His Former Factory Set To Close, Chelsea Man Goes To The Mattresses

If you’ve been yearning for good news recently, this is it.

It all began Monday, May 4. A management-led buyout at Spring Air, a major mattress company, had failed, forcing the company to shut down almost all of its factories, including one in Chelsea.

“I came here that Monday morning,” said Ralph Melen, 77, a salesman in the mattress business for more than 50 years. “People were outside, standing there, and they had security people, wouldn’t let anybody in.”