Josephine Bass to assist in company’s lean manufacturing efforts
Pleasant Mattress, an independent bedding manufacturer based in Fresno, California, has hired Josephine Bass as director of finance.
The company sees the hire as part of its commitment to lean manufacturing. In 2020, Pleasant Mattress named industry veteran Carter Gronbach president and, earlier this year, promoted Brian Rivera, a certified Six Sigma leader, from assistant plant manager to plant manager.
“There is a close relationship between finance and our operating in a lean manufacturing environment. Jo’s experience will assure finance and manufacturing are more closely aligned to help us achieve our strategic goals,” said Rion Morgenstern, chief executive officer of Pleasant Mattress, in a news release.
Bass previously served as group controller for all Fresh & Ready Foods divisions and controller for its western division. She also has held executive finance and production planning roles with Haskel International, Kolmar Laboratories, Harmon Industries and Amsign Corp.
“Lean principles have been proven to help companies improve the bottom line,” Bass said. “Using my skills in this area, I will be in a position to help the leadership team quantify the impact of the changes we are making and provide support to other departments, while also working toward transforming our administrative functions into a lean operating model.” Last year, Pleasant Mattress began implementing lean initiatives to improve efficiencies in its manufacturing processes, including consolidating foam encasement production from four facilities to one, and improving the overall flow of raw materials and finished products. Such changes have lowered costs, simplified operations and reduced delivery lead times to customers to one week, according to the news release.
