Components and machinery suppliers brought their best and brightest ideas for adapting to a changing world, including the latest Interzum Bedding Innovations.
In its second post-pandemic exhibition, approximately 60,000 trade visitors from 157 countries flocked to the Koelnmesse Exhibit Complex for Interzum Cologne 2025, May 20-23, in Cologne, Germany.
The central theme of the world’s leading trade fair for furniture products and interior design was “Rethinking Resources: Circular and Bio-based Solutions.” Inside the complex’s 11 halls, 1,600 exhibitors from 57 countries displayed their latest products, systems and processes — all designed to improve productivity, streamline efficiency and stimulate business while reducing environmental impact.
Over three days of the show, BedTimes’ editors strode the cavernous halls of Koelnmesse, visiting as many of the 80 bedding-industry-related companies as possible in between business deals.
On the following pages, we’ll take a closer look at the latest finds from the forefront of the international bedding industry, reveal this year’s Interzum Award winners and see whose introductions might move the needle on innovation, efficiency and sustainability.
Ticking: Trends in Textiles
If there’s one thing that feels consistent in the bedding industry today, it’s that consumer preferences seem to be split. The luxury and high-end categories continue to perform well, but so does the value category.
One throughline is that consumers are searching for a sense of serenity, embodied by Pantone’s pick for the 2025 Color of the Year, Mocha Mousse 17-1230. According to the Carlstadt, New Jersey-based company, Mocha Mousse “captures a global mood of connection, comfort and harmony.” That theme and the sense of duality defining today’s marketplace was perhaps best captured at Interzum Cologne by BekaertDeslee. The Waregem, Belgium-based company debuted its newest fabric collection, Balance, which according to a news release, invites manufacturers “to explore contrast, comfort and creativity.”
To develop the collection, BekaertDeslee worked with global forecasting company WGSN, noting several current trends including wellness, mental and physical well-being, technology, sustainability and artificial intelligence. “Those key areas were growing in trends but also in bedding,” said Melike Karadayi, group design manager for BekaertDeslee. “But in the end, we know that the reality is that finances are difficult. The economy is difficult for individuals and for companies, too, and we see that the real trend is finding the right balance between all of these. How much of this and how much of that are you putting together to make the right product?”
Making up the Balance collection were approximately 300 patterns in knits and wovens and products including textiles, mattress covers, pillowcases and toppers across four smaller collections: Fusion, Classic, Nuance and Pure.
The Fusion collection, defined by bold geometric patterns, featured Fusion Still and Fusion Gold covers, which incorporated carbon yarn to absorb negative ions. Pure, BekaertDeslee’s take on quiet luxury, featured minimalist patterns with high-end details, while Classic balanced bold patterns in modern colors with white versions. Nuance – inspired by the deep sea – showcased an “idea of how to be waste-friendly,” Karadayi said. Scrap from the border and cover was used to make a pillow.
BekaertDeslee also debuted its Infinity cover, which won an Interzum Award for High Product Quality. The cover is made from 100% polyester, including 91% recycled content from sources such as PET bottles, BekaertDeslee’s post-production waste and chemically recycled textile-to-textile sources. The company also won a German Innovation Award in Excellence in the business-to-business category for materials and surfaces for Dream+, a textile with bio-based microcapsules and Australian tea tree extract to boost sleep quality.
While BekaertDeslee got creative by showcasing different versions of balance, Lava put a high-fashion spin on its textiles. The Wielsbeke, Belgium-based manufacturer enlisted Belgian designer Tessa Borrenberghs to create a garment collection made from mattress ticking to celebrate its 100th anniversary in business. Before Interzum, Lava hosted a formal catwalk fashion show featuring nine silhouettes created by Borrenberghs. At the trade show, several of the looks were displayed on mannequins, catching visitors’ attention with the chic exhibit.
Inside the booth, other stars were found in the details. Lava won an Interzum Award for Iceberg. “It’s a cooling polyamide yarn, so if you touch it, it feels cold, but it has inherent PCM particles. Inside the yarn, that is PCM, it is not a finish that we add during the finishing process so it cannot be washed out,” said Lucas Vanwelden, co-owner of Lava. Lava also introduced colored cooling yarns, now offered in three shades: Noir (black), Pool (blue) and Armour (gray).
Another noticeable theme at Interzum was optical illusions, with several companies, including Lava, presenting textiles designed to look like one thing while offering the benefits of another. “It looks like a woven quality, but it is knitted,” Vanwelden said of the company’s damask-knit Winston, which debuted at the show. “It has all of the advantages of a knit: It’s flexible, it’s ergonomic but it looks like a high-end woven.” Previously only available in a 100% polyester version, Lava now also offers it in 100% cotton.
