BedTimes Magazine

Transcription

BedTimes Magazine

BedTimes
MAY 2010
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FOR THE SLEEP PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
Mattress making
Innovations in machinery
improve manufacturing processes
Industry gets
tough-love message
about mattress shopping
Charitable giving
helps your company,
helps others
Innovative Technology for
!
w
Ne for 2010
1306 . . . .
1337EHL .
1347MGB
1355 . . . .
1365 . . . .
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The
Roll-Pac Workstation
Super Heavy Duty Flanging Workstation
Auto Faux Tape Edge with or without Binding
Border Tacking Workstation
Auto-Tuft & Quilting Workstation
Automatic Vertical Stitch Border Machine
Foam Encased Gluing Workstation
Decorative Stud Border Workstation
Latex and Foam Auto-Pac Machine
Automatic Panel Flanging & Cutting Workstation
Quilter Online Tension Monitoring System
Automatic Vertical Handle Machine
Double Overlock & Gathering Border Workstation
Single Lane Border Quilter Workstation
Sudden Service ™ Company
This equipment is protected by one or more of the following patents:
US patents: 4,280,421; 4,432,294; 4,466,367; 4,644,883; 5,134,947; 5,159,889; 5,203,270; 5,522,332; 5,524,563; 5,562,060; 5,634,418; 5,647,293;
5,657,711; 5,743,202; 5,865,135; 5,899,159; 5,915,319; 5,918,560; 5,979,345; 6,035,794; 6,055,921; 6,202,579; 6,279,869; 6,295,481; 6,494,255;
6,802,271; 6,574,815 B2; 6,834,603 B1; 6,968,794 B1; 6,994,043B1; 7,100,525B1; 7,100,526B1; 7,210,181B1; 7,383,676 ; 7,383,780; 7,412,936; 7,543,364; 7,574,788
Foreign patents: 9-520,472; 0,537,323; 92,905,522.6; 96,936,922.2; 2,076,379; 2,084,055.
Other U.S. and Foreign Patents Pending. Copyright 2009 Atlanta Attachment Co.
10061031210
Atlanta Attachment Company
362 Industrial Park Drive
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
(770) 963-7369 • FAX (770) 963-7641
the Sewn Products Industry Worldwide!
is the recognized sewn products
industry leader in automated
workstations, labor saving devices,
folders and ergonomic risk
reduction. The Company, founded
in 1969, has made its policy of
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Our entire staff is dedicated to
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attachments. Special gauge sets
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pledges unequaled service and
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expendable replacement parts
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they will be...
Free of Charge!
* Contact sales for the recommended spare parts list and the model workstations covered.
Website:
www.atlatt.com
email:
[email protected]
your customer’s comfort.
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comfort. Preserve offers creamier hand, consistent support and an unprecedented level
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©2008 Hickory Springs Mfg. Co.
MAY 2010
InSide
Feature
14 Machinery makers feeling momentum
After taking a beating during the economic downturn, machinery suppliers are
optimistic about the future of their segment of the mattress industry. They’ve
spent their recent downtime improving equipment and innovating to meet manufacturers’ needs for customization, speed, reliability and efficiency.
Departments
7 Front Matter
An expert in creating a good customer
experience has a tough-love message
for mattress makers, retailers and even
suppliers: “It is painful to go shopping
in your industry.” Shifts in thinking
and new practices could easily make
mattress buying a pleasure, he says.
9 Company Profile
Entrepreneur Dave Young—who oversees a mattress kit and component
supplier, a factory-direct retail chain
and a pillow brand, among other
ventures—continues to move into
new businesses. The most recent is
EcoSleep, a specialty bedding brand
aimed at environmentally conscious
consumers.
5 Editor’s Note
33 Industry News
49 Newsmakers
51 ISPA News
52 Calendar
54 Advertisers Index
55 Classifieds
56 Last Word
27 Marketing Matters
It may be better to give than to receive.
But by giving to charities, your company can receive a host of benefits,
including making positive impressions
on consumers. It’s time to start a philanthropic program at your company
or expand your existing efforts.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
BedTimes | May 2010 |
3
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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Julie A. Palm
336-727-1889
[email protected]
SENIOR WRITER
Barbara Nelles
336-856-8973
[email protected]
CONTRIBUTORS
CherryPlanet.com
Dorothy Whitcomb
ART DIRECTOR
Stephanie Belcher
336-201-7475
[email protected]
Vice President of Sales
Kerri Bellias
336-945-0265
[email protected]
Ad Production &
CIRCULATION manager
Debbie Robbins
336-342-4217
[email protected]
COPY EDITOR
Margaret Talley-Seijn
BedTimes deadlines
Editorial deadlines for the Industry
News and Newsmakers sections
of the July issue of BedTimes are
Tuesday, June 1.
