Spring Air fills out senior team
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, July 16, 2007
Elk Grove Village, Ill. — Mattress producer Spring Air, which last month merged with its largest licensee, has named the remaining members of its senior leadership team.
Kevin Damewood is executive vice president of sales, Jan Wettergren is senior vice president of manufacturing, and Ron Lueptow is chief financial officer. The three, who held the same posts at licensee Consolidated Bedding, report to CEO Bob Hellyer.
Hellyer, a longtime Simmons executive, joined the newly merged company on July 2.
Others previously named to the management team are President Jim Nation, who was president of Spring Air before the merger, and Chairman Steve Antinori, who headed Consolidated Bedding before the merger.
"We have assembled the best leadership team in the industry," Hellyer said. "They will be on the front lines of delivering value to our customers and (consumers) every day."
Damewood has been in the industry for nearly 25 years, holding senior posts at Sealy and Simmons before joining Consolidated Bedding in 2006.
Wettergren also joined Consolidated in 2006 and was responsible for operations at factories in California, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas. Earlier, he was director of manufacturing systems and controls at Serta International.
Lueptow joined Consolidated in 2005, and has more than 25 years experience in finance and operations.
