Bedding importer picks Port of Charleston

Texas-based Memory foam mattress company Sinomax USA has tapped Port of Charleston to handle its East Coast business, it was announced today.

Sinomax USA, headquartered in Houston, specializes in home-furnishing products using memory foam bedding. Its products, which include pillows, toppers and mattresses, are sold in many mattress stores and retail chains such as Walmart, Target and Sam’s Club.

The company began importing containers from China through the Port of Charleston in early January, and it sees its local operation as essential to serve the growing Southeast market, according to the State Ports Authority.

“The Southeast is the most significant region for our company because of the growth potential,” said Frank Chen, president of Sinomax USA. “We selected the Port of Charleston because of access to the region, the mix of shipping lines that serve the port and the team in place. These are people we are very comfortable working with.”

Sinomax USA is using third-party logistics provider Premier Logistics Solutions to handle the company’s storage and transloading operations. Premier operates a 210,000-square-foot warehouse off North Rhett Avenue in North Charleston.

The SPA has been actively looking to expand trade capabilities with Asia, a part of the world touted with major growth potential once the Panama Canal is expanded to handle the larger “post-Panamax” ships as early as 2015.

Check later editions of The Post and Courier for updates.