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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > February 4, 2008
Steinhafel's acquires Evans Mattress & Furniture Co.
Published February 4, 2008 - BizTimes Daily
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Steinhafel's Furniture announced today it has acquired Evans Mattress and Furniture Co., combining two of southeastern Wisconsin's oldest and best-known mattress stores.
The acquisition will will enable Steinhafel's to enter the factory-direct mattress market with products manufactured by the Evans staff.
Both Steinhafel's and Evans are third-generation, family-owned companies.
Under terms of their agreement, Jeff Tennyson, grandson of founder Bob Evans, his sister, Kristin Finco, and all of their mattress employees have accepted positions with Steinhafel's.
Tennyson will supervise Steinhafel's factory-direct mattress manufacturing, which will take place at Steinhafel's New Berlin facility.
"We're both thrilled because we're able to keep Milwaukee area jobs here in the Milwaukee area," company president Gary Steinhafel said. "A fact sometimes lost in major purchases is that jobs frequently are sent to the purchaser's facilities in other cities or states, but not in this case. This purchase is good for the people involved, good for the local economy and good for our customers.”
Tennyson said, "For 60 years, our products have been manufactured with a passion for quality by employees committed to their work. To be able to retain this dedication to handcrafting mattresses, one at a time, especially tailored for customers, and then offering them through Wisconsin's largest retail mattress store is a wonderful opportunity for all of us."
Steinhafel said the idea of entering the factory-direct mattress market was championed by his sister, Ellen Steinhafel-Lappe, the company's chief financial officer.
"Ellen saw this not just as an opportunity to expand our business, but to do so in a way that would allow us to stamp the product with our standards of excellence that customers have come to trust," Steinhafel said. "Customers will be able to purchase quality products that are built right here in the Metro Milwaukee area, thereby eliminating freight, national advertising, and other middleman' costs."
Tennyson also noted that his family and the Steinhafel family have had a longstanding friendship.
"And when Gary heard about our plans to close, he contacted us with the idea of seeing if there was a way for Evans and Steinhafel's to work together in the future," Tennyson said.
Steinhafel said he expects to introduce the new factory-direct line within the next 60 days.