Maes Mattress Ticking also highlighted a dual-function textile within its Lausanne and Zurich collections. “It looks like a woven damask but it has the stretch capacities of a stretch knit,” said Bart Desmet, sales director for Maes Mattress Ticking, which is headquartered in Zwevegem, Belgium. “It is hard to tell apart from a woven, and this is a quality which can be perfectly tufted or quilted,” added Camilla Franklin, vice president of sales at Maes Mattress Ticking USA. “It could be used on borders because there’s a stretchability. It offers a lot of unique possibilities for the mattress manufacturer to create a new look.”
Alamance, North Carolina-based CT Nassau also launched a luxury woven stretch damask, made possible by new looms in its North American plant. Also in the vein of things that aren’t what they appear — at least in name — CT Nassau debuted its Miraggio collection, from the Italian word for a mirage. The collection — which spans 250 designs — includes viscose-linen blends, Global Organic Textile Standard-certified 100% organic fabrics, fabrics made with Tencel lyocell fibers and recycled fabrics, including polyester, polypropylene and mixed yarn. Although the textiles take cues from the color of the sand, the soil and the sky, the inspiration behind the collection is a surprising source.
“We blended our idea of the mood for 2025 to 2026 based on color trends of makeup,” said Andrea Lazzaroni, executive vice president and chief operating officer of CT Nassau. “Makeup is one of the first industries to anticipate trends, even before fashion.” Some of the textiles in the Miraggio collection contain the company’s Pillfree technology launched toward the end of 2024, which creates a high resistance to pilling and is 100% recyclable.
CT Nassau also launched a line of mattress tape and handles made from chenille and infused with Lurex as well as two heavy-duty handles, Beveled and Reverse Beveled, with added foam for extra durability.
For its Astra collection of fabric, CT Nassau looked to the future, taking inspiration from artificial intelligence and the metaverse for its geometric designs available in jacquard fabrics, knitted fabrics; a blend of cotton, wool and lyocell; and a cooling fabric version.
Speaking of cooling, arguably one of the biggest trends in bedding of the past few years, it continued to prevail.
“This year, we focused a lot on the cooler fabrics, both for pillows, for example, but they could also be made for covers,” said Susanne Thygesen Nors, designer at Midtjylland, Denmark-based Sunds. According to Nors, the company brought 150 new designs to Interzum. To target the North American market, designs were darker with louder patterns while those intended for the European market were noticeably more subdued. Sunds also emphasized its sustainable offerings with 100% recyclable yarns and a viscose bamboo cover, which served as a focal point at the front of its booth.
Cooling was also spotted at Innofa. Innofa’s newest technology, Snö Graphene won a Best of the Best Interzum Award. The latest cooling concept from the textile manufacturer, headquartered in Tilburg, Netherlands, uses bio-based, phase-change materials, polyethylene yarns and graphene in a collection that includes the Cool Flip memory foam pillow, waterproof mattress protector and the Perfect pillow protector.
While Innofa turned to nature for the name of its latest cooling technology, other manufacturers used it as inspiration in the design process. Boyteks’ Texture collection drew inspiration from tiny details — from veins on leaves to the texture of rocks. Its other collections were Tactile, Pinktopia and Cottage Core, each comprising 40 new patterns.
The Kayseri, Turkey-based company also won an Interzum High Product Quality Award for its Pineapple mattress fabric, a 100% plant-based material made from recycled pineapple leaf fibers that are a byproduct of agricultural waste. According to Boyteks, it is biodegradable, completely circular and offers a breathable sleeping solution.
Between the innovations presented in cooling, design and sustainability, the ticking presented at Interzum 2025 was certainly well-balanced.
Foam & Latex: Sustainable Advances
The foam and latex category fully embraced the show’s theme of rethinking resources, responding with an impressive line-up of circular and bio-based solutions.
The Vita Group’s Best of the Best Interzum Award-winning Vita Advanced mattress incorporates Vita Next, a foam made with 65% recycled content — a recycled polyol derived from foam waste and bio-circular mass balance TDI produced by Covestro — that reduces the carbon footprint by 70%. The Manchester, England-based company won a High Product Quality Award for Orbis Ultra foam, which recycles TDA into TDI, producing a foam made with 95% recycled content.” Mike Murray, chief innovation officer, said Orbis Ultra proves that foam “can be fully circular.” He noted that the company’s formulation chemists “can’t tell the difference between (Orbis Ultra and) conventional polyol,” and that sustainable production is feasible and practical at scale.
