Founded as a handle maker, the accessories supplier now produces tapes and other items that pull the bed together.
When it comes to trends in the narrow fabric tapes used to seal and decorate mattresses, the prevailing style right now is “simple and classic,” says Bill Simon, president of Bechik Products Inc. in Eagan, Minnesota.
“A decade ago, ticking and border fabrics generally were plain tones like white or off-white. They didn’t have a lot of pattern or visual pop to them, so producers used tapes to decorate their bed surfaces and make them stand out,” Simon says.
In the past five years or so, however, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. “Today’s mattress panels often have a decorative border or a bit of pattern,” he says. “As a result, producers are looking for tapes that will complement their ticking and borders — not compete with them. They want quality products at a good price, backed by the very best service.”
A Family Business with Deep Roots
Since its launch in 1932, Bechik Products has focused on that formula. The company was founded by Michael P. Bechik as the Self Adjusting Mattress Handle Co. In the 1920s, Bechik worked for a mattress factory in Minneapolis. Seeking a better way to move mattresses and box springs around the plant, he developed a new type of mattress handle made of cord.
“There were a few different types of mattress handles available before that, but they were made of wire and not as effective,” Simon says. The new approach took off, and Bechik incorporated a separate company specializing in mattress handles, which soon proved popular with consumers, as well. After several years in business, the company changed its name to Bechik Products.
Over the next two decades, Bechik Products expanded its line to offer other products used in mattress production, including sewing and quilting threads and plastic components, such as corner guards. In the 1950s, Bechik acquired Va-Do Fabrics, a producer of edging tapes for mattresses based in Centre, Alabama. The acquisition moved Bechik into the decorative tape and ribbon market for the first time, and the segment became one of several core businesses, along with mattress handles.
Then, in 2007, when the federal government implemented new open-flame regulations for mattresses, U.S. demand for corded mattress handles evaporated. Bechik attributes the change to other factors, too. “First, the new FR rules made it difficult to continue with corded handles because of the risk of fire spreading through the eyelets that secured them to the mattress,” Simon says. “Second, beds started to become much heavier. And third, no-flip mattresses became popular, and consumers no longer needed to turn their beds.”
Bechik continues to offer a selection of cloth handles but the category accounts for a much smaller share of business than it once did. Today, tape has grown to account for 65% of the company’s total annual sales. Decorative border trims and ribbons, which Bechik had offered through a partnership with BRK Group also have largely been phased out.
“We still offer some narrow fabric tapes with flair that could double as a ribbon,” Simon says. “But when BRK closed down in January, we decided to focus more of our attention on tape.”
COVID-19: A Catalyst for Bechik’s Growth
With the Covid-19 pandemic’s arrival in 2020, Bechik’s mattress tape business enjoyed a surge in sales. “Consumers invested heavily in their homes, and mattresses were a big part of that trend,” Simon says.
Bechik’s sales continued to climb in 2021 and 2022, followed by a bit of a slide in 2023 as mattress sales slowed. This year has also been a tough one for mattresses but, “surprisingly, our business has been steady,” Simon says. “Mattress unit and dollar sales are down across the industry but, for us, this has been a decent year so far.”
Over the years, Bechik’s leadership team has worked hard to identify the right types of customers with whom to align.
“We purposely choose good companies to work with that are well managed and less sensitive to swings in the market,” Simon says. “They tend to be mid- to large-tier independents, licensees and factory directs with a strong network of successful retailers.”
Simon joined Bechik Products in 1995 as national sales manager. In 2005, he was named president. At the time, the company owned and operated a 35,000-square-foot cord handle production facility in St. Paul, Minnesota, where it was headquartered. In 2007, with the implementation of new FR regulations, Bechik sold that plant and moved its corporate offices to Eagan.
In Centre, Bechik operates two facilities with a total of 54,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehousing capacity, plus offices. The main plant, acquired when Bechik bought Va-Do, is owned; the other is leased. Currently, Bechik employs about 50 people, including the management and administrative team in Minnesota.
