Bulgarian manufacturer of mattresses TED-BED Jsc is aspiring to become a leader on the European market in the medium run, its management has announced.

“We will be working to become one of the top 3-4 producers and recognizable brands of mattresses on the European market. Our ambition is to accomplish this goal with 7-10 years,” the CEO and owner of the TED-BED company Elin Todorov has stated at a news conference following a tour for journalists of the company’s factory near the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv.

TED-BED Jsc invested about EUR 11 M in its manufacturing plant near Plovdiv, which was opened in 2009, and is located on an area of 24 000 square meters.

The TED factory currently produces about 1 500 mattresses daily but has the capacity to increase its output 3-4 times. The company currently employs about 250 workers. The size and capacity of the plant rank it among the top three mattresses factories in Europe.

TED-BED Jsc at present has a share of about 58% of the Bulgarian market of mattresses but has clearly embarked upon an ambitious course of expanding its presence and sales abroad. Currently, only about 30% of its produce goes for exports.

“We have accomplished a leading position at home, and we are now aspiring to do the same in Europe,” Todorov said outline what he says are notable successes achieved by his company abroad over the past year.

The products of TED-BED Jsc are available in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Morocco, Macedonia, Croatia, Denmark, Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, Romania, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Serbia, Albania.

The Bulgarian manufacturer entered seven new markets - Switzerland, France, Albania, Hungary, Denmark, Italy, and Croatia only in the first six months of 2010.

“The most important thing for us is to expand our foreign markets and our products. We keep looking for new markets. Each week we get at least two visits by potential foreign partners, and we win contracts with about 90% of them,” explained the CEO of TED-BED Jsc.

In 2009, the companies export turnover doubled compared to the previous year, and it hopes to achieve the same result in 2010.

Participation in crucial international commercial expos has proven key for the successful promotion of the Bulgarian manufacturer abroad, says its management.

Only in 2010 so far TED-BED presented two of its brands, TED Dream Places and Sensi Scandia, at four top international expos receiving praise by established international companies: the Heimtextil expo in Frankfurt, Germany, where its economy-class Solo Mattress proved a great success; the IMM expo in Colon, Germany; the iSaloni (Salone Internazionale del Mobile), the world’s most prestigious furniture expo in Milan, Italy, where TED became the first and only Bulgarian brand to ever be presented; and the furniture expo in Stockholm, Sweden.

The brand portfolio of TED-BED Jsc, includes the TED Mattresses for the Bulgarian market, the TED Dream Places – mattresses exported around Europe; Sensi Scandia – highest-class sleeping systems; Linea Mattresses – economy-class mattresses; TED Sleeping Systems – mattress parts; TED Home Collection – bed linens. Its product series are Natura, Wellness, Scandinavian, British, Italian, Children’s, and limited editions such as the TED Rock Mattress.

“We have welcomed the economic crisis. It is here to help us. Thanks to it, we are adapting our manufacturing much faster,” says the company CEO Elin Todorov.

TED was started back in the very early 1990s as a family company whose name is an acronym of the names of its founders, the father named Todor, and his two sons Elin and Dimitar. The firm first focused on construction as all of the three founders are construction engineers.

They only started to produce mattresses in the mid 1990s, and while their company has several additional manufacturing operations, it gradually put an emphasis on the production of mattresses and bedroom products.

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