Bed Bugs Mean Big Business For Local Company

Bed bug infestations across the nation have meant big business for one local company.

The products they produce, including covers for mattresses and pillows, protect you from bed bugs.

They're sold under the name Aller-Ease and they're packaged at the American Textile Company in Duquesne.

Sales of their bed bug products have increased 80 percent over this time last year.

"When we originally launched the product, we only had it in one retailer," Monica Bush, a spokesperson for the company, said.

But now their products are sold in 35,000 stores nationwide, including Walmart, Kohl's, Target and Bed Bath and Beyond.

As long as the pests persist, business is booming.

"It's protecting you from bed bugs biting through fabric to get to your mattress," Bush said.

The covers are actually produced in El Salvador then distributed out of Duquesne.

They employ about 200 people and they're thinking of new products and possible expansion at this point.

American Textile started 80 years ago in Lawrenceville.