NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, Ohio — Coils, foam, and thread come together in this Newburgh Heights factory, forming a key element to a good night’s sleep, a quality mattress. White Dove is the original company, founded by a father and son. Decades later, it’s a father and daughter from that very same family who are in charge.
“I don't think when they did that, they envisioned that 100 years later, the fourth and fifth generation would be in the business,” said CEO of White Dove and Big Fig, Bruce Goodman. “But here we are.”
“And it’s exciting to learn from my dad and to learn something new with my dad,” said Alison Gross, the co-founder and director of customer experience for Big Fig.
That something new is Big Fig, a venture started in 2017 tailoring mattresses to the plus-size community. Larger customers’ Facebook posts raving about their White Dove mattresses were the spark to expand the business.
“Then this light bulb went off one day we thought, 'Wait a minute. This was a great idea for a business,'” Goodman remembers.
A Big Fig can handle double the weight of a normal mattress. The company is so committed to quality that the “Fig” comes with a 20-year warranty, double the industry average. Social media posts embracing this “big” little brand continue to roll in.
“It has been amazing,” Gross said. “You don't usually see a review about a mattress and see the word life-changing in it, but our customers describe the Big Fig as a life-changing product.”
Using an online business model, they ship made to order to the lower 48 and parts of Canada. It takes 40 tons of pressure to compress a Big Fig to less than one inch in thickness for shipping. Products like sheets, pillow protectors and soon a pillow topper will be part of Big Fig.
“The idea is to become kind of a plus-size sleep lifestyle brand,” said Gross.
The factory averages 150 mattresses a day. From forming the coils to packaging, a 60-person workforce mans the production floor. And to keep them, the mattress maker switched to a 10-hour, 4-day-a-week schedule.
“They're the most important part of our business," Goodman said. "They're the people that make our product, and that counts for everything.”
Goodman considers the workers part of the family. And it is working with his daughter, continuing to grow a family company, that feels like a dream come true.
“Being able to do it alongside of one of my own children and take that ride together has been. You just can't imagine the positive feelings that brings,” Goodman said. “So, it's been it's been great.”
“Yeah, yeah, I'm lucky to be a part of it,” Gross said.
Big Figs are made to order and aren’t sitting around in a warehouse. Once unboxed the mattress returns to its normal shape and thickness within a few hours, but it is recommended you wait a day before sleeping on it.