Despite some snow and sleet in Charlotte, N.C., a February resurgence in mattress sales put spring in the step of buyers and exhibitors at ISPA EXPO 2010. Moods were upbeat as attendees took in a show floor filled with innovative supplies and components, all ready for the next generation of mattresses.
Whether it was springs, foams, fabrics, tapes, nonwovens, labels or other items, mattress makers were treated to a variety options for spicing up beds. FR suppliers, who have been a major focus of recent EXPOs, ceded a bit of the spotlight to a broad range of fabric, tape, quilt and kit vendors who offered up vibrant color, texture and design.
“People are looking for something new and different on the retail floor to create some new excitement,” said Ann Weaver, vice president of marketing at Lava USA in Waterloo, S.C. “With the economy the way it’s been, there was a fear about making changes, but they’re not so hesitant anymore.”
According to fabric and tape supplier CT Nassau, with headquarters in Alamance, N.C., one of the least expensive ways to dress up a bed is to change out the tape and embellish the border.
“In the past nine months, manufacturers were using up old inventory and couldn’t afford many model changes, but I think we’ll be seeing more consistent changes now. Many are refreshing a portion of their lines,” said Taber Wood, CT Nassau vice president of sales. “And the tape is helping bring color in there. It’s like when you change your necktie—no one notices you’re wearing the same suit.”
Visitors to the BRK booth found eye–catching tapes in extra–wide widths.
“Tapes are where it’s at. We’re showing handles and tapes in darker, more vibrant colors and we help manufacturers coordinate the entire look of the mattress,” said Jeff Miller, vice president of business development for the Pico Rivera, Calif.–based company
Ticking supplier Culp Inc., based in High Point, N.C., put a spotlight on strong border colors and sparkling “holographic” yarns.
Beds are getting back their “sense of adventure with flashes of color,” said Jimmy Fleming, product and account manager at fabric supplier Tietex, which is based in Spartanburg, S.C. “Our natural cotton prints with vegetable and mineral dyes allow you to create some vibrant panels and borders. We’re focused on doing small, custom color runs for the customers.”
Knit supplier Innofa, which has headquarters in Tilburg, Holland, increased its domestic U.S. knitting capacity by 50% this year with the purchase of knitting machines from the defunct Blumenthal Printworks.
“The demand for knits is growing and growing, especially in dimensional, nonquilted ticks with high stretch,” said Job Dröge, president.
Machinery makers backed up components suppliers’ efforts to dress up beds.
At Global Systems Group, a division of Carthage, Mo.–based Leggett & Platt, the focus was on 10 machines specifically related to border manufacturing and enhancement, said Russ Bowman, GSG president.
Manufacturers are spicing up borders with automatic label tacking, embroidery, tack–and–jump quilting, tape effects and handle treatments, he said.
“It’s all about the border because that’s what allows mattress manufacturers to stand out on the floor. Featured functions included border studding, border ruffling, vertical handle attachment and a single–needle quilting with programmable tufting,” said Hank Little, president of machinery supplier Atlanta Attachment Co. in Lawrenceville, Ga.
Wright of Thomasville, a supplier of graphics, labels and other products and services, offered manufacturers ways to dress up the point–of–purchase retail environment with dimensional labels, large–scale banners, interactive digital signage, window graphics and more.
“We don’t make the mattress. We make the mattress look better,” said Don Wright, chairman and chief marketing officer of the Thomasville, N.C.–based company. “We can help manufacturers coordinate their brand message from the time the consumer drives into the retailer’s parking lot to the product they test on the store floor.”
Sustainability has staying power
“Green” products abounded, especially among foam, fabric and fiber suppliers who emphasized sustainable sourcing, green manufacturing practices and the use of recycled or bio–based content.
Deslee’s Reborn and Bekaert Textile USA’s Repreve collections were featured prominently in each ticking suppliers’ booth. The fabrics are constructed with a percentage of polyester fibers made from recycled plastics.
At mattress kit, ticking and quilt supplier A. Lava & Son Co., there was the Earth Bed mattress kit containing Joma wool and natural–fiber ticking.
Stuart Carlitz, president of manufacturer and licensing groups Eclipse International and Eastman House, with headquarters in North Brunswick, N.J., announced that an eco–friendly, two–sided Eclipse bed “went live” on
QVC.com during EXPO. The bed’s features include natural fibers and fabrics.
Priotex, a textile supplier based in Rishon Le–Zion, Israel, offers an all–natural, 100% cotton woven ticking that is sustainably manufactured and finished.
“This 100% chemical–free fabric is the focus of the show for us,” said owner Ran Niran. “Our product is not bleached, dyed or chemically finished.”
Supplier or ‘solution provider’?
Many exhibitors positioned themselves as much as “solution providers” as “suppliers.” They are helping customers to simplify purchases; to create, design and deliver better products more efficiently; and to promote products through to consumers.
The complexity of choosing mattress fabrics was pared down at both Bekaert and Deslee, where the companies put the spotlight on a handful of key product groups.
“We consciously tried to simplify because the more diverse your line, the more confusing it gets for customers. We drew them in with a few things,” said Lynn Pappas, product portfolio manager for Bekaert USA, which is based in Winston–Salem, N.C.
