Sleep facility to open in Joplin

Kingsdown, a leading bedding manufacturer, will open a Sleep to Live Research Center in Joplin June 1, according to an article in Furniture Today:

The facility in Joplin, Mo. will open June 1, focusing on how people sleep and scientific methods to improve sleep quality.

"Our extensive research during the past 15 years has demonstrated the enormous benefits of healthy sleep, as well as the serious consequences of sleep deprivation," said Eric Hinshaw, Kingsdown chairman and CEO. "With our own sleep research center, we will study how the environment affects sleep, and as a company, we will be able to enhance the BodyDiagnostics program and create new products that enhance sleep. We also will be able to better educate retailers and consumers about the importance of quality sleep."

Heading the sleep center is Robert Oexman, who has joined Kingsdown as vice president of strategic development and research. He was formerly vice president of marketing for Leggett & Platt.

"The new sleep center will not be a typical research and development facility focused on bedding materials and how they perform. Instead, we will concentrate on how people sleep," said Oexman.

David Scott, who worked with Oexman at L&P, has joined Kingsdown as director of research, with responsibility for analyzing the relationship between sleep products and sleep quality.