Pennsylvania Small Business Wins SBA’s 2017 Exporter of the Year Award
April 19, 2017
(SBA)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Abram’s Bed LLC, doing business as The Safety Sleeper™,
has been named Small Business Exporter of the Year by the U.S. Small Business
Administration. The Pittsburgh-based company will be officially recognized
during National Small Business Week, an annual event honoring the
accomplishments and contributions of the best small businesses in the nation.
The award will be presented by SBA Administrator Linda McMahon on May 1, during
a luncheon held at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington, D.C. Rose
Morris, Abram’s Bed LLC’s president and inventor of The Safety Sleeper™,
will receive the award on behalf of her company.
A mother of three, Morris struggled with finding solutions to protect her middle
son Abram, who is on the autism spectrum, as he faced nights of fitful and
erratic sleep. Her determination to help her then toddler-aged son lead a
healthy life was the inspiration to invent The Safety Sleeper™, a lightweight
tent-like structure that is placed on top of the bed, and includes padding and
an air mattress.
Morris established Abram’s Bed LLC in 2009. The business grew, thanks to
counseling from the local SCORE and the Small Business Development Center at
Duquesne University. The Safety Sleeper™ underwent design modifications done
by engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh, and now offers
additional features such as an extra safety zipper system, an enclosed mattress
to protect against entrapment, fire retardant material, stabilizing straps to
prevent tipping, and frame pads.
By 2016, the company had reached the $1 million sales mark. The Safety
Sleeper™ is now exported to 12 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada
and Australia.
U.S. exports are important to the nation’s economy, and 98 percent of all
exporters are small businesses. The SBA’s export loan programs help American
small businesses reach customers in the global market and compete on an equal
footing in countries around the world. During fiscal year 2016, the SBA had
another record year guaranteeing more than 1,800 loans to small business
exporters, resulting in more than $1.5 billion in financing and over $3 billion
in U.S. exports.
Each year since 1963, the president has issued a proclamation calling for the
celebration of National Small Business Week. This year National Small Business
Week will be recognized April 30 – May 6, with events planned in Washington,
D.C., New York City, Indianapolis, Dallas and Fresno, California. For more
information on the national events, visit www.sba.gov/nsbw.
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