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104-Plus Years of Restful Sleep

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attresses have come a long
way in 104 years.
Larry Kraft, 68, third-
generation president and
CEO of Romulus-based Serta Restokraft
Mattress Company, tells how his
grandfather Harry made them more than
a century ago.
“The original mattresses were burlap
sacks stuffed with corn husks,” he says.
“They would put something over the
surface so you wouldn’t have lumps. My
grandfather would crawl inside, smooth it
out and crawl out. Then they would sew
it across.”
Many of today’s mattresses use gel-
infused memory foam, quite a difference
from the $1.90 mattresses of yesteryear.
2013 marked the centennial for the
family business that Harry Kraft began
in Detroit at age 17. He came to America
alone from Lithuania through Ellis Island.
He worked briefly for Henry Ford but
could not slow his working pace down
to assembly line speed, so he was fired.
He then bought a used industrial sewing
machine and, with two partners, started
making mattresses in a woodshed. Fifteen
million mattresses later, the company is
still going strong.
Larry says a few smart business moves
kept the company successful even during
rough years in the state’s economy —
the launch of a private-label mattress,
the creation of the iComfort line of gel-
infused mattresses and a commitment to
investing in national advertising.
Serta Restokraft is a licensee of Serta,
which became the nation’s leading
mattress maker in 2011. If you’re buying
a Serta mattress in Michigan, there’s a 98
percent chance it was made in the Serta
Restokraft factory in Romulus.
Worker loyalty is a key part of the
104-year-old company’s story. Larry was
just 18 during the 1967 riots, but he has a
lasting memory of a drive with his father
down to the mattress factory in Detroit.
“It was in the Warren-Grand River
area, across the street from a fire training
station, which was a depot for the
National Guard. As we were getting out of
the car, I could see that the employees had
already driven down and had stationed
themselves on top of the building with
guns. They weren’t going to let anyone

torch the factory. There were several
people killed just outside our building,
and I was astonished by the affection and
love for my grandfather and my father and
our business that they would jeopardize
their lives just to protect the building.”
The company outgrew its Detroit
location and moved to Romulus in 2000.
“We tried to stay in Detroit, but there
really wasn’t any interest at the time in
keeping us,” he recalls.
Describing the move, he calls it beshert
— or “meant to be.”
He began a search for a location that
would be convenient for employees. The
search took him to Romulus, where the
street names caught his eye. He checked
out a site on Kraft Boulevard and noticed
a nearby street named Hannan, the name
of his father’s brother who had helped
develop the business.
“When I drove around with the mayor
of Romulus, we came across this parcel of
land,” he recalls. “The street name is Jay
Kay Drive. My wife’s first name is Jackie. I
thought this must be the right place.
“I happen to absolutely love coming
into work,” he adds. “I’ve got the greatest
bunch of friends here. It’s a real pleasure.”
In honor of Serta Restokraft Mattress
Company's 100th anniversary, he and
Jackie made a generous contribution
to Kids Kicking Cancer in Michigan. In
recognition of the their donation, Kids
Kicking Cancer named its Dojo Room the
Larry & Jackie Kraft Healing Arts Studio,
where the kids learn to do their martial
arts, their breathing and mind exercises to
calm their bodies.
In addition, the Kraft family has been
active in the Jewish community. A lobby
at the Holocaust Memorial Center in
Farmington Hills is named after his
parents, who provided seed money for the
center.
“It’s important to us to support the
community that has supported us all
these years,” he says. “Here’s to the next
100 years for Serta and the Kraft family.” Y

Serta Restokraft Mattress Co.

38025 Jay Kay Drive
Romulus, MI 48174
(734) 727-9000
www.sertaresto.com

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July 18 • 2017

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