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Bensons for Beds creates new jobs at Huntingdon factory
Bensons for Beds has launched a recruitment drive after stepping up production at its Huntingdon manufacturing site to meet pent-up demand from consumers. A new warehouse has also been opened, as the company experiences a growth in orders across its nationwide network of stores following the reopening of non-essential retail in April.
Bensons is recruiting 45 production operatives at its factory in Huntingdon. It currently employs 325 people at the site, where it also took on 45 staff last October, following the introduction of a second shift in the wake of the launch of its new Rollo by Slumberland mattresses.
Bensons for Beds has created new jobs after stepping up production at its Huntingdon manufacturing site / Picture: Bensons
To ensure there is no interruption to the manufacturing process, it has taken a lease on an additional warehouse in the town’s nearby Stukeley Meadows Industrial Estate. The 3,438 sq m (37,018 sq ft) unit will complement the existing distribution centre for goods and raw materials. Bensons is looking to recruit up to 10 people at the warehouse and in the meantime will redeploy staff from the main factory site.
Matt Richardson, Bensons’ factory manager, said: “We need to take on more staff at the factory because we’re making more product to keep up with demand from our customers. We’ve seen a strong increase since stores reopened in April when lockdown restrictions were eased. We also need extra warehouse capacity for raw materials coming in and goods going out so that we can maintain a steady flow of production and make sure we maintain our industry-beating lead times.”
The factory site, opened in 1962, makes BSI Kite Mark mattresses under the Slumberland and its own brand Benson label. Last year, it installed a state-of-the-art Mammut VMK quilting machine dubbed “Big Benson”. Bensons is undergoing a major transformation after a £25m refinancing a year ago when it emerged as a standalone company. In addition to investment in the factory, it has revamped its digital store, begun reshaping its store portfolio and invested in new products including the Rollo by Slumberland mattresses.
The Bensons factory in Huntingdon currently employs 325 people and manufactures Slumberland and its own brand Benson label mattresses / Picture: Bensons