Production of waterbeds began.

Production of waterbed mattresses exceeds 25,000 per month. Production of waterbed heaters exceeds 50,000 per month.

The image above was taken at the WMA (Waterbed Manufacturing Association trade show in 1988 where American National featured the one and only patented computerized smart bed. This smart bed featured dual adjustable air chambers and a smart air control unit that used a dial indicator with numbers ranging from 0-10 (10 being maximum firmness.)

Manufacturing of the Sustena™ smart bed began (US Patent #4995124). The original design of numbers ranging from 0 to 10 used inches of H2O pressure measuring scale. The softest setting was labeled low and then it went from 1 to 10. This computerized mattress also continually maintained your desired setting by adding and removing air silently all thought the night and day.

The same patented smart bed mattress was specifically upgraded to meet medical market requirements and sold to hospitals around the world through KCI® (Kinetic Concepts Inc.). Air therapy hospital beds aid in the treatment and prevention of patient pressure injuries, pulmonary issues and more. American National began using the pressure reading scale of millimeters of mercury (mmHg) on all mattresses, including consumer mattresses, to correspond with standard medical practice of measuring pressure against the body.

This is when Select Comfort® first introduced air adjustable firmness mattresses featuring a hand control with a number. Their advertising and messaging at this time talked about finding your Sleep Number® Setting.

The same patented smart bed mattress was specifically upgraded to meet medical market requirements and sold to hospitals around the world through KCI® (Kinetic Concepts Inc.). Air therapy hospital beds aid in the treatment and prevention of patient pressure injuries, pulmonary issues and more. American National began using the pressure reading scale of millimeters of mercury (mmHg) on all mattresses, including consumer mattresses, to correspond with standard medical practice of measuring pressure against the body.

American National quickly become a market leader in the private label production of medical air therapy mattress by developing several patented medical air beds for many large medical companies including publicly traded companies like Sunrise Medical and Foamex L.P. which was one of the largest foam producers in the USA. KCI also expanded sales of the patented Sustena™ smart bed, internationally. In addition, SizeWise expanded sales of American National's medical mattresses that included mattresses supporting patients up to 1,000 lbs.

American National began producing adjustable firmness air mattresses for Bowflex®, which originally marketed the product under the name Instant Comfort™. These mattress models introduced a memory setting to memorize the sleepers preferred firmness setting. Bowflex® then purchased Nautilus™ and began marketing these mattresses as the Nautilus™ Sleep System as well as the name FITREST™.

On July 14, 2006 American National purchased the assets of the Nautilus™ Sleep System from Nautilus™ including the brand Instant Comfort™ and began servicing the warranty for the adjustable firmness mattresses sold by Bowflex® and Nautilus®.

On August 11, 2006 American National signed a design, consulting, and non-compete agreement with Select Comfort® that limited distribution of adjustable firmness mattresses.

With the expiration of the Select Comfort® non-compete with American National our parent company moved forward with its plans to retail a new direct-to-consumer smart bed brand. Personal Comfort® opened its online store in September 2012.

With inspiration from ever-changing technology, Personal Comfort® released its newly designed mattress line-up. Design-friendly fabrics to match adjustable bases, new touch screen remotes and Bluetooth® technology were introduced and continue to receive rave reviews.

Personal Comfort® continues to help the nation sleep better night after night. To date, more than 20,000 sleepers achieve better and more restful sleep. With 50 years of history, Personal Comfort® continues to innovate and develop new sleeping surfaces supported by state-of-the-art technology. Thanks to new innovations on the horizon, the next generation of sleepers will be able to look forward to a future of better sleep.

Personal Comfort introduced the Rejuvenation Series to both the wholesale and direct market. Third party retail stores now have the ability to carry the Personal Comfort brand of products. Personal Comfort begins to deliver an omni-channel buying experience for both direct and retail.

Personal Comfort introduced a fully automated smart bed demonstration. The demonstration can be ran by anyone who has a compatible smartphone. All the user has to do is scan a QR code to instantly connect to the sleep system and then follow the on-screen prompts. The demonstration lasts between 5 to 10 minutes (depending upon if you have one or two sleepers).

The future of Personal Comfort is full of rest and relaxation!