Julie Palm, editor in chief
The mattress industry has long incubated strong family businesses. Even with the flurry of acquisitions and consolidations in the past decade, family businesses continue to flourish.
In the February issue of BedTimes, we profile Innofa, a producer of mattress textiles and other fabrics with headquarters in Tilburg, the Netherlands. The company was started in 1980 by Rolf Dröge and is now owned by his sons, Job and Rogier Dröge. But the company’s roots in fiber go back even farther—to a company called N.V. Wollenstoffenfabriek, a wool weaving enterprise started by Job and Rogier’s grandfather, George Dröge, in 1922.
Innofa has been on a growth trajectory since its founding more than three decades ago. It now has plants in Tilburg; Eden, N.C.; and Puebla, Mexico; and produces between 8 million and 10 million yards of fabric annually. Three-quarters of those are standard double-knit constructions, but the company also specializes in technical fabrics and provides wovens, as well.
Job Dröge says that by expanding around the globe and introducing new products, his company is poised for continued growth, particularly in Mexico, the United States and Canada. I suspect his grandfather George would be pleased.