Vita Group also clenched High Product Quality Awards for two other product introductions: FRee+ and its Guayule Talalay latex pillow. FRee+ is a bio-based, Crib-5-compliant fire-retardant foam produced without fossil raw materials, TCPP or melamine, or loss of elasticity, breathability or durability. The company’s hypoallergenic, pressure-relieving, breathable Guayule Talalay latex pillow is made from natural Talalay latex from guayule, a plant, that grows pesticide-free with little water.
Novaya, a division of Weilsbeke, Belgium-based Love Home Fabrics, won a Best of the Best Award for its Moreganic-certified natural latex used in the production of mattresses, toppers and pillows. Olivier Harvey, Novaya’s Moreganic program manager, said, “Moreganic is more than a label — it’s a new standard for sustainable sourcing rooted in ecological integrity, ethical responsibility and economic viability.” It is an independent sustainability certification that promotes sustainable, biodiversity-positive agroforestry and full chain-of-custody transparency. At Interzum Cologne, Novaya featured an immersive multisensory booth exhibit showcasing how biodiversity action plans, incentives for farmers and supply chain transparency come together through the Moreganic program.
Earthfoam showcased several new sustainable product introductions. Its seven-zone latex foam utilizes different pinhole sizes to deliver varying support levels and enhance breathability in mattresses and toppers. A new graphite foam from the company is designed to meet the United Kingdom’s strict flammability regulations, which requires testing each component rather than the entire mattress. The Poruwadanda, Sri Lanka-based company also promoted a Rebond latex mattress, formed from production scrap reprocessed into high-density foam blocks. Earthfoam President Karl Shevick said that while rebond is often considered a “cheaper product,” he thinks the firm, springy feel and sustainability of latex gives it “the potential to be a premium product.”
Welivita, Sri Lanka-based Lalan Eco Latex brought its new Box-Stitch topper to Cologne. The handmade topper employs a “pillow-box” design encased in certified organic cotton that CEO Justin Kumar called “a comfort enhancement for your existing mattress.” Each pillow-box channel helps maintain loft and reduce material and is filled with a proprietary blend of natural latex and certified organic wool to provide naturally resilient, moisture-wicking comfort. Manufactured in Lalan’s certified organic facility, Kumar said, “Our plan is to mix all these natural materials together and create a natural line” that can be sold to private-label partners and retailers seeking sustainable bedding solutions.
Selangor, Malaysia-based LSK Napure Latex, which is already certified as the largest natural bed manufacturer in Malaysia, continued to earn its bona fides for its aniline-free latex mattresses and pillows. The company has met the requirements of the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, which ensures that its latex supply chains are transparent, traceable and do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation. It’s the latest relevant environmental, social and governance certification the company earned, including the Forest Stewardship Council, the Global Organic Latex Standard and the Eco-Institut, demonstrating the company’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices in the sourcing, production and handling of latex, the company said.
Machinery & Equipment: Advancing Production
Equipment manufacturers brought innovations to Interzum Cologne that took automation even further with updates to existing machines. Amelco updated its Rollpack RL2000PRE machine, unveiling a new version called RL2000PRE/VS, the additional letters denoting the vertical stacker now available on the machine. Whereas the first iteration was suitable for roll packing pocketed spring units up to 22 centimeters high, the new machine can process pocketed springs up to 25 centimeters high and Bonnell spring units up to 16 centimeters high. “People who buy this machine can roll, pack and ship it — and save a lot of freight costs because of the volume reduction and the increased loading capacity of the container,” said Andreas Georgallis, financial director, at Cyprus-based Amelco. Amelco also offers a horizontal stacker, although it did not showcase it at Interzum due to space restrictions.
New things were on the horizon for Sunrise, Florida-based Gribetz. In March 2025, Montgomery, Texas-based ABM International acquired the company from Leggett & Platt. “It was a pleasure to meet our global customers face-to-face and be able to discuss our future plans as the new Gribetz,” said Paul Block, president of sales at Gribetz. “Our customers also shared their impressions of our products and performance as well as ideas on what they would like to see from us going forward. It was also a pleasure to introduce our customers to our new owner, Neal Schwarzberger, and let them share ideas directly with him. Our customers were also able to discuss how we can help them move forward in their production and product development.”