Volume 138 Number 5
BedTimes (ISSN 0893-5556) is published
monthly by the International Sleep Products
Association. Periodicals postage paid at
Alexandria, Va., and additional mailing offices.
Editorial and advertising offices
126 Parkview Lane, Reidsville, NC 27320
Phone 703-683-8371; Fax 703-683-4503
Administrative and ISPA offices
501 Wythe St., Alexandria, Va. 22314-1917
Phone 703-683-8371; Fax 703-683-4503
Postmaster Send address changes to
BedTimes, 501 Wythe St., Alexandria, Va.
22314-1917
Contents © 2010 by the
International Sleep Products
Association. Reprint permission
obtainable through BedTimes.
Editor’sNote
Spring means it’s time
for editorial housekeeping
A
fter finishing the ISPA EXPO
2010 wrap-up issue of BedTimes,
I took a couple of days to get
things back in order after a three-month
frenzy of producing EXPO-related issues and preparing for the show.
With all the filing, organizing, cleaning, trashing and deleting done in my
office, it seemed like a good time to
tie-up editorial loose ends and give you
a few reminders.
Numbers look good
In my April Editor’s Note, I wrote that,
based on anecdotal evidence and comments from both the winter Las Vegas
Market and EXPO, it appeared the mattress industry was finally climbing out
of the hole the recession pushed it into.
We now have the numbers to support
that optimism.
According to the Bedding Barometer
from the International Sleep Products
Association, unit sales in the United
States climbed 15.7% in February when
compared to the same month in 2009
and the dollar value of those shipments
rose 12.2%. For the first two months of
the year, unit sales are up 8.3% and dollars have increased 6.9%. Those are the
kinds of numbers we like to see.
Toppers & pads
Does your company produce mattress
pads or toppers either for use by mattress manufacturers or sold directly to
retailers and consumers? BedTimes is
planning a Product Watch on the category later this fall and we’d like to hear
from you.
For possible inclusion in the story,
let us know a little something about
your product line. If you have photos,
send those along, too. Email me at
[email protected].
Don’t miss any issues
BedTimes has a worldwide circulation
and is available free to employees of
any manufacturer or supplier member
of ISPA. If you’ve made recent hires or
have staff members who have never
received their own copy of the magazine,
have them take a minute to fill out the
subscription card in this issue.
Receiving as many copies of
BedTimes as you need is one of your
member benefits. Don’t miss out. (Nonmember mattress manufacturers can
receive one complimentary subscription
to each manufacturing facility.)
If you have questions about your
subscription, contact Debbie Robbins, our circulation manager, at
[email protected]. And
don’t forget BedTimes is available online
at www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes.
Can we reach you?
We like to be able to contact our readers
to let you know when the latest issue of
the magazine is available online or to
tell you about upcoming special stories
or projects. If your email address has
recently changed or you didn’t provide
it on your original subscription request,
send it to circulation manager
Debbie Robbins at
[email protected]. BT
Julie A. Palm
5
FrontMatter
Taking mattress buying from pain to pleasure
Consultant: Clearing up confusion is a good place to start
W
hether going online or walking into a store, it’s painful to
shop for a new mattress. Painful. That’s the word marketing consultant Mike Wittenstein uses to describe
the bed-buying experience. Ouch.
Wittenstein, a speaker, facilitator
and expert on customer experience
based in Marietta, Ga., spoke to a crowd
of mattress makers and suppliers at
ISPA EXPO 2010 in Charlotte, N.C., in
March. Before his seminar, “Teaming
with Retailers to Improve the Customer
Experience,” he did some “undercover”
mattress shopping, visiting eight stores
and 20 Web sites, scanning social media
sites for mattress mentions, meeting
industry executives and reviewing industry reports to understand the overall
market and talking with individuals
about their own purchasing experiences.
Researching and buying a mattress
is a confusing, frustrating process, Wittenstein told the audience. Online, he
found conflicting information about
features and prices that left him unable
to make comparisons or well-reasoned
decisions. In stores, he found an array of
undifferentiated white rectangles.
