How a Mattress Plant Boosted Productivity with Custom Carts

Client: Serta Simmons — mattress manufacturer, ~100-person plant · Sector: Furniture & bedding manufacturing · Result: fewer workers per cart move, higher throughput per trip

The challenge: carts so heavy they needed two people

At Serta Simmons' plant, old metal carts used to move mattress toppers were heavy, too wide for the aisles, and so hard to manoeuvre that workers often pushed them in pairs. Every cart move consumed two people's time, and the oversized frames circulated poorly through the compact production areas.

The solution: custom-designed modular carts

Flexpipe designed replacement carts, custom-built to the plant's aisles and product:

• Narrower frames matched to the plant's aisle widths
• A second reinforcing tube near the wheels, so multiple toppers stack without damage
• Slightly curved handles positioned for a natural, one-person push
• Higher capacity per cart — one extra topper per trip

The results

• One worker per cart move instead of two — freed labour redeployed on the line
• More product per trip, lifting effective throughput
• Less product damage and easier circulation in tight areas

What this means for Australian plants

Two people pushing one cart is a labour cost hiding in plain sight — and a manual-handling risk under Australian WHS rules. Purpose-designed carts are one of the fastest-payback projects in material handling: the design work takes days and the carts arrive as kits. Flexpipe Australia designs them around your aisles, product dimensions and load weights.