Our history
Our Mission is to improve the sleep of more people every night – all around the world
The TEMPUR® story begins in the late 1960s when NASA scientists were tasked with developing a material to cushion pilots against the rigours of test flight. To this end, a completely new material was invented with billions of open cell molecules that slowly react to body weight and warmth. The resulting viscoelastic material ended up being used onboard the Space Shuttles.
In the 1980s, NASA published the formula for the technology. Realising the potential of the material, the Danish company Dan Foam A/S began to further develop the NASA formula and its manufacturing process, focusing on the production of mattresses and pillows at scale. In 1991, they introduced the world’s first viscoelastic mattress and pillow under the brand TEMPUR® (the name a reflection of the material’s TEMperature sensitive nature and its main component: PolyURethane). The products adaptive and pressure relieving properties were an instant success in the medical and healthcare sectors for patient comfort, pain management and pressure sore treatment programs. The success triggered the creation of Dan Foam/TEMPUR® subsidiaries and distributors all over the world, one of them in the USA which was named Tempur-Pedic.
The company and its products were recognized by NASA. At a joint press conference on May 6, 1998, at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., NASA recognized TEMPUR®’s outstanding achievements in adapting the original NASA technology for everyday use and improving the quality of life for humankind.
In the late 1990s commercial bedding retailers started to carry the products for consumers. In 2003 the company and all its subsidiaries were taken public in the United States under the name Tempur-Pedic International Inc. This triggered further growth around the world and in 2012 the company acquired the US based Sealy Corporation and since then has been operating as Tempur Sealy International Inc.
The company is the world’s largest bedding provider and develops, manufactures and markets mattresses, adjustable bases, pillows and other sleep and relaxation products under various brands. All its TEMPUR® branded mattress and pillows still use the original NASA technological breakthrough as the basis for the Material.”