“You walk into the store and everything looks the same,” he said. “It’s like
the 31 ice cream flavors at Baskin-Robbins are all vanilla.”
Too often, mattresses still are being
sold to consumers as commodities, he
said. “That’s not the way to grow a business. It’s not serving the customer; it’s
fighting the competition. That’s where
your energy is going.”
But, Wittenstein said, it doesn’t
have to be that way. Working together,
mattress makers, retailers and even
suppliers can make shopping for a bed
set an enjoyable, pleasant experience.
He pointed to other technical products
and commodities and the success some
companies have had creating a good
customer experience. His examples
included Whirlpool, Build-A-Bear
Workshop and Apple.
“When you buy an Apple iPhone,
do they tell you about the microchips,
all the specs and details? No. They tell
you about the experience of using the
iPhone,” Wittenstein said. “If Apple
were selling mattresses, they’d sell the
benefits of sleep.”
Among Wittenstein’s suggestions
for the mattress industry:
➤ Focus on sustainability Environmentally conscious consumers don’t
just want to purchase “green” mattresses.
They want to know their old mattress
isn’t taking up landfill space. “When
you’re creating new products, are you
planning for their end-of-use?” Wittenstein asked. He suggested manufacturers start at the beginning of the design
process to make entire mattresses or
their components reusable or recyclable—and be sure consumers know
you’ve done so.
➤ Better equip RSAs Make the most
of new technologies and platforms.
Outfit the sales floor so that retail sales
associates can instantly access the most
up-to-date product information, brand
messaging and training tools from
laptops, mobile devices, even digital
signage.
➤ Improve education Don’t limit retail
sales associate training to mattress fea-
➤ Learn more
Marketing consultant Mike Wittenstein discussed “Teaming with
Retailers to Improve the Customer
Experience” at ISPA EXPO 2010 in
Charlotte, N.C., in March. To review his PowerPoint presentation,
check www.sleepproducts.org.
tures. Educate them about health, sleep
and wellness. If you’re a manufacturer,
get your key employees, not just retail
account managers, on the sales floor so
they can learn directly about customer
needs and concerns.
➤ Never forget the customer Too often,
Wittenstein said, the mattress industry
focuses on telling consumers its story,
emphasizing features and specifications
or selling on price. “Find out the customer’s story,” Wittenstein says. “What
does she want?” Throughout the entire
selling process, the consumer needs to
feel that the industry understands her
needs and want to help her meet them.
➤Eliminate confusion Provide
easy-to-understand information about
the benefits consumers are most interested in: how a mattress feels and fits
their lifestyle, the difference between
“comfort life” and “parts life,” a bed set’s
ecological footprint, etc. Manufacturers
and retailers can take a lesson from cereal makers who clearly label boxes with
facts about nutritional benefits such as
fiber and vitamins.
“ ‘Customer satisfaction’ is really the
lowest common denominator,” Wittenstein said. “Wouldn’t you rather have
‘customer elation,’ ‘customer unexpected
delight’ or ‘customer glee’?” BT
7
Innovation resurfaces
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CompanyProfile
VyMaC adds yet another branch to product tree
EcoSleep mattress brand growing on retail floors & online
By Dorothy Whitcomb
The idea for a line of “green”
mattresses came from retailers.
“They didn’t want imports,” Young
says. “But they did want product so
that they could get into specialty sleep
without hooking up with the big
brands.”
Never one to shy away from an opportunity to diversify, Young listened.
“VyMaC has expanded business
dramatically in the last 24 months and
diversified itself to the point where
we’ve added hundreds of new customers and millions of dollars to sales,” he
says. “Almost 50% of our revenue in
2010 comes from sources that didn’t
exist two years ago.”
E
coSleep, an eco-friendly, specialty bedding brand launched
two years ago by mattress
industry entrepreneur Dave Young,
is gaining traction among a diverse
group of retailers who have identified
environmentally conscious consumers as a promising source of increased
revenue.
EcoSleep is produced by Whitewater, Wis.-based Durable Products
LLC, one of a number of companies
owned by Young. He serves as chief
executive officer of VyMaC Corp., a
mattress kit and component supplier,
and Verlo Mattress Factory Stores, a
franchised factory-direct chain. In addition, Young is the majority owner of
VyMaC Ventures, a holding company,
and VyMaC Properties, a development
company.
