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With the grand opening of its new mattress store on Thursday at its manufacturing campus off North Point Boulevard, Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind is once again selling mattresses to the public.

Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind Mattress Store is at 7730 North Point Drive. The stores hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Its offerings include premium sets under $500 and custom-sized mattresses, box springs and foundations.

“We provide quality mattresses all over the United States,” David Horton, IFB’s executive director said before a group of about 50 that included IFB employees and community leaders. “So we’re excited to be able to re-open our mattress store.”

IFB will use current employees to staff the mattress store, but plans to fill more than 40 full-time and part-time positions in its various manufacturing departments.

The organization encourages people who are blind or visually impaired to apply for these jobs. No experience is required and IFB will provide training.

Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind is a nonprofit organization that provides employment, training and services for people who are blind or visually impaired. It has manufacturing facilities in Winston-Salem and Asheville, as well as more than 40 office-supply stores and optical centers across the country.

IFB opened a small mattress outlet in Winston-Salem in 1993, offering limited operation and hours, but did not promote the outlet to the community. The outlet closed in the spring of 2014 when the organization renovated its adjacent Community Low Vision Center.

The renovations were made possible by a $950,000 donation from Miracles in Sight Eye Bank that enabled IFB to expand its community outreach efforts. IFB’s community services facilities in Winston-Salem now include a multi-purpose room, optical dispensary, computer training lab and the IFB Community Low Vision Center.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5 th , said after a tour of the store Thursday that she loves attending events at IFB because she is always inspired by the work done by the organization’s employees.

“The store is great and the mattresses look beautiful,” Foxx said. “I’m so impressed that they have one named after Commodore.”

The Commodore premium mattress was named after the late Commodore Funderburk, who worked at IFB for more than 40 years without missing a day.

Eustace Mac-Thompson said that the new store is directly related to the work he does as a mattress builder at IFB, where he has worked for 17 years.

He said that the store will give people the opportunity to check out mattresses offered by IFB.

“Most times you don’t just buy (a mattress),” Mac-Thompson said. “You come and take a look at the mattress.”

IFB has been manufacturing mattresses since 1936. Its customers include military bases, state universities and hospitals, the Winston-Salem Fire Department, Wake Forest University and Salem College.

The organization’s mattress department has 20 employees, who are blind or visually impaired, who produce on average 200 mattresses a day and more than 50,000 mattresses a year.

“It’s a large department — all the way from material handling to sewing the ticks, Horton said. “From there, the mattress building is almost 100 percent people who are blind.”

He said that the mattress department supports IFB’s mission and a lot of people who are blind by providing them with employment opportunities.

“It changes lives to be able to come in here and have a job,” Horton said.

http://www.journalnow.com/business/business_beat/winston-salem-industries-for-the-blind-re-opens-mattress-store/article_6b1efef8-a822-11e4-a86b-8392f619dcd7.html