Timeline Lattoflex

After a difficult new start after the war, the big breakthrough came in 1957. Together with my father, Wilfried Thomas (also a master carpenter and wood technology graduate) and a friend from Basel, Hugo Degen, the three men made an invention that would change the lives of millions of people:

In 1957, they built the world's first slatted frame! The three proud inventors wanted it to be a bed against back pain. And they named their invention: Lattoflex
Take a look at all Lattoflex slatted frames and slat bases since 1957:

Lattokiss Pro

2024

Introduction of the Lattokiss Pro – our innovative pillow for restful sleep. Its specially developed foam provides targeted relief for the neck and shoulders, promoting a pain-free night.

New product generation

2023

The time has come - the new and improved generation of mattresses is making its debut at the ABK trade fair. At the same time, the new flat motorised mattress is also launched on the market - a solution that many retailers have been waiting for.

Lattoflex course and master class

2021

Lattoflex breaks through the boundaries of thought - and digitizes sales training. With the balance of knowledge and fun, what was otherwise trained in two days here in Bremervörde is taught in 6 hours. But even more sustainable: Following the Lattoflex course, the 12-month training program begins, the Lattoflex master course, to deepen all knowledge in the long term and sustainably.

Lattoflex 900 gets started

2020

Against all odds: The new "Lattoflex 900" really takes off. The right product at the right time. People are looking for solutions to their sleep problems. And the sleep specialists from Bremervörde have once again set a new standard here with the Lattoflex 900!
In addition, an ingenious new cover for the mattresses appears: CV, with cooling effect.

We are family! Lebenshilfe Bremervörde moves in with Lattoflex.

2019

Finally, what belongs together comes together: The employees of Lebenshilfe Bremervörde have moved into our production hall 1.
With this move, we are intensifying our long-standing cooperation with Lebenshilfe.

Brand relaunch and partner days

2018

In September, Lattoflex partners from all over the world travel to Bremervörde to celebrate with Lattoflex:
The brand reinvents itself with its roots! All products are revised and improved, new mattresses and new covers see the light of the Lattoflex world.
Absolute highlight: the new Lattoflex lifelines! Especially the new line LF9 with the new Lattoflex wing suspension 900: It combines the ingenious technology of the Thomashilfen Thevo wings with the comfort of the complete Lattoflex frame system, motor frame included.
For the first time, the company is also venturing into online retail with the system mattresses Lattoflex baby mattress LF1, Lattoflex children's mattress LF3 and Lattoflex mattress for young people LF5.

The road to modern times

2013

In front of more than 300 trade partners and press representatives, Boris Thomas presents the new Lattoflex generation right on time. 5 years of development and 56 years of experience in pain-free bedding of people at night, for a unique bed.
This time, the conviction and enthusiasm of the entire company and its employees is also transferred to the trade and customers. Fortunately, because the new Lattoflex completely replaces the old one. The new technology required the modernization of the entire manufacturing process.
An important part of the new production process, based on that of the automotive industry, is the Lebenshilfe in Bremervörde. People with disabilities manufacture the new suspension mats and thus act as an integral part of production and the Lattoflex team.
The effort pays off. In the following years, Lattoflex is more successful than ever before. The high continues until the digital transformation brings more and more new mattress companies onto the scene. Suddenly, the customer not only has the choice of what to buy, but also where: A one-size-fits-all mattress from an online store or the customized bed for his personal needs from a specialty retailer?

Start of a new era

1997

Lattoflex presents the new suspension with wings to the public. But the internal joy quickly gets a damper. The trade rejects beds made of plastic. Boris and his team want to leave the decision to the customer, as a sleeper.
Thus wood slatted frames continue to be produced alongside the new plastic slatted frames. And Lattoflex is right - the significantly improved lying feeling prevails. After three quarters of a year, wood production is discontinued due to lack of demand. The way is clear for the new generation of plastic slatted frames.
The following years are the beginning of a steep learning curve. Boris collects all the wishes and suggestions, experiences and defeats, in order to set his development team a new task 10 years later: The best bed for your back. But time is short, at least from the employee's point of view.

Lattoflex breaks new ground

1993

Rescue is at hand at the annual furniture fair in Cologne. Once again it is Hugo Degen, inventor and close family friend, who has a revolutionary idea to give people even more pain-free nights. In addition to the suspension, wings are supposed to support each part of the body differently, distributing pressure more evenly and thus reducing pain even further.
Enthusiasm for this idea is followed by disillusionment: the implementation requires know-how in the processing of plastics. But the wood professionals in Bremervörde have no idea about that. Boris and Wilfried put all their eggs in one basket to bring the missing knowledge into the company.
The treasure trove is plundered and iron reserves are used for further training of the employees. The trained carpenters learn to handle the new material. When it was not possible to buy the necessary parts, a machine was built to produce them.

The Lattoflex brand reinvents itself

1990

The high of the last few years is followed by the next low in the early 1990s. After the opening of the wall, cash-and-carry markets are booming. Suddenly, everyone is building good slatted frames and Lattoflex has to keep up with the price war. But the technology of the wooden slatted frame is now overdeveloped and can no longer be improved.
"A brand without a technical edge has to reinvent itself or disappear from the market." This is the view of Boris Thomas, who takes over the management from his father Wilfried.

The triumph begins

1967

For almost 10 years, furniture construction finances the new idea of painless lying. People are irritated and don't understand what it's all about: "You can sleep on that?", "Much too expensive." But father and son firmly believe in a breakthrough of the wooden slatted frame.
Wilfried takes over the management and decides to communicate the benefits of the wooden slatted frame "Back pain doesn't have to be." more strongly. And the time is finally ripe: at the end of the 1960s, the triumphant advance of the wooden slatted frame begins.
What began as a carpenter's workshop transforms into a modern industrial company. Wilfried, the engineer, concentrates on developing the technology of the slatted frame further and further. The bed should adapt to the sleeper, not the other way around. This results in a suspension for even better lying comfort and a tailor-made bed like there has never been one before.

The world's first slatted frame rolls off the production line

1957

The production of curved wooden slats proves to be extremely difficult. Together with son Wilfried Thomas, who brings the right solution for gluing the slats from his studies in wood technology, Karl produces the world's first wooden slatted frame. Lattoflex, the mother of all slatted frames, rolls off the production line in Bremervörde.
But the slatted frame proves to be a flop.

Karl Thomas lays the foundation for Lattoflex

1935

Karl Thomas starts his own business as a cabinetmaker with a workshop for interior design in Bremervörde. Historically, not a good time for the company founder: due to his socialist background, he is imprisoned and later forcibly sent to the Eastern Front.
No reason to give up: After the end of the war, Karl, whose passion is arts and crafts, starts again to build beautiful furniture out of wood in his workshop. Unfortunately, the desired success did not materialize. Through his collaboration with the Hamburg physician Dr. Neumeyer, Karl meets his acquaintance Hugo Degen.
The Swiss Hugo Degen, a tinkerer with several ideas, applies for a new patent: A bed against back pain. This was intended to relieve his wife Else's back pain. For lack of alternatives, he had slipped simple, curved wooden slats under her mattress after a slipped disc to enable her to lie down without pain.