Innovation doesn’t happen overnight. It took Sealy Posturepedic four years to develop and perfect the Elevate sleep system. With a revolutionary coil, hand-tailored comfort layers and redesigned proprietary breathable fabrics, Elevate is the embodiment of Sealy Posturepedic’s innovative prowess.
Innovating for a reason
Recognising that wellness is a global priority for people of all ages, the Sealy Posturepedic team tasked themselves with creating a product that could deliver a tangible wellness benefit. In the case of Elevate, this was achieved by radically improving the coil architecture that sits inside the mattress.
“Coils are important because at the heart of your sleep system, you need a layer that can intuitively adapt to your weight and varying pressure points from head to toe. It does this by first supporting your weight and adaptively pushing back with resistance that is perfectly matched to your body… a system that is designed to help keep you in better alignment and wake up rested, full of energy and refreshed to take on the day,” says Daniel Green, Research and Development Manager at Sealy Australia.
We’re the only Australian bedding manufacturer who designs and produces our own coils, so we’re in a unique position to lead the way when it comes to improving the amount of support you should expect from your bed for its entire lifetime. In addition, we are the only manufacturer who can validate that every bed we make adheres to world-class standards that lead the industry.
Vision and persistence – developing the new AlignSupport™ coil
After 21 prototypes and 26 months of testing, Sealy’s Research and Development team had “an idea for the spring of the future.”
Daniel adds, “We created a new coil design that would more precisely support the body. In addition, we achieved our initial goal of providing a more seamless transition from comfort into support. The result is a noticeably better comfort feel for anyone who lies down on the Elevate mattress versus previous models.”
In order to build the coils, the R&D lab worked with the Components team to develop and program a new machine that could precisely produce the new coils.
The next challenge was to take the springs and assemble them into spring units. The team built 22 different configurations. In September 2018, they conducted blind ‘Sit, Feel, Try’ tests of the product with dozens of people to identify which configuration provided the best feel, stability and comfort.
The result?
After four years — which involved researching and testing coil hypotheses; prototyping the new coil; hand assembling the new coils into spring units; testing and evaluating these against current spring systems; building the machines in Australia to create and assemble the new coils and trialling them in-home — the new AlignSupport™ system, which is the most advanced core Posturepedic coil in history at its time, was produced.
“We’re very proud that we innovated what was accepted as best-in-class technology here in Australia. We developed global IP and were able to translate that IP into demonstrably better mattress components that when combined with Elevate’s other design improvements, delivers a world-class sleep experience,” Daniel explains.
Advancing perfection beyond today’s standard of perfection
As revolutionary as the AlignSupportTM coil was, the research and development team challenged product designers to evolve the comfort system that sits atop every Sealy Posturepedic Elevate spring unit.
The fibre, manufacturing and fabric design teams collaborated together to reconfigure the layering of Sealy’s proprietary ComfortCore® and natural fibre layers so they provide pressure relief to sleepers’ lower backs. These are designed to work in concert to provide more restorative relaxation throughout the night.
In addition, the team designed new SmarTex® fabrics which deliver superior cooling and regulating temperature of the sleep surface. The redesigned patterns evoke a streamlined aesthetic that hints at the superior performance and comfort Sealy Posturepedic Elevate delivers.
“We wanted to bring a new amazing product to the market and show consumers that not all beds are the same. It can be hard to understand what makes one bed different or better than another. Support, comfort and durability are still the ingredients to a great product, and through testing, we’ve been able to demonstrate that our Elevate mattress delivers this better than any product before.”
In the end, it’s simple: Posturepedic Technology is designed and developed to help maintain your body’s natural alignment, allowing you to stay relaxed and enjoy a better night’s sleep,” says Ben Whitaker, Product Manager at Sealy Australia.
