As part of his business he coined the slogan that is still used by the Cantwell Mattress Company: “You can’t well sleep without a Cantwell Mattress.” In 1930 Cantwell Mattress Company expanded to the Rio Grande Valley with a plant in Harlingen, Texas. E.R. Cantwell moved to Corpus Christi in 1936, where the factory remains today. Today, Cantwell Mattress Company operates factories and retail outlets in Corpus Christi and in San Antonio.
In 1920, E.R. Cantwell quit his job at a mattress factory in Sugar Land, Texas. He then created his own mattress manufacturing company in Brady, Texas. With $50, a borrowed sewing machine and a strong business ethic, he was determined to build the finest mattresses available at a cost that would make them available to “the common man.” E.R.’s first mattress sold for $6 new and he offered to rebuild your old mattresses for $3. He vowed to use only the finest components to manufacture his Cantwell Mattresses.