Young founded Durable Products
eight years ago to manufacture disposable pillows.
“It was high-volume production
for single-patient use in the medical
industry,” Young says. “We stopped
The line EcoSleep
currently has 15 models with
suggested retail price points
from $699 to $1,999.
Making introductions Mike Schweiger, vice
president of sales for EcoSleep and VyMaC
Corp., has shown the new beds at both the
High Point and Las Vegas furniture markets.
production when China became a
larger threat.”
Young then shifted to manufacturing pillows for the consumer
market and developed the Everloft
brand, which features a globally
patented synthetic down fill. Today,
Everloft pillows are marketed to retailers and sold directly to consumers online. Durable Products also
sells the patented fill in bulk under
the Everlon name to pillow makers.
Targeting ‘LOHAS’ consumers
Young has positioned EcoSleep to appeal to a growing market of consumers interested in more sustainable
products. EcoSleep is “specifically
directed to the LOHAS consumer,” he
says.
LOHAS refers to a demographic
group—Lifestyles of Health and
Sustainability—that is committed to
ethical consumerism. The Natural
Marketing Institute, a research and
consulting firm based in Harleysville,
Pa., tracks the group and, earlier this
year, said “LOHAS consumers (the
environmental stewards) continue to
evolve and push for greater account-
‘VyMaC has expanded business
dramatically in the last 24 months
and diversified itself to the point
where we’ve added hundreds of
new customers and millions of
dollars to sales.’
9
CompanyProfile
Manufacturing on the move This summer, production of the EcoSleep beds will shift to a dedicated 25,000-square-foot facility in Fort Atkinson, Wis.
ability—demanding ever-greener
products and deeper behavioral commitment.”
“The LOHAS consumer group values natural products but has a limit on
what they are willing to pay for them,”
says Mike Schweiger, vice president of
sales for EcoSleep and VyMaC. “We’re
trying to provide them with choices of
comfort levels and price points.”
That means EcoSleep has set out to
tell a “greener” story.
“We try to work with the greenest
technology and have the least environmental impact that we can. It’s not our
objective, however, to make the world’s
‘greenest’ mattress,” Young says. “The
consumer is ultimately asking for and
buying value.”
EcoSleep’s memory foam mattresses are made from EcoPur, a
visco-elastic foam containing castor oil that’s used in combination
with recycled foam polymers. Young
believes that harvesting and pressing
castor plants has less environmental
impact than cultivating and processing the soy more commonly used in
bio-foams. The fast-growing castor
is indigenous to the Mediterranean,
eastern Africa and India, but is widespread throughout tropical regions. Its
primary byproduct is used for cattle
feed, Young says.
EcoSleep mattresses contain other
natural and sustainable components,
including Talalay latex, New Zealand
wool and fibers made from bamboo.
The company’s patented base foam
contains activated charcoal to absorb
off-gassing.
10 | BedTimes | May 2010
Young is enthusiastic about the fact
that EcoSleep products are compressed and rolled to about one-third
of their cube size.
“If you can manage freight, you
can have a tremendous impact and
that’s good for the dealer and good for
the environment,” he says.
Benefits beyond ‘green’
There are currently 15 EcoSleep models
in a variety of constructions, including
visco-elastic, Talalay latex, pocketed innerspring and air. Suggested retail prices
range from $699 to $1,999 for a queen
set. Hybrid latex models featuring various configurations of latex and memory
foam have proven particularly popular.
Interest in latex and latex hybrids
also is fueling the company’s research
and development efforts. Although it’s
unlikely that all of them will make it to
market, there are 22 mattresses in development at VyMaC’s 5,000-square-foot
R&D center in Whitewater.
“Because of the interest in latex and
latex hybrids, we also are working to
leverage the capabilities of our roll-pack
technology,” Schweiger says.
Sales have been strong enough
that the company is planning to
move EcoSleep production to its own
25,000-square-foot facility in Fort
Atkinson, Wis., this summer.
“We anticipate 20% growth each
year for the next three years,” Young
says. “A free-standing facility will not
only allow us to meet production demands, but will allow the brand to have
its own identity.”
Young acknowledges the challenges
inherent in launching a new product in
today’s difficult economic conditions.
The most daunting aspect, he says, is
“getting a clear path to market beyond
the traditional mattress retail chains.”
