Ergomotion Hosts Chinese Students for Cultural & Learning Program

Furniture World News Desk on 8/30/2018

Students from Jiaxing City, China, and Norton Elementary School in San Bernardino, Calif., watch an adjustable bed base being assembled during a tour of Ergomotion's distribution center. The students took part in a two-week program focused on STEM learning.

Sleep technology provider Ergomotion recently announced that it has partnered with its parent company, Jiaxing City, China-based Keeson Technologies, and a local elementary school to host 14 Chinese school students for a two-week intensive learning program focusing on science, technology, engineering and math. The Chinese students joined some 60 fourth- and fifth-grade students at Norton Elementary School to learn about computer-aided design and 3D printing, and participate in a dozen field trips to gain real-world experience.

The program – the first of its kind for elementary school students in the Santa Barbara region – included a visit to Ergomotion’s distribution center. The students witnessed the inner workings of the warehouse and learned about the operation of an adjustable bed base and the complexities of international product distribution.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for these bright young students to expand their STEM knowledge and interact with their peers in the U.S,” said Johnny Griggs, chief operating officer at Ergomotion. “The students asked some great questions, but I think we learned as much from them as they learned from us. Our staff really enjoyed working with them.”

Other field trips included visits to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, Walker Stamping Corporation in Ontario, California, Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, and Redlands University’s sustainable farm, where the youngsters planted organic food.

The idea for the exchange program was hatched more than two years ago when Emily Hanson, Ergomotion’s purchasing and logistics manager, visited Keeson’s factory with her mother, a Norton Elementary School teacher. Norton’s principal accompanied them on the trip, and the group met with Jack Tang, CEO of Keeson Technologies, to discuss the STEM work Norton students were doing. Tang was impressed with the Norton effort, and Keeson decided to partner with the school and the families of the traveling students to fund the exchange program.

 The company and the school also worked with Global Trade and Technology, a nonprofit group that promotes STEM education, to develop the program agenda. Each of the participating students have family members who work for Keeson.

More about Ergomotion: Santa Barbara, California-based Ergomotion is a leading global sleep technology company that delivers design savvy adjustable bases to the marketplace. Founded in 2005 on the central coast of California by Alain Clénet on the premise that luxury sleep is achieved through style and substance, the company incorporates technology where it makes sense. Ergomotion’s adjustable bases are designed to accommodate the industry’s leading mattresses and to seamlessly integrate with existing bed frames and beds. With more than 1 million adjustable bases sold throughout more than 30 countries, Ergomotion is part of the Keeson Technology Corp. family based in Jiaxing City, China.