Fall River company transforms mid-pandemic to fill urgent need

FALL RIVER – In better times, US Bedding makes mattresses, box springs, mattress toppers, pillows and pillow cases.

Owner David Nguyen wanted to do something to help out during the coronavirus pandemic so he turned his employees’ skills to making masks. Having no idea how to shift from industrial mattress production to large-scale mask making, Nguyen consulted with his brother in Vietnam, who happens to own a mattress company there.

The family back in Vietnam had already been making masks for a while, so they sent the template his way, said Nguyen. He also had to buy a couple of sewing machines to use to make that kind of product, which is vastly different from the heavy duty machines used to stitch mattresses. After a bit of trial and error, the mask-making operation is up and running, said Nguyen.

The 451 Quarry St. company makes its own label of bedding that it sells to stores such as Cardi’s Furniture as well as making bedding for several high end mattress brands including Nature Rest, Chattam & Wells and Four Seasons.

When the masks started rolling off the production line, Nguyen sent a few samples to some of his business contacts to see if they would be interested in purchasing them. Cardi’s Furniture owner Ron Cardi got back to him with a request for 20,000 masks that the furniture company donated to police departments. Nguyen said he only charged them cost as they were going for a good cause.

Other orders followed including one from the state Department of Transportation for masks for its employees and local bakery Gold Medal, said Nguyen. He also donated some to Mayor Paul Coogan for the city of Fall River to distribute.

In talking to the supplier for one of the materials he uses for his mattress products, Nguyen said the manufacturer told him it was the same material that was used to make surgical masks (not the CDC recommended N95 respirator masks). Now Nguyen said he is awaiting certification from Nelson Labs in Salt Lake City, Utah, to have the masks certified for medical use. For now, the 20 employees at US Bedding are cutting and stitching as Nguyen looks ahead to getting back better days at the business he started 2001, he said.

Nguyen said he hopes to see more people going about their daily lives wearing masks, which seemed to help curtail the spread of the virus in China, a country that borders his native Vietnam, where there are very few cases of COVID-19, he said.