• Market Watch

The power of sleep

- 2022-11-29 00:00:00

We are constantly encouraged to be as active as possible, but something equally important is sleep. This is where Restonic Namibia (formerly Namib Foam) comes in. They manufacture beds, mattresses and pillows to make sure you get a good night's rest
And they've been doing it for over 30 years – right here in Namibia!
Here we catch up with some of the people involved with going from spring to mattress.
“We've been here for more than 30 years and we’re proud to produce beds right here in Namibia,” says Restonic general manager Mauritz van Niekerk. “We import the raw materials and then we manufacture the beds right here, with our 140 staff. We make each bed from scratch and distribute right across Namibia,” he said.
Take a glance at their website and you’ll see how many different kinds of mattresses Restonic manufactures. In terms of brands, “we manufacture Restonic, Genessi as well as the Greencoil brand. iDream is an exciting new brand we’re working on. These brands are all available from well-known stores including OK Furniture, Bedding Warehouse and Furnmart,” Mauritz said.
Restonic produces around four hundred pieces a day, which translates into around 200 base sets every day.
At the moment things are in high gear at the plant in Windhoek, since they are now in the busiest season of the year. “October, November and December are our most busy months due to Black Friday and the festive season. Generally, people are inclined to buy beds now.”
Mauritz has been with Restonic for more than five years and in this time some significant things have impacted the business, including Covid. However, Mauritz said that they were very lucky. “It may actually have helped us. Of course, there were many challenges, but it also made consumers realize that given the issues at the border at the time, they could still buy beds from us instead of importing.

Looking ahead
“I think we’re going to see significant growth in the future,” Mauritz said. “We're working hard at increasing our market share. We remain focused on quality and also making our brand bigger. I think many people don’t immediately think of Restonic when buying a bed, so we’d like to change that.”
He added that they are looking forward to showing consumers that beds and mattresses are being produced locally. “We’re taking this to another level by adding tags that say ‘Proudly made in Namibia’, so when you see Restonic in the store, you’ll know that it’s locally manufactured,” Mauritz said.
Furthermore, Restonic is looking at expanding its reach. “During Covid, we actually exported to Botswana and in the new year, we’ll likely start exporting to Angola.”
Finally and central to Restonic is their promotion of the “power of sleep”.
“We’re trying to educate our customers on the power of sleep. I think it's one of the things that is underestimated the most. A good night’s sleep affects your whole life. When you don't sleep well, you won’t perform well. There really is power in sleep, and we’d like to make sleep your superpower.

Step by step
Speaking to production manager Gerhard Cloete, he said that production steps vary from bed to bed.
“We do spring beds, we do foam beds and we also manufacture foam sheets for upholsterers who do their own thing for car seats and so on. But our main focus is to make the best quality beds at the lowest price right here in Namibia.
“In terms of production, we make everything – from the spring to the mattress which we cover in foam until the bed is complete and sealed in a bag. We do quality checks every step of the way. Each part is individually checked to ensure that that bed is perfect and the most comfortable for our customers.”
He added that while every business has its challenges, “for us it would be if our raw materials don’t arrive on time. However, we order two to three weeks of stock in advance to make sure that we are prepared for any eventuality. So, for example, if we have an order for ten beds, we make sure we have enough raw material for thirty beds to ensure we don’t disappoint our customers, which are the furniture stores so that they in turn can satisfy their clients – the general public. We don’t sell directly to the public.”

Ranges
Having been with Restonic for seven years, Gerhard said that his favourite moment is when they begin working on a new model. “Like the iDream, which is our latest range. Making a bed with different foam to create a different texture; when you can look at it, see all the work you put into it, along with pricing for all the different chemicals that are used to create the foam, then see the final product and you’re able to say ‘I created this together with my team’. This is what makes me proud to be with Restonic.”
He added that at the moment they’re working on a new bed for their client Furnmart called the Vita Hamilton. “There's also a new foam mattress that we've made from recycled foam, but we did a proper job of it. We also created the Vita Comfort for OK Furniture, and then for Eloff Home that opened in Wernhil recently, we created three different spring and foam beds.”
He said that he’s always very excited to see how the different beds will be doing in the market.
“We also manufacture pillows from recycled material which we get from the offcut foam. We chip it and produce a comfortable pillow for you to have a ‘lekker’ sleep on a ‘lekker’ bed.”

Recycling
Production supervisor Festus Mule, who has been at the company for almost 23 years, shared how Restonic never lets anything go to waste. “From all the cutoffs, we create huge blocks of foam - nothing is wasted. After being cast in foam blocks, we cut it into the sizes we need, where after we cover it in the colour the client requests. Any cutoffs are again added to the scrap machine and yet another mattress can be created.”
At Restonic it really is about teamwork, which is also why he’s been at the company for so many years. “I love working there so much, I’d even like to see my kids work here when they grow up.”


Did you know...
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for your health. In fact, it’s just as important as eating a balanced, nutritious diet and exercising.
1. A good night’s sleep may help you maintain or lose weight
2. It can improve concentration and productivity
3. It can maximize athletic performance
4. It may strengthen your heart
5. A lack of sleep affects sugar metabolism and type 2 diabetes risk
6. Poor sleep is linked to depression
7. Sleep supports a healthy immune system
8. Poor sleep is linked to increased inflammation
9. Sleep affects emotions and social interactions