Kluft leasing larger Pa. facility for East Coast production

David Perry -- Furniture Today, August 28, 2012

E.S. Kluft & Co. is leasing part of this facility for its new East Coast bedding factory.

HAZLE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — E.S. Kluft & Co. has signed a long-term lease for almost 100,000 square feet of production and warehouse space in a new facility in this northeastern Pennsylvania township. The mattress maker said it will begin production here in mid-October.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based producer said it has already outgrown the facility it acquired in Denver, Pa., last year and needs more space as it aims to expand its business on the East Coast.

Kluft officials said the company is leasing the new facility from Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services in the Humboldt Industrial Park at 1104 North Park Drive.

"The Kluft and Aireloom brands are unique," said Earl Kluft, CEO. "High-quality retailers have asked us to grow our production capacity in the East Coast region. This new site will be a state-of-the-art production and distribution center that mirrors our West Coast facility, enabling us to produce our full line of products for the first time on the East Coast."

Kluft acquired the former Park Place mattress facility in Denver last year. Because of the age of that plant, it made more sense to find a newer location for the company's East Coast base, the company said. The Denver plant will be closed when the new facility is up and running.

"We needed a place where East Coast buyers and sales associates could see our ultra-luxurious American-made beds at a visually appealing location," Kluft said. "Our new facility sits majestically on a grassy rolling hill overlooking a highly traveled highway and also provides us room to grow as it is part of a 22-acre site."

Kluft has begun to recruit 50 new employees for the new plant, and expects to double the number of jobs during the initial term of its lease.

Mericle has developed 12 buildings totaling more than 4.3 million square feet in Humboldt Industrial Park. Tenants include bedding producer Simmons, Amazon.com, Michael's Handcrafts, Econoco, Nature's Bounty, Freedom Corrugated and E&B Giftware.