Tempur-Pedic History
The early years: NASA and the Swedish scientists
One thing that most people know about Tempur-Pedic, it's that they're somehow connected with both NASA and Sweden. How is that possible?
In the early 1970s, NASA developed a pressure-absorbing material that was temperature-sensitive and evenly distributed body weight. The material was created to help cushion and support astronauts during lift-off. NASA released this material to the public in the 1980s.
At that time, another set of scientists, at the soon-to-be-merged companies Fagerdala in Sweden and Dan-Foam in Denmark, continued development on NASA's creation. After nearly a decade and millions of research dollars, these "Swedish scientists" perfected TEMPUR® material for use in mattresses.
Next up: Better sleep comes to the U.S.
In 1992, after a visit to Denmark where he met the scientists at Dan-Foam, Lexington, Kentucky resident Bob Trussell realized the opportunity to improve sleep for people in the U.S. He started Tempur-Pedic – and a revolution in sleep was born.
After building an R&D and engineering center in Duffield, Virginia and a second fabrication plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico, they began to tell their story. People still remember the legendary "wine glass" commercial, even though it hasn't run for years.
Later, the Danish company Dan-Foam and Tempur-Pedic combined, creating a global company focused on sleep products and headquartered in Lexington.
Today: Everything you need for better sleep
In addition to their original TEMPUR®-formulation products, they have TEMPUR-HD® that highly conforms to your body for better pressure relief, and TEMPUR-ES® for unmatched pillowy softness with their famous support. Over the years, they've expanded their line of mattresses and added pillows, bed linens, cushions – even a sleep mask and slippers. Their products are sold in retail stores across the country, and they're now the most highly recommended bed in America.
The future: Continued innovation
Tempur-Pedic will continue to develop new ways to use TEMPUR® material, as well as new formulations of the original to help people sleep better with scientists and engineers in Denmark and the U.S. working in concert.