The bulk of EcoSleep’s sales thus far
have come through distributors, the
Internet and producers of conventional
mattresses who are taking the product
to their retail base. Young’s strategy
includes working “to expand sales across
all channels” and increasing direct-toconsumer sales.
“Moving ahead to more EcoSleep
OEM sales” also is a priority, he says.
EcoSleep has been shown at both
the High Point and Las Vegas furniture
markets.
“We see traction developing,” Schweiger says. “Our U.S.-made products
have a great look and the quality and
consistency that consumers are looking
for. We make it very easy for retail sales
associates to make a compelling presentation of our products.”
Entrepreneurial to the end
Supporting retail sales is relatively easy
because of another synergy: Point-ofpurchase materials and advertising are
produced through yet another arm of
VyMaC, the Vybrance marketing group.
Being able to capitalize on synergies
is a direct result of a corporate culture
based on entrepreneurship, Young
believes.
“Our executives know what they’re
doing and collaborate well,” he says.
“We’re independently owned and small
enough to try something and then
change if it doesn’t work.” BT
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The Big Machines
Suppliers coming out of downturn
with innovation, customization
M
By Barbara Nelles
achinery suppliers BedTimes spoke with ranged
from cautiously to boldly optimistic about
prospects for the coming 12 months. They are
encouraged by the number of mattress manufacturers out shopping for equipment—or at least making inquiries. And they say they are ready to meet mattress makers’
needs with a variety of innovations and improvements.
“The economic slowdown has affected us all, but it has
also afforded an opportunity for us to sit down, brainstorm
ideas and come up with improvements and new features
for new and existing machinery,” says Andreas Georgallis,
financial director of Amelco Industries Ltd., a Nicosia,
Cyprus-based machinery supplier. “Right now, our customers are most interested in innovations that allow for greater
speed, greater reliability and product differentiation.”
Amelco has made several updates to its roll-pack machine
to speed up the roll-packing process. The RL2000A incorporates an adjustable feeding table, a vacuum system on the
mandrel that automatically draws the paper and an automatic bale-strapping feature.
One key focus of machinery suppliers is customization that allows mattress manufacturers to build novel or
exclusive features into beds—whether it’s an interesting
foam convolution, an original handle style or a decorative
quilt pattern.
Suppliers also are offering more automation in foam
cutting and wire forming. And, continuing a trend, they are
“de-skilling” machine operations and making it easier for
workers to cross train on multiple machines, which are often
grouped in manufacturing cells. (See story on Page 16.)
And, importantly, there is new machinery that reduces
costs by cutting out manufacturing steps.
For instance, Masias Maquinaria SA, with headquarters
in Girona, Spain, manufactures fiber-processing, filling and
quilting machinery. Its Direct Feeding System for quilting
feeds open polyester fiber into the quilt, eliminating the need
for thermo-bonded polyester wadding rolls.
“It’s both a money saver and a step saver,” says Sonia Ortiz,
Masias area manager. Even greater savings can be had by
adding extra polyester fiber to the quilt to replace a portion of the foam, Ortiz says.
But during still-tough economic
times, there remains a place for manufacturing using basic machinery
and tried-and-true methods,
suppliers say.
“Mattress makers who need
simple machines can still
find them,” says Steven
Kaplan, president of S.
Kaplan Sewing Machine
Co. Inc. in Newark, N.J.
“You may not need
something as automated or productive
if you’re producing
just eight hours a
day. That’s where our
equipment fits in. We
make many of the fillins needed for mattress
production. For instance,
handles are cyclical, they
come and go. Right now,
they’re starting to come
back and we build equipment
to make sewn handles.”
➤ Learn more
In this article, BedTimes
examines trends in mattress
machinery. The story is not
intended as a complete rundown of all suppliers and their
offerings. If you seek mattress
manufacturing machinery,
check the easy-to-use online
BedTimes Supplies Guide
for a comprehensive
directory of suppliers,
www.bedtimessuppliesguide.com.
15
Porter PALS 2000 Auto Label Sewer Global Systems Group says it
designed this machine to attach labels quickly and economically to the
mattress border.
4300 Automatic Vertical Handle Machine This piece of equipment
from Atlanta Attachment Co. automates the process of setting vertical
handles on mattress borders.
Customization is king
Most major machinery suppliers have machine shops
capable of engineering new or existing equipment to the
specific needs of their customers.