The sale of Gribetz was closed just two weeks before the deadline to ship machinery to Interzum. Although that didn’t leave much time for machinery development, Block said that they are excited about their ideas for future equipment and they look forward to leading their customers “into the future with new technology geared at reducing skilled labor and increasing productivity.” However, Gribetz still displayed some of the key machines in its line.
One of Gribetz’s current focuses is helping its customers reduce non-value-added labor costs with its products Waste Exit and Eton. Waste Exit eliminates any touch points of scrap material generated by trimming on machinery such as quilters, flangers and border sergers. “Our customers sometimes don’t consider how much cost is associated with handling this scrap and the effect on productivity on the machines that generate scrap,” said Block. “It also has a great effect on the cleanliness of the factory.”
Eton Systems helps automate production processes by utilizing the cubic footprint of the factory instead of utilizing floor space and allows for complete automation of material movements from station to station in the factory. Each component of the mattress that is being worked on is tracked by RFID, which automates the flow of production. “Most factories have many laborers pushing materials around the production floor from station to station,” said Block. “Imagine eliminating that labor and keeping production optimally organized and clean. That’s what Eton can do for our customers.”
At its stand, Bursa, Turkey-based Electroteks introduced improvements to several of its existing systems under the theme “Living Innovation.” Now, in addition to creating, placing mattresses in, closing and stacking boxes, its RoBOX-100 automatic roll-pack-mattress-boxing robot includes an optional autopilot feeding feature, which makes pallet exchanges seamless — automatically removing and replacing finished pallets with new ones, streamlining the production process. The company also presented a new machine ergonomically designed to enhance traditional mattress-tufting methods. The Onyx allows operators to support and compress the mattress, eliminating the physical strain and repetitive motion of flipping or repositioning the mattress manually while still hand-threading the buttons.
One could say at Interzum, things heated up in the world of adhesive machinery. C3 showcased its latest hot-melt system featuring a vision system. “I think hot melt really is becoming the future for bedding manufacturing,” said Joshua Holmstadt, vice president of sales and marketing at C3, based in Appleton, Wisconsin. Traditionally, when building beds, a “recipe” has to be input on a human-machine interface to denote the mattress size which then adjusts the nozzles or heads used. C3’s latest machine eliminates the need for that step. Users can put any size bed on, and the machine automatically detects the edges and turns on the appropriate heads. Another bonus: C3’s new adhesive machine can glue up to 200 feet per minute.
“A nice thing about using hot melt is you get a very quick bond,” Holmstadt said. “We have a lot of customers that will do water-based adhesives, then the beds have to sit for a period of time trying to avoid mold or other issues. Instead, this allows you, within two minutes, to have it completely finished, so you can get beds out quicker.” For high-production environments, that means a lot less cleanup for manufacturers.
Kayseri, Turkey-based United Mert Makina demonstrated its new UltraLam hybrid lamination machine that combines water-based and hot-melt adhesive application without roller changes. Its five-position, high-speed robotic dual-material-handling arm can alternate between loading and unloading stations and different foam and core types. An air-activated pickup head equipped with fine needles gently penetrates and picks up porous foam without tearing it. Magnets in the head pick up and release non-porous materials with the push of a mechanical plunger. This versatile machine offers manufacturers substantial savings, with some producers estimating a 25-30% reduction in adhesive costs due to optimized application and material efficiency, less need for manual labor and improved production efficiency. “Between glue savings and deskilling, depending on the application and the product line, we’re seeing like a 12- to 18-month ROI,” said Tim Watson, vice president of North American sales.
In the arena of sewing, Hengchang, based in Dongguang, China, featured the HC3600 and HC3300 machines. Both are high speed, computerized multi-needle chain stitch quilting machines with optional cutting devices. The HC3600 has an automatic lubrication system for retainer plates and an automatic up-down lifting fabric feeding roller system to help manufacturers save on costs. According to the company, it also has an enhanced needle row design for more accurate positioning. The HC3300 has a shortened body to reduce the square footage it occupies on factory floors and is reinforced for less vibration when operating at high speeds.
Albrecht Bäumer GmbH & Co. debuted its Contour V-Blade vertical contour-cutting machine, which is designed for precise, two-dimensional contour cutting with high-speed acceleration of the circulating knife. The system won a 2024 German Design Award in the Excellent Product Design Industry category and is capable of cutting 12 mattress toppers in just 16 seconds. The Contour V-Blade is part of a broader platform redesign aimed at unifying the look and functionality of all the company’s vertical and horizontal cutting machines. Sascha Otten, director of sales and service, said the Freudenberg, Germany-based company is in the process of switching to a similar design to be incorporated into its horizontal control cutting machines.
