In 1907 Colgate Mattress was founded in the Bronx, New York. The original factory location was Colgate Avenue, hence the name. When the company first started producing mattresses, they were for adult use.
When local retailers started asking for infant products, the company began changing its product mix. Finally in 1935, Colgate Mattress changed their core business from adult products to juvenile products. This makes Colgate the oldest crib mattress manufacturer in America. During the war, George was killed in action. Ben, Sol and Ira returned safely. The two brothers resumed running the family business of Colgate Mattress, but still remained close friends with Sol. Finally in 1955, Ben and Ira asked Sol to join open up a factory in Atlanta, Georgia. So Sol packed up his young family and moved to Atlanta and started the second location. The boyhood friends were now reunited as business partners.
In their youth, both Alan and Richard spent time working in the factory. As the boys got older, they went off to college to get their educations. After Alan earned his degree, he joined his father and mother in the family business. As a result, Richard gained a PhD in microbiology. After many years of study and working in different universities, Richard was employed at Dartmouth University doing research. Even though he enjoyed what he was doing, Richard missed his family back in Atlanta. So, in 1987, Richard resigned his position at Dartmouth and joined the company as a full time employee. His joining the company at this time was very timely. Colgate Mattress Atlanta was in place to take advantage of some major opportunities in the juvenile industry.
After Richard joined the company, Sol and Anne took a less active role in the day to day events of the business. Although they are both still involved in the business, their sons are the company leaders. However, in 2004, there was a new addition to the Colgate family. Their guiding principles of producing quality products at a fair price and offering the best in customer service has proved to be a winning formula. Many companies state this as their goal, but very few consistently practice it. The Wolkins strive for this goal each day.
They care about their customers and the products that they use. Our customers are starting their family. They want their new child to have quality products that will perform as intended. The Wolkin family has dedicated their efforts to meeting that need and have done so for three generations.