works hardacross its key overseas markets – Estonia,Latvia and Kuwait – and also trades with

Finland, Spain and Greece, with plans to enterthe Scandinavian market.

Stroman’s ranges meet the strictestEuropean and global standards – including UKflammability regulations and BS EN 1957:2000where appropriate for export models. Thecompany offers 13 lines, but it is the number ofvariations it can offer within these that prove akey strength.

Manufacturing flexibility to a near-bespokelevel means that there can be differentmattress types in one container, each tailoredto customers’ needs. Consequently, cleverretailing is a must, and Stroman implements anexhaustive training programme across itsterritories.

Says Neophytos: “We held five seminars lastyear – three in Cyprus, two in Estonia – withmore than 250 salespeople present from ourstockists. Each country has its own mattressqualities, which we can provide, and demands,which we can address. The materials in themattresses we send abroad are more sensitive,and increasingly require eco-friendlymaterials.”

Stroman’s products include mattresses,divans, box spring beds, and top mattresses inall versions – soft, orthopaedic, anatomic andthe advanced pocketed spring technology

“Our contact is developing more business in the UK. He’sresearched, and found there is a market for our products. We justhave to make a few changes specially for the UK market” - Mr Neophytos Theodosiou, DA Stroman Ltd

Quality is of the utmost importance for DA Stroman

Zeus box-spring bed, DA Stroman

Stroma Passion, a popularluxury pocket-sprung model

�

Cyprus Update:Layout 1 21/10/10 11:32 Page 3

ADVERTORIAL

mattresses, etc – pillows, mattress covers andother bedroom items.

All models come in luxurious butcommercially cost-effective quality, whichmeet even the strictest European and globalstandards. Stroman also manufactures avariety of box-spring non-reversible bedswhich provide a superb spine support andbody relaxation.

All products are offered in different typesand sizes according to the customer’srequirements. Across the lower/middlebracket, Orthopaedic is the company’sbestseller, and Orfeas, a high quality pocket-sprung model, is currently working best at thehigher end.

Other key models include: Las Vegas, adouble-sprung model with memory foam andlatex; and 5-star Olympia, which featuresindividual micro-pocket springs, ideal for backsupport, and is among the eight models of thecompany which are BS EN 1957:2000-certified.

Working with carefully-chosen componentsuppliers from across Europe, the companystrives to maintain the highest qualitythroughout its range. Neophytos points outthat external pressures have forced qualitystandards ever higher in Cyprus, persuadingmany buyers that quality mattresses aresomething worth paying for.Website: www.stroma.com.cy

Aphrostrom LtdAphrostrom, established in 1963, was the firstspring interior mattress manufacturer in theisland. Today it enjoys a leading position andhas an annual output capacity of around20,000 mattresses, 5000 divans and 2000headboards. Aphrostrom is also a member ofthe International Sleep Products Association(ISPA).

The company produces the following rangeof quality guaranteed mattresses:• Bonnell innerspring• Advanced Bonnell innerspring• Pocket innerspring – 14cm height• Double pocket innerspring – 10 + 10cmheight• Non-spring models – latex or memory foam.

In addition is the company’s comprehensiveoffering of pillows, quilts, bedsheets,bedcovers, and curtains – all of which aremanufactured in its own factory.

Aphrostrom’s key products are thefollowing mattresses:• Princessa – with small double pocketsprings, for maximum comfort• Anassa and Galini – luxury mattresses with a

combination of pocket springs and latex• Nirvana – with a very rich layer of latex• Memory – with a very rich layer of memoryfoam• Dias – firm version that utilises Bonnellinnersprings• Aphrodite – similar to Dias, yet much softer• Atlas – classic orthopaedic mattressthat satisfies the preference foran extra-firm option• Electra – the company’sclassic soft choice• Danae – a widely-acceptedBonnell innerspring mattress• Bebis and Nani – speciallydesigned for infants

Aphrostrom dominates in both preferenceand purchasing choice for thousands ofhouseholds and businesses throughout Cyprus,including well-known hotels, furniture stores,clinics and institutions, establishing at the sametime a dynamic presence overseas – forexample, Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia and the Greekislands, including Corfu, Rhodes, Crete andZante.

“Different export markets have differentdemands,” says the company’s marketingmanager Mr Andreas Karmiotis. “TheScandinavians and the French favour relativelysoft mattresses. In the UK – as wellas here in Cyprus – therequirement is for a little firmermattress, and this gets morerigid still in the Gulf countries.”

The company is in theprocess of streamlining itsinternal operations anddeveloping a new transactional website.Website: www.aphrostrom.com

Amelco Industries LtdAmelco Industries manufactures components,supplies and machinery for mattressproduction. The company was established in1972 in Nicosia, originally as a raw materialmanufacturing firm for innerspring mattresses.