Hickory Springs Mfg. Co., with headquarters in Hickory, N.C., focuses on being a one–stop shopping source, said Jimmy Bush, Hickory Springs president. “Our display emphasizes that—soup to nuts—you can get it all in one place, from metal to foam to converted products and nonwovens. Every product builds on another. We have something for everybody.”
Vincent Gesquiere, general manager of latex supplier Latexco USA LLC in Lavonia, Ga., said his company’s emphasis is “no longer about selling blocks of foam but about helping mattress makers create something exclusive, unique and visual—without being extravagant.”
Edge–Sweets Co. President Kevin Ryan offered attendees a new handbook, “The Mattress Manufacturer’s Guide to Cutting Equipment.” The guide from the Grand Rapids, Mich.–based company, also known as ESCO, helps companies define their equipment needs based on their size and production volume.
Fairdale, Ky.–based equipment maker and machine shop D.R. Cash looked outside the mattress industry to apparel to offer a new concept in panel cutting from The Fox Co. of Auburn, Ga.
“The machine allows you to create efficiencies by cutting and stacking panels like a book and radiusing corners,” said Thomas Johnson, D.R. Cash mechanical engineer.
Adjustable bed base maker Transfer Master Products, based in Postville, Iowa, rolled out a simpler adjustable bed base that is shippable and assembles easily without tools. One person can snap the base together in 10 minutes, the company said.
“In general, I think the mattress industry is beginning to look to new products that offer solutions—chemical–free comfort, affordable answers and a new functionality—and that’s what we offer,” said Nina Nadash, home furnishings merchandiser for Tencel manufacturer Lenzing Fibers, based in New York.
The art of impersonation
As more bed components are engineered to mimic other components, some products on the floor required a double take: Was that a latex or visco comfort layer? A knit or woven ticking?
Vita Nonwovens promoted a number of fiber choices that can replace one of the foam comfort layers in a bed without affecting performance.
“It’s about savings,” said Dennis St. Louis, director of sales and marketing for the High Point, N.C.–based company. “Manufacturers save 30% to 35% by switching out one foam layer for fiber and the bed feels perfectly the same—the same comfort and aesthetics. It’s a growing trend over the last six months.”
Culp said that because wovens are easier to work with on a bed’s borders, it was emphasizing a woven border collection with the look of a knit.
“Knits are still wildly popular throughout the market but we’re trying to get wovens back to the top,” said Steve Bond, vice president of design and innovation.
Flexible Foam Products Inc. introduced a higher density “latex hybrid,” a 4½–pound polyurethane foam with soy–based content that’s ventilated and has the feel of latex.
“Manufacturers are looking to reduce costs but aren’t inclined to reduce quality—this allows them to keep the feel of latex,” said Michael Crowell, vice president of marketing at the Spencerville, Ohio–based company.
Carpenter Co. put the spotlight on new high–density Avena foam for comfort layers and pillows. The Richmond, Va.–based company describes Avena as more breathable than visco–elastic and more comfortable than latex. Another new foam, Avela, is a visco–elastic with better breathability, faster recovery and eye–catching convolutions.
Polyurethane foam with egg–crate convolutions have given way to specialty foams with custom convolutions, said Harald Kullman, general manager of sales for machinery maker Albrecht Bäumer GmbH & Co. KG, based in Freudenberg, Germany.
“This is a driving trend in specialty foams right now, which is why we focused on our profiling machine for convoluting foam. Not only do convolutions add unique style, they provide a ventilation story,” he said. “Many customers want exclusives on their design convolutions. They will buy the machine with one or two custom rollers and add more later.”
Pulling in the crowds
First–time exhibitor Texas Pocket Springs got its message across by keeping things simple, said Martin Wolfson, president of the Keene, Texas–based supplier.
“I handed out a simple one–page fact sheet on product features and advantages and put product on the floor with mattress toppers,” he said. “Everyone could actually lie down and feel the product—people need to feel and touch. Visitors pulled in others from their company and said ‘try this’. ”
SABA North America LLC attracted new customers to its completely redesigned, contemporary space, said Jim Turner, president and chief executive officer of the Kimball, Mich.–based adhesives supplier. The company displayed a new pressurized adhesive delivery system that monitors cost per piece.
Latex International, with headquarters in Shelton, Conn., illustrated a “stop burying the comfort” theme with four prototype beds containing latex in the top comfort layer, as well as mattress cutaways that showed “what not to do” when building up a mattress.
There also was a “breathability” demonstration unit with floating balls that showed how it is easier for air to flow through latex than visco–elastic or polyurethane.
At adhesive supplier Simalfa, there was a kiosk for demonstrating the application of its new 335 UV line of adhesives, which glow pink when applied in black light.
The new product gives the operator much better control and precision, reducing the amount of adhesive used and saving customers money, said Harry Bajakian, national sales manager of the Hawthorne, N.J.–based company.
Editor’s note BedTimes’ goal is to illustrate broad trends seen during ISPA EXPO 2010. It’s our regret that we cannot report on every exhibitor at the show, but it remains our mission to report as much industry news as we can. To that end, we encouraged companies to send us product information and other news to be included in the January and February pre–show issues and in the March show issue. Other exhibitor news from EXPO appears in the Industry News section of this issue.