Since 2019, Bechik’s manufacturing operations have been led by Michelle Harp, plant supervisor and production planner. Assisting Harp is Allen Malone, quality control manager and first-shift production supervisor.
Family Values at the Core
In Minnesota, Simon leads a small management team that includes his wife, Nancy, accounting manager; and Bill Simon Jr., national sales manager. Bill Simon Jr. joined Bechik in 2015 after spending a year with bedding producer and retailer Sleep Number.
“Even though we have facilities in two different states, there’s a family culture of teamwork that is well established in both locations,” Simon says. “We meet regularly, and phone and text each other at all hours as needed if something comes up.”
Bechik Products’ status as an employee-owned company also fosters a strong spirit of cooperation, Simon adds. Bechik became 100% employee owned in 1998, when the majority owner at the time — Tony Bechik — recognized there wasn’t another generation of the family in a position to continue leading the company.
“There’s a pride that comes with being an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan),” Simon says. “We’re all in it together for the long run.”
At the same time, the company’s ESOP status can sometimes be a drawback in attracting younger employees. “They’re more interested in the ‘now’ — the pay rate, the hours and the benefits,” Simon says. “It can be a tough sell when we’re recruiting new employees, since an ESOP effectively works like a retirement plan, where many of the benefits from working hard come in the future.”
While no single investor has a majority stake, Simon adds, “We all have a stake, and that stake is based on your role at the company at any particular time.”
As a small company, Bechik Products prides itself on the depth of its homegrown talent. “Michelle Harp started as our office coordinator and, in 2019, we promoted her to her current position as plant manager. She … has proven to be excellent at running the operation and mentoring our staff in Centre.”
At the company’s headquarters in Minnesota, Bill Simon Jr. is making a similar impact on the sales and marketing side.
“Having worked in retail with Sleep Number, I have an inside perspective on what it’s like to sell mattresses and satisfy consumers,” Bill Simon Jr. says. “This helps me with our customers, since I have a direct understanding of the challenges they face on retail floors.”
A Passion for Innovation and Style
When it comes to product design, Bill Simon Sr. and his team take a hands-on approach to developing new items. “We all have an eye for what colors and patterns work together,” he says. “Customers will often send us a fabric they are considering, and we’ll get back to them with a half dozen or so different options, along with a range of price points to consider.”
Bechik has about 350 SKUs in its tape line. Of those, about 25 designs “are really driving the business right now,” Simon says. “More and more, customers are requesting solid colors such as gray, navy and black, whether it’s a knit or a woven. We do sell tapes with a little pattern in them, but nothing outrageous, because bed producers don’t want the tape to take away from the designs that are on their panels and borders.”
Producers are paying close attention to the quality of tapes and how they perform both in production and in homes. “The tape has to have enough yarn in it to sew properly and make its way through the tape binder without any hiccups,” Simon says.
The quality of the pigment in a tape is also very important. “We’ve always made a higher-end product, and we use a lot of predyed yarns to assure color fastness and uniformity,” he says.
Bechik places a priority on quality control and ease of application for tapes. “We continually monitor and upgrade our quality control protocols to ensure proper weaving/knitting practices and spooling so that the closing of a mattress remains a straightforward process, free from slowdowns or restarts,” Simon says.
Consistent Quality and Service
The key to Bechik’s success over nearly a century in business has been “our ability to provide a quality product at a reasonable price point backed by timely service,” Simon says. “It’s not rocket science. Whoever does that at the highest level is the company that will attract new business and grow the business they have.”
In terms of service, Bechik prides itself on its record of delivering products within three to five days of ordering, “and often the next day,” Simon adds.
“And we work hard to respond quickly when a customer calls with a problem or a special request. Bedding executives work on very tight deadlines when it comes to product development and when they need something new, they often need it very quickly,” Simon says. “We do everything we can to get them what they need.”
In addition to responding to specific customer requests, Bechik introduces a variety of tape designs each year to provide the market with fresh options — and to showcase its capabilities. At this year’s ISPA EXPO in March, it featured six new tape designs.
