HealthCare Co (Nantong, Jiangsu / China; www.healthcaremattress.com) is investing about EUR 75m into expanding production of polyurethane foam mattresses and pillows in Europe and North America. Through a private placement of shares, the Chinese company said it will raise just over EUR 100m, around three quarters of which will flow into the extensions.

Its subsidiary HealthCare Europe has a plant in Ruma / Serbia, which will receive an investment of about EUR 30m. With the US-China trade disputes in mind, HealthCare plans to spend another EUR 45m on the construction of its first US production facility in Knoxville, Tennessee. The remainder is to support cash flow.

HealthCare Europe's PU processing in Serbia was set up in 2015 with an initial investment of EUR 15m. The company is a joint venture between HealthCare Co and the Danish mattress retailer EverRest (Aarhus; www.everrest.dk) and around 600 people are employed at the Serbian factory.

With a focus on mattresses and furniture production, as well as machinery manufacturing, HealthCare reported sales of CNY 2.3 bn (just under EUR 300m) in 2017, most of which is generated through exports.