Inside Harrison Spinks Leeds: Cross Gates bedmaker’s rise from the factory floor to operations director

The newly-appointed Operations Director for Beds at the Leeds-based company, Chris joined Harrison Spinks more than 21 years ago and has worked across many departments in the business. The 43-year-old joined the company in his early 20s, and hasn’t looked back since.

“It’s changed massively since then,” Chris, of Cross Gates, told the Yorkshire Evening Post. “The vertical integration is the biggest change I’ve seen. We’ve got a weaving department bringing weaving back to Yorkshire, we’ve got a farm in Tadcaster where we grow hemp and flax for the fillings, and we even have sheep for the wool.

“It brings jobs to the area, and different types of jobs - we have the farmers who work for us, we have automation engineers, mechanical engineers, handcrafts-people. And as we’ve grown the business, we’ve been able to bring in and develop more apprentices.

“I think that’s extremely important, but it’s also important from an environmental point of view - sourcing locally to decrease the carbon footprint.”

Harrison Spinks is a fifth-generation family bedmaker, handcrafting premium luxury mattresses since 1840. The company is the proud owner of two King’s Awards for Enterprise, scooping the 2023 Innovation and International Trade categories.

And the business has been recognised for its world-leading approach to sustainability, awarded the Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development in 2019. Harrison Spinks mattresses, made in its Beeston innovation centre, are now free of foam, glue and chemical treatments.

After two decades at the company, what’s kept Chris there that long? “The innovation and forward thinking is up there,” he said. “In my role, we don’t just think about tomorrow or next week - we’re thinking about future generations, as well as the environment and how we can make everything better.

“The owner is very big on trying new things, and that innovation flushes all the way down and creates a really positive culture. I’ve been here for 21 years, but there’s many people who have served longer than me. We’ve all been through different types of journeys within the business.

“The vertical integration means that no two days are the same. There’s lots of excitement every day and different things going on.”

The company employs more than 650 people across the group, with Chris responsible for around 300 staff. He’s a hands-on boss, monitoring every process on the factory floor - from the pocket spring department, where his career began, to managing the deliveries.

“You’ve got to see it to believe it,” Chris said. “I have the privilege of being able to take customers around the factory and they’re completely taken aback and shocked at how much goes into making a mattress, and how much effort we put in as employees - into the product and the environment. It’s so complex and we’re very unique in what we do.

“The excitement that I’ve got comes from the factory floor and the people on it. They can be pushing a sweeping brush around and they’re still excited about what they’re doing. They all have their own stories and when customers see it, they love it.”

A day in the life of Harrison Spinks’ operations director

Chris shares an open office with the production management team, and starts his day touching base with his co-workers and identifying any issues. He’s then up to the pocket springs department, the start of the mattress-making process, overseeing the operation.

“Mattresses are almost like a sandwich,” Chris said. “You start in the middle and then build on both sides.”

The pocket springs are put in place using ultrasonic methods - meaning they can be recycled, with no glue and no chemicals. After that it’s a morning KPI meeting, looking at things like quality targets and delivery times.

Chris said: “We celebrate any big wins - if someone’s been really good in quality, or had a really good day, we celebrate that. We also look at the issues. What’s really unique, and what I like about the culture, is that if there’s an issue in one department we all jump in to try and resolve it together.”

Chris is then back out on the production line to the mattress section. The borders and panels use a blend of natural fibres, viscose and wool from the company’s weaving department, and are prepared to make the mattress.

“The hand-side stitching is done by highly-served operatives with time served, using really traditional techniques,” Chris added. “You can’t train someone to do this in three months, we have employees who have been doing it for around 15-20 years.”

Once the pocket springs and borders are in place, the process moves to adding the ‘comfort layers’, the support for the mattress. Natural fillings are added to the top of the mattress each side, using different combinations for a different feeling mattress.

The more expensive the mattress, the more combinations and layers are put together. A pneumatic press is used to compress the mattress and squash it together, before Chris moves on to the final stage of the mattress process - tape-edging. Highly-skilled operatives finish the overall shape and aesthetic.

Next, it’s an hour-and-a-half meeting which is different each day, from product development, sales and operations forecasts to capacity planning, layouts and efficiency. Chris then oversees the divan and headboard section.

“We’re constantly prototyping new designs and ideas in this department”, he said. And finally, he ends his day in the logistics department overseeing transport; Harrison Spinks has an operating licence and runs its own fleet.

“My proudest achievement has got to be going from the shop floor to directorship,” Chris said. “The company has recognised my potential and invested in my development.”