“It’s important to show what we can do, because eventually there will be another shift in the market and customers will be hungry for more creative looks,” he says.
This year, there’s been a little movement toward more color, according to Simon, with some customers requesting unusual tones such as peach and saffron.
“Mostly, we’re just hearing: ‘Keep doing what you’re doing,’ but we’re doing a few new things that show some interest beyond just black, gray and navy knits,” he says. Tone-on-tone and variegated color schemes are other directions the company is exploring.
Bechik’s Craft Woven line of textured woven tapes continues to expand, Simon says. At ISPA EXPO, the company featured new tapes with textured edges.
“We continue to bring out new ranges of textured tapes for those customers looking to provide visual depth at the mattress tape-edge. These woven tapes have a bit of body to them, so they’re not completely flat, but they still sew well,” he says. “They marry well with the upholstered-type looks on some mattresses in the marketplace.”
In terms of tape widths, 1 7/16-inch widths have been the industry standard for years, but Simon is seeing some movement to a slightly larger 1 ½-inch width. Bechik, he says, has had a few requests for 1 ¾-inch widths because “some mattresses have gotten so thick and with those heights, they’ve become more difficult to sew.”
“I think 1 ½ inch is going to be where the industry settles, however, and when they can, producers will try to make a narrower tape work because of the cost savings,” he says.
Balancing Quality and Affordability
While inflation has dropped considerably from its highs in 2022, material costs are something Simon always keeps a close eye on. “If oil and gas prices stay on the high side, that can have an effect on yarn prices, so we try to plan ahead so that we don’t get surprised,” he says. “The last time petroleum spiked was during the pandemic and that led to yarn price increases.”
Still, Simon tries not to worry too much unless he sees the price increases trickling through to the store level. “If the price of a mattress goes up 10% overnight, from $999 to $1,099, that concerns us because of its potential impact on consumer demand.”
Because Bechik sources much of the nontape portion of its line overseas, Simon also keeps a close eye on the global supply chain.
“We’re developing a new decorative metal component for a customer that will be sourced offshore, and the customer needs it by the end of the month, so we’re working hard with our partner to make that happen,” he says.
In addition to tapes, Bechik offers an assortment of mattress components. They include tufting rosettes, decorative border trims and ribbons, zippers, sewing and quilting threads, metal and plastic corner guards, metal accents such as brand tags, and plastic corner fillers.
“We’ve always had an extra line of products beyond our core offerings,” Simon says. “In the early days of the company, we were more of a one-stop shop, but while our breadth of products is no longer so wide, we still offer a variety of components that make our customers’ jobs easier.”
Over the past six years, the tufting side of Bechik’s business has done particularly well. “Tufting tape, decorative rosettes and felt washers all are big items for us,” he says. “Most of these items are going on higher-end beds, and that segment continues to hold its own.”
Bechik serves this market as part of a strategic partnership with another company, which Simon chose not to name. Bechik produces the mattress tapes, and the partner provides the rosettes, washers and tufting buttons. Bechik also handles all of the sales and marketing.
A Strong U.S. Presence
Most of Bechik’s business is done in the United States. The company also sells products in Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and a few South American countries.
“Our offshore business stems mostly from customers who come to us because they need a higher-end look with a bit more design,” Simon says. “For a more basic, low-end polyester tape, they’ll go to a local company since we can’t compete with them on price. But those companies don’t have the same range of styling, so that creates some opportunities for us.”
While the high cost of recycled mattress yarns makes incorporating such materials into tapes prohibitive, Simon expects opportunities to emerge as technologies advance. “With further innovation and efficiencies by yarn producers, the ability to produce a cost-effective (recycled) mattress tape may emerge in the near future,” Simon says.
In the meantime, Simon is monitoring the latest developments in mattress recycling, sustainable sourcing and circular production, looking for any ideas that can be adopted cost effectively for his own business. Bechik already works hard to minimize waste at its operations, recycling as much as it can from its production processes and offices.