Atlantic Automation Co. introduced a Discovery Center. Eugenio Fonts, vice president of international sales, demonstrated the technology, which has a large touchscreen interface. “This is a new Discovery Center where customers can come and navigate all the equipment that we have. It helps us a lot.” Although the standalone center was presented at the show, the Lawrenceville, Georgia-based company also plans to update its webpage in a similar style, allowing potential customers to narrow down which machines best suit their manufacturing needs. The Discovery Center was also a space-saving measure. Rather than shipping lots of machines to the show, the machinery supplier highlighted a select few within its booth, then directed visitors to use its innovation to explore the full range of its offerings.
Coils: Evolving Designs & Performance
Springs makers turned their focus toward combining coil types to deliver more comfort and performance benefits, creating new line extensions designed for specific markets and increasing raw material efficiency to reduce costs.
Agro International raised the bar on pocketed springs with Jumboflex SB, which has a 25 centimeter coil height that’s among the tallest in the industry, according to the company. Tightly bonded side springs deliver enhanced comfort and support, making it ideal for large-format mattress designs like edge-to-edge or full-perimeter models. Increased spring material and bonding pressure ensure exceptional dimensional stability and reduce processing steps, while a patented edge reinforcement adds further structural integrity. Marco Castelo, sales manager of the Bad Essen, Germany-based company, said, “We developed this product for the North American and South American markets — the people in these countries associate big mattresses with big quality.”
Boycelik also took its coil game to new heights. With a coil height of 27 centimeters, the Kayseri, Turkey-based company’s new Top pocketed spring unit has a greater coil height than the company’s standard 22 centimeters pocketed spring unit. Chief Sales and Marketing Executive Serhat Duru said the Top pocketed spring unit is primarily aimed at the U.S. market, which has a growing demand for greater coil and mattress heights. Duru also said that Boycelik is currently focusing on achieving higher performance from lower-cost materials — like its LiteFit pocketed spring model, which has fewer coil turns to reduce costs while maintaining firmness. Boycelik’s focus on cost-efficiency is being driven by soft demand throughout the United States and Europe.
Starsprings, based in Herrljunga, Sweden, showed a variety of mattress components and technologies, including three new introductions. Ventitex is a perforated nonwoven polypropylene that increases airflow and lateral ventilation by up to 54%, according to the company. It can be integrated into mattress covers, cores and toppers to reduce heat and moisture buildup. Samson Edge is a patent-pending spring edge system that forms integrated support beams made of reinforced, compressed outer rows wrapped in a nonwoven textile. It eliminates foam encasement and gluing stations, while improving durability and edge support — especially in mattresses stored or transported upright. All Starsprings pocketed spring units now incorporate ReTex, a technical nonwoven made from 95% recycled polypropylene that matches the performance of conventional nonwoven materials, but with a greener footprint. It can be used in pocketed coils or in surface or base layers in mattresses.
Spinks won three Interzum Awards, including a Best of the Best Award for its patent-pending Microlution microcoil, which combines two springs to provide initial comfort with secondary support in a single layer. “We (have) a responsive coil and an active coil,” said Gary Melder, director of sales for Spink’s production partner, Hickory Springs, based in Hickory, North Carolina. “This helps not only with airflow and support, but it helps you move more freely in the bed.” Its High Product Quality Award-winning Micro Copper microcoil is the first to feature a hydrophilic nonwoven used in medical applications, infused with copper to help prevent bacterial and fungal growth, reduce odors and extend mattress life. Another High Product Quality Award winner, Spinks’ patented Quadrolution glue-free pocketed spring system positions response coils between groups of Spinks’ recyclable QuadCore springs, creating a secondary support system that provides zoning, phased zoning or a firm edge.
Burma, Turkey-based Durak Tekstil showcased several new technical threads with potential mattress industry applications. Durak Bug Safe is treated with plant-based extracts that emit a natural scent that prevents pest reproduction and habitation. The thread acts as a barrier when used in stitching and tape edges, a common entry point for bedbugs. Egemen Demirtaş, export sales representative, suggested using ticking treated with the same formulation for optimal protection. The company’s new Durak High-Conductive silver-coated embroidery thread can be used with electrical contacts and in smart textile applications, such as those found in mattresses with technical enhancements including haptic technology, immersive sound and Bluetooth connectivity.
| MORE TO COME BedTimes will cover more innovations and trends spotted at Interzum Cologne in upcoming issues of the magazine. Look for updates on machinery (August and September issues) and springs (October issue). |