Remex AG, a maker of wire-forming machinery based
in Steinach, Switzerland, says a considerable portion of its
recent business has been for large mattress manufacturers who are incorporating unique spring designs into their
beds.
“They look to us to do the job because we can customize
equipment or create new machinery that builds springs to
their specifications,” says Remex owner Bernhard Graf.
Custom work and refurbishing customers’ existing
equipment have kept many machinery suppliers busy during the recent recession.
D.R. Cash Inc. in Fairdale, Ky., specializes in custom
fabricating everything from mattress-filling machines to
quilting carts, says Thomas Johnson, D.R. Cash mechanical
engineer.
“And we just introduced a vertical bale opener that, with
a few tweaks, can be oriented horizontally for customers
with ceiling height issues,” Johnson says.
“We listen to customers and make minor changes in machinery,” says Roy Schlegel, president of Edgewater Machine
Co. Inc. (EMCO), a quilting machinery supplier in College
Point, N.Y. “Even software features can be customized to
their needs—and we do these for free.”
Cell manufacturing
allows multitasking
For the past few years, cell manufacturing has been a focus at
machinery supplier Global Systems Group, a division of
Leggett & Platt based in Sunrise, Fla. The term refers to
a configuration of machines that work in tandem.
“It’s like having minifactories within a plant—versus
every man for himself getting paid per piece,” says Russ
Bowman, GSG president. “You put maybe four closely
related machines in a work cell—with two to three
operators who have complete control over the destiny
of the product. For instance, with a quilt, cut and flange
cell group, you turn individual production incentives
into a team incentive, create pride of ownership and
better quality control over the finished product.”
In a work cell, employees multitask. They are cross
trained on multiple machines, while at the same time
tasks are “de-skilled” as much as possible.
“We see it as the next wave in manufacturing setup,” Bowman says. “Cell manufacturing reduces ‘work
in process’ to attain just-in-time deliveries, reduce the
carrying cost of raw materials and reduce waste.”
Emphasis on ornamentation
Many recent innovations are in border manufacturing
as mattress makers look to dress up beds and move away
from uniform borders. New machines address a resurgence
in handles, interest in embroidery and labeling and other
border ornamentation.
“From a developmental standpoint, our recent focus has
been on panels and, most particularly, on borders, with the
goal of helping mattress manufacturers differentiate themselves on the bedding floor by dressing up the border,” says
Hank Little, president of Atlanta Attachment Co., which has
headquarters in Lawrenceville, Ga.
Setting handles manually is time consuming, taking
about 15 minutes to place vertical handles on a queen-size
mattress, Little says. This year, Atlanta Attachment introduced its 4300 Automatic Vertical Handle Machine, which
serges the border, measures it to length and sets four to
eight handles automatically. It can set perfectly straight vertical handles at the rate of two queen mattresses per minute,
Little says.
Leggett & Platt’s Global Systems Group, which is based in
Sunrise, Fla., offers the Porter PALS 2000 Auto Label Sewer
for attaching labels to borders.
Tacking labels to today’s puffy quilts distorts the top
panel of the bed, which is why the vast majority of labels are
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Automated foam cutting Albrecht Bäumer GmbH & Co. KG specializes
in equipment and systems that the company says produce greater yields
and reduce waste.
Direct Feeding System This machine from Masias Maquinaria SA feeds
open polyester fiber into the quilt layer, eliminating the need for
thermo-bonded polyester wadding rolls.
on the border and it allows you to change the stitch pattern
to indicate where different zoning areas of the bed might
be,” Little says. Other border machines from Atlanta Attachment include the 1374 Decorative Stud Border Workstation—which
allows you to “dress up the bed and bring color and excitement to the border,” Little says.
“Our ruffled border machine allows manufacturers to use
short rolls of border or old rolls of border, which in the past
would be considered waste,” he says. “You can splice together
fabric and put a top layer of tick over it, basically making a
new border from what used to be scrap. You may want to
use it on a box spring to ruffle the border or perhaps just at
the corners. You can also turn off the ruffling feature and
use the machine for simple border serging.”
GSG has redesigned its Gribetz border slitter. The ProSlit
is a programmable slitter that repositions the blade at the
touch of a button instead of having an operator manually
move each of the 14 blades. For high-end mattress production, there is the 4500
Single Lane Border Quilter from Atlanta Attachment, which
allows manufacturers to reduce work in process and waste.
