Sealy, whose corporate mission is to help the world sleep better, is the largest bedding manufacturer in North America. The company produces a diversified line of mattress and foundation products, including Sealy®, Sealy Posturepedic® and its sub-brands, TrueForm™ and SpringFree™, Stearns & Foster® and Bassett® Bedding. Sealy’s heritage goes back more than 100 years to the town of Sealy, Texas. Sealy native Daniel Haynes began making cotton-filled mattresses for his friends and neighbors in 1881. The product was so favorably received that Haynes began receiving more requests from neighbors and relatives. Encouraged by the response, Haynes invented a machine that compressed cotton for use in mattresses and received a patent for his invention in 1889. Acceptance for the product grew beyond its hometown in Texas, and customers in other regions of the country began referring to it as the “mattress from Sealy.” In 1906, Haynes sold all of his patents and know-how to a Texas company that took the name of Sealy. In the 1930s, eight determined licensees survived the Depression and introduced the first Button Free Innerspring. In 1950, the company introduced its first Sealy Posturepedic brand mattress. In December 1983, Sealy purchased Stearns & Foster Company, a firm, founded in 1846 that had a long and successful history under its two founding partners, George S. Stearns and Seth C. Foster. The 1980s saw the introduction of a new innerspring innovation – the Sealy Posturetech Coil with "sense and respond" features now used in Sealy Posturepedic mattresses.

In 1994, Sealy decided to expand, and a new International Division was formed to assess worldwide opportunities while developing a team to execute a global strategy. Today, the company owns and operates manufacturing and marketing operations all over the world. In early 1998, Sealy announced the strategic decision to move its Corporate Headquarters, Corporate Training facilities and Research & Development Center from the greater Cleveland, Ohio area to the Triad of North Carolina. The Lexington, N.C. manufacturing facility was also relocated to the new 68-acre Corporate Complex. During April 2004, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Sealy management acquired approximately 92 percent of Sealy Corporation, with existing Sealy shareholders retaining the remaining interest. On April 7, 2006, the Sealy Corporation had its Initial Public Offering and became a publicly traded company for the first time. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange with the stock ticker symbol ZZ. Today, the company owns and operates 17 bedding plants, three plants dedicated to the manufacturing of innerspring and foundation component parts for use in Sealy and Stearns & Foster mattresses and foundations, and one Latex processing plant in the United States. Sealy, Inc. has maintained the number one market share position in North America for more than three decades and is prepared and positioned to continue its leadership in the design, manufacturing and marketing of premium bedding products.

Internationally, Sealy operates manufacturing plants in Canada, Puerto Rico, France, Italy, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, as well as OEM manufacturing in Korea, Malaysia, Southeast China and Taiwan. Sealy has 12 international licensees operating in Spain, Australia, Israel, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, South Africa, The Bahamas and the United Kingdom.