Bonnell spring units, coir fibre (coconut)pads and cotton press felt were the first itemsto be produced. Later on, polyurethane foam,polyester wadding, pillows, cottonwadding and pocketed springunits were added to thecompany’s product range.

Amelco’s managing director,Mr Costas Georgallis, recalls thatprior to the company’sestablishment all the mattresscomponents were being imported from theUK, and gradually the company has managed

“In the UK – as well as here in Cyprus – the requirement is for a little firmer mattress”- Mr Andreas Karmiotis, Aphrostrom Ltd

The Bonnell-sprungAphrodite from Aphrostrom

Galini, an orthopaedic/anatomic luxury mattresswith independent suspension from Aphrostrom

Danae, a popular standard Bonnell-sprung unit from Aphrostrom

Cyprus Update:Layout 1 21/10/10 11:32 Page 4

ADVERTORIAL

to become the sole supplier for mattresscomponents to the island’s mattressmanufacturing firms.

In addition, a wide range of qualitymachinery for the bedding industry is designedand built solely within the company’s premisesand is used by more than 50 companies acrossfive continents, including in Russia, Brazil, theUkraine and the UK.

Amelco boasts unique innerspring rollpacking and border framing technology andproduces a range of flat pack presses,unbalers, fillers and sealers which facilitatemattress manufacture.

The company’s best-selling model is itsunique RL2000 roll packing machine, designedto pack bulky spring units, up to 200cm width,into easy-to-open compressed rolls. It offersconvenient, fast, safe and low-cost baling ofinnersprings for mattresses and upholstery andis probably the only roll packing machine inthe world that allows so many spring units tobe loaded into a truck or a container.

Another favourite is the FF-1 frame machinewith manual butt welding, which measures,bends and cuts flat strip border frames forinnerspring units. Other key products includethe FB22 flat bale press, the UB2000 unbaler,the SM210A mattress bag sealing machine, thePF30 pillow filler, the BO2000 flat bale openerand the MP22 mattress press.

Amelco Industries Ltd also offersreconditioned used mattress machinery and isone of the leading suppliers to the Cyprusgovernment, with a strong trading andtendering division built from a global networkof contacts and suppliers. The company’sexperienced engineers and consultants canalso undertake feasibility studies for mattressplants when required. All products adhere toEuropean standards and conform to CErequirements.

Having overseen significant developments inthe Middle East and Gulf region and morerecently Russia, Amelco is well placed tocapitalise on market growth in any part of theworld. A regular exhibitor at InterzumCologne, the company has also recentlyparticipated at Interzum Moscow as well as theISPA exposition in Baltimore. Notablecustomers include Gainsborough and MansionHouse in the UK, Agro in Germany, Dux inSweden and Simmons in France. Website: www.amelco.com

Looking to the futureThis insight into the activities of some ofCyprus’ key mattress manufacturers highlightstheir particularly forward-thinking approachto quality and service.

Given their abilities and potential, it is littlewonder than many of their products aregradually finding their way into the UK retailtrade and industry. DA Stroman is soon to

launch a UK-facing collection, AmelcoIndustries constantly reaffirms its credentialson factory floors across the globe, and thehigh standards and flexibility that bothPanstromasew and Aphrostrom boast ranksthem alongside the most promising mattressmanufacturers.

Cyprus is proving an ideal partner for thefurniture trade in this country, and its exportsare destined to see further growth.Manufactured to familiar sizes, and containingthe latest materials and components inmattress technology, these are productsderived from many years of knowledge,craftsmanship and industry. Products of such ahigh specification deserve a large audience –and the discerning buyers of the UK are likelyto agree.

Amelco’s best-selling RL2000roll packing machine

Mr Bruce Bowes, ProductionDirector, Gainsborough Beds

“We bought from Amelco the FF-1 frame wire bending machinewhich we have been using for thelast four years. It has helped us toreduce our costs significantly, andit’s very easy to change from onesize of mattress to another.Gainsborough has very goodtechnical support from Amelco,and they have been very quick torespond to requests for spareparts and advice. We lookforward to any new products thatAmelco will bring out in thefuture.”

Mr Alan Walters, PurchasingDirector, Mansion House

“We purchased the FF-1 wirebending machine from Amelcothree years ago. Prior to that wehad to bend the wire manually,and it was a very time-consumingprocess. The machine is fullyautomated and it has contributedto reducing our costs. It’s troublefree, and when we needed a sparepart, Amelco responded withoutany delay.”

Cyprus Update:Layout 1 21/10/10 11:32 Page 5