Homegrown mattress maker Maxiflex Philippine Corp., popularly known as Uratex, has secured the nod of the Board of Investments to establish a P560.4 million manufacturing plant in Plaridel, Bulacan.

Its application was approved as a new export producer of mattresses under the 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act.

The manufacturing plant will have an annual production capacity of up to 680,000 pieces of all-foam and spring mattresses, and is slated to start commercial operations in October 2022.

Uratex targets to export around 79 percent of its production to the United States, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and countries in the ASEAN region. At full capacity, the firm's export sales are expected to reach over P2.1 billion annually.

"This will provide a boost to the international footprint of our locally-produced mattresses since a great majority of Uratex's production will cater to foreign markets, leveling up our exports of high-value and high-quality products," said Trade undersecretary and Managing Head of the Board of Investments Ceferino Rodolfo.

"Uratex has long been known in the Philippines as it is the leading manufacturer of mattresses here. The exports of its Maxiflex product around the globe will provide greater traction and awareness for Uratex as a world-class brand," he said.

The new Bulacan facility will be capable of combining different foam and spring materials to create innovative products intended to ensure very comfortable sleep for customers.

It is equipped with bedding and mattress testing machinery that can conduct various performance and durability tests to make certain that the mattresses not only fulfill the intended purposes for which they were designed, but also comply with global industry standards.

To attain high shipping efficiency in the distribution of mattresses, Uratex will be employing a volume reduction packing method, its packaging equipment having the capability to compress and roll pack foam and spring mattresses to optimize space. This is deemed a technological breakthrough in the global mattress industry, providing greater opportunity to bring these high-quality mattresses to all the islands in the archipelago at more efficient logistics and distribution costs.