National Bed Federation

Bed manufacturers in the UK

It is impossible to know exactly how many bed manufacturers there are in the United Kingdom. Naturally there are a number of very large bed makers, but there are also some very small (almost cottage industry) bed and mattress producers.

The companies that are registered as manufacturing beds and mattresses in the UK have their own association called the National Bed Federation (NBF).

Bed manufacturers do not have to be members of this association, however most are and it gives an indication of the number of producers and their geographical locations in Britain and Ireland.

National Bed Federation (NBF)

The National Bed Federation (NBF) serve a number of purposes and one of them is to try and ensure that industry standards and legislation are adhered to. They also act as the voice of the industry by representing the views of bed and mattress manufacturers.

In order to be a member a company must manufacture a minimum of 50% of their production or product make-up in the UK or Ireland. They must make a bed or major parts of a bed. The definitions of what complies are listed on the NBF website. There is no size limit or production capacity limitation. All member companies pay an annual fee for their membership.

The NBF is not a body who deal with bed buyers or customers complaints against manufacturers. They do not offer conciliation facilities or act as an intermediary between a customer and a seller in the event of a problem. They do offer some basic advice concerning what to look for in a bed, wear characteristics of beds etc, however they are representing the makers and consequently they are not independent.

On the NBF website members are listed alphabetically and, in addition to basic contact details, there is a summary of what the company manufactures. The extent and information included in this summary varies from manufacturer to manufacturer with some providing detail of what they produce and others showing the date the company was established.

At the present time (2011/2012) there are almost 120 bed and mattress manufacturers listed by the National Bed Federation as being active and having membership in the UK and Ireland.

The National Bed Federation is based in the town of Skipton in North Yorkshire, their phone number is 0845 055 6406.

The NBF website can be reached from this link National Bed Federation.