Flexi-Mat

Flexi-Mat Profile

Flexi-Mat was founded by Joseph Elesh, the father of our current President, in 1948. At that time, Flexi-Mat manufactured its namesake product, anti-fatigue floor mats, catering to barbers, beauticians, and industrial users. During the next twenty years, the company expanded its product selection to include pillow products for the home and pillows, mattresses, and specialty pads for the health care market.

By the early-1970's, the introduction of products for pet comfort seemed a natural progression, and a line of innovative, unique pet products were developed. In 1973, Flexi-Mat developed the first litter box with a lip, the Litter Guard cat litter box. This innovation led to the development of the first injection-molded, totally enclosed litter box. During the next 25 years, Flexi-Mat developed many other industry staples; among them are the foam and fabric Cuddler-style pet beds, orthopedic pet beds, flea-repelling poly/cedar fill, and the Catnapper, a window perch for felines.

During the early 1990's, Flexi-Mat grew rapidly as the pet-bedding category expanded into the mass retailers. The Company's strategy was to expand into the mass market while still servicing its core distributors and mail order catalogs. This strategy paid off well as Flexi-Mat continues to be the market leader in the pet bedding industry and now services customers globally including South America, Japan, Europe, and South Africa.

Flexi-Mat started operations in a 5,000 square foot building near the Merchandise Mart. Over the next fifty years, Flexi-Mat has operated in seven different locations in Chicago, finally settling in its current headquarters in Plainfield, Illinois. In addition to the Plainfield location, Flexi-Mat now operates a sales office in Chicago and a manufacturing and distribution center in Brownsville, Texas.