“You can take a slit roll and quilt specific single borders
in limited runs,” Little says.
Bale opener Although it’s shown oriented vertically here, this offering
from D.R. Cash Inc. also can be used horizontally in plants with lower
ceilings.
now on the bed’s border, says Russ Bowman, GSG president.
The new Porter machine provides a fast, economical solution, according to the company.
“Also on the border, we’re seeing more and more tackand-jump quilting in the last year and a half,” Bowman says.
The company’s new Gribetz B-45 Specialty Border Quilter,
which can quilt borders on 45-inch wide material, addresses
that decorative trend.
Atlanta Attachment has modified its 1366 Automatic
Vertical Stitch Machine to handle taller, single-sided beds by
adding electronic controls that make it programmable for
different mattress heights.
“The machine also knows where it is at any specific time
In the thick of it
Some of the biggest innovations of the past few years have
been machines to help manufacturers handle thicker mattresses and premium quilt packages.
Machinery supplier James Cash Machine Co. offers the
MX-100 “The Max,” a tape-edge machine with electronic
braking. It handles up to a 30-inch mattress and has been
a big seller, says Bob Ferry, vice president of the Louisville,
Ky.-based company. The company carries an extensive
parts inventory for its machinery and also custom designs machinery for its customers, Ferry adds.
In March, Matsushita Industrial Co. Ltd. introduced the
M-S-T601. The tape-edge machine, engineered in Japan and
manufactured in China, is designed to handle extra-thick
American mattresses, says Yosuke Takeuchi, general manager
of the Osaka, Japan-based company.
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Wintech Oscillating Blade Contour Cutter Wintech Engineering is one of
the suppliers making equipment for foam cutting. This piece is designed
to make the process more reliable and accurate, the company says.
GSG describes its Pfaff 5625 sewing head, which was
introduced about four years ago, as the “heaviest duty tapeedge head in the world,” Bowman says. Extra-wide decorative tapes are a design trend and tape-edge machines are
handling tapes as wide as 6 inches.
GSG promotes the Porter PFM-4000 and the Galkin X5
as the flange machines “most capable of handling thick,
dense mattress panels,” Bowman says.
“With the incorporation of FR material—which is
extremely dense—and the advent of one-sided beds, filler
materials in quilt panels now require heavy-duty, high-speed
quilters,” he says. “The Gribetz ParagonM+ is the fastest
quilter in the world and has been enhanced three levels since
2001. It’s unsurpassed in the thickness and density of the
panels it can handle.”
Atlanta Attachment’s 1365 Auto-Tuft and Quilting
Workstation (Marquise Diamond), a single-needle quilter
with tufting, performs two functions at once. The machine
allows mattress makers to program unique quilt patterns
and place tufts wherever they want in the top mattress panel.
It handles all quilting materials, including specialty foams,
Little says.
Creative foam cutting
Foam’s growing importance in mattress construction has
led to strong interest in advanced foam-cutting machinery.
Machines offer greater automation, speed and accuracy for
an increasing number of foam-related tasks.
“A lot of my customers tell me their scrap is their profit,”
says Kevin Ryan, president of foam-cutting equipment
maker ESCO (Edge-Sweets Co.), based in Grand Rapids,
Mich. “The less scrap they can produce, the greater their
profit. Automation produces the best quality product in the
shortest amount of time with the least amount of waste.”
Ryan says automated lines enable some of his customers
to “begin with a block of foam and end with a finished mattress—without a single human touching it.”
Since 2007, the company has been networking its machines to allow one operator to control an entire production
line. In 2009, it added “synthetic vision systems” to foam
cutting.
Vision systems, originally developed for aviation use by
the U.S. Air Force and NASA, reduce waste and improve
quality control, Ryan says.
“Every block of foam, like every loaf of bread, is slightly
different,” he says. “The vision system looks at the block and
decides the best way to cut it.”
Last year, Wintech Engineering based in Perth, Australia, updated its Wintech Oscillating Blade Contour Cutter,
making it even more reliable and accurate, says Jim Tweddle,
Wintech Engineering managing director.
The machine, with its patented gear box design, is a
“flexible work cell for smaller mattress manufacturers, as
it is able to peel, sheet and contour cut foams in both the
horizontal and vertical axis,” Tweddle says. “Large mattress
makers with dedicated production lines of special purpose
machines use it for R&D work and for small orders or special cuts that cannot be performed on their production line.” Fully automated foam-cutting lines are a specialty of Albrecht Bäumer GmbH & Co. KG, a supplier of foam-cutting
machinery based in Freudenberg, Germany.
