Serta announces closing

Serta opened its doors in Clear Lake May 1, 1995. -Reporter photo.

by Marianne Gasaway

After more than a quarter century, Serta Simmons Bedding announced last week it will be closing its Clear Lake manufacturing facility. 

A statement issued Wednesday said: “It’s been our privilege to operate a manufacturing facility in Clear Lake.  As part of a broader, company-wide effort to optimize our manufacturing footprint, we have made the difficult decision to close our facility and consolidate the manufacturing operation with other facilities in our network.  We are grateful for the many contributions that our Clear Lake manufacturing team has made to Serta Simmons Bedding and are committed to supporting our employees through the transition.”

The news came as a surprise not only to the approximate 80 employees at the facility, who learned about the announcement earlier in the day, but to city leadership, as well.

Clear Lake Mayor Nelson Crabb said he reached out to company officials, but had not yet learned details of the closing.  

“First and foremost anytime a business closes and employees are adversely impacted is a sad day.  Serta has had a presence in Clear Lake for nearly 30 years. So, we are disappointed to see the company go and feel bad for the employees,” said City Administrator Scott Flory.  “It is my understanding that no formal decisions have been made at this time regarding the building by the company.  But, the City certainly would be interested in having some dialogue with the company about the future for the property.”

The Serta Mattress Company constructed its Clear Lake facility, located on 4th Avenue South, in 1995.  It opened on May 1, 1995 to serve the Upper Midwest Region, including Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Nebraska.  The “ultra” modern mattress plant was Serta Greensboro’s second facility built in response to double digit sales increases over the previous five years. 

Serta designed the facility and it was constructed by Dean Snyder Construction, Clear Lake.

No specific date for the closing has been released.