“Europe has seen the centralization of mattress manufacturing among a handful of major producers and a growth in
mass production methods over the last three to four years,”
says Harald Kullmann, Albrecht Bäumer sales director.
TECMIC Packed Coil Machine PKTA-3R-UC Matsushita Industrial Co. Ltd.
created this piece of equipment to produce zoned, encased coils more
quickly.
One major manufacturer in Europe is making 8,500
mattresses a day and Albrecht Bäumer’s fully automated
foam-cutting lines allow it to create just-in-time stockpiles
of “spotlessly clean” goods, Kullmann says.
“With automation, there is greater yield, less waste and
less manpower,“ he says. “With visco-elastic, the convolutions help heat escape and now all companies want their
own pattern exclusives.”
Is Your Sewing Equipment Down
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recommended spare parts for our automated workstations and to ship those
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speed transfer machine for the production of zoned Bonnell
spring units with two different wire gauges. Its new FIDES
FT-80 transfer system for Bonnell spring units allows for
the fully automated production of as many as 150 200-coil
count innerspring units per day.
Demand for encased coils is growing around the world and
that is driving innovation and competition, says Matsushita’s
Takeuchi. Last year, the company introduced the TECMIC
Packed Coil Machine PKTA-3R-UC, a three-row, high-speed
wrapped coil assembler that Matsushita says is twice as fast as a
previous model and able to produce zoned coils.
Fully Automatic Transfer Line C 247 Remex AG’s machine automates the
assembly of knotless spring cores.
Springs production speeds up
Remex it sees a trend toward the use of automated wireforming equipment, even in regions of the world where
labor costs are low. The company’s Fully Automatic Transfer
Line RC 247 has conveyor belts and automatic assembly for
the production of knotless spring cores. Any spring shape
can be programmed and stored in memory for later recall,
according to the company.
Spühl AG, a wire-forming machinery maker based in
Wittenbach, Switzerland, won an Interzum Cologne award
in 2009 for its CS-525, an electronically controlled high-
What’s next?
Machinery suppliers say they are at work on even more
automation, customization, efficiency and accuracy in mattress manufacturing equipment.
For instance, this year Atlanta Attachment will introduce a
new panel cutter with even greater speed and accuracy. Working behind the quilter, it will cut and pre-stitch panels to ensure
correct sizing prior to the flange application, the company says.
To survive and be successful in this business, you must
continue to innovate,” says ESCO’s Ryan. “Among our
customers, ideas are constantly taking shape and we are
partners in that. There’s a spirit in bedding—people are
excited about this industry. In two years time, you’ll see lots
that’s new.” BT
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MarketingMatters
Philanthropy helps more than charities
Well-chosen partners, well-planned efforts benefit your business, too
From CherryPlanet.com
A
s people are more aware of suffering and the needs of people
around the world, corporate
social responsibility has become almost compulsory for many large multinational corporations. According to
the Giving Institute, a consultancy for
nonprofits in Glenview, Ill., Walmart,
Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon,
AT&T and others donate millions
of dollars to charities each year. Yet,
they only account for about 5% of all
donations to U.S. nonprofits.
The largest donor group is made
up of individuals and smaller businesses. According to a study by the
Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business
Index, a staggering 90% of small
businesses support local charitable
organizations and nonprofits. Though
their individual contributions may be
small compared to the donations from
multimillion-dollar corporations, they
collectively contribute billions of dollars to philanthropy.
In the mattress industry, companies of all sizes make a habit of charitable giving. Just look at the Industry
News section of BedTimes. In virtually
every issue, including this one, you
can find examples of the industry
donating time, money and products.
Some companies have longstanding relationships with charities. For
instance, mattress maker Kingsdown,
a Sleep to Live company, supports efforts on behalf of sick children; retail
chain Sleep Country USA helps foster
kids; and people from throughout
the industry come together each year
for the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic,
which funds research into pancreatic
cancer. Other companies respond to
one-time events and tragedies, such
as the Haiti earthquake or a fire that
sweeps through a local apartment
complex.
Such efforts don’t go unnoticed.
As the economy shrinks and people
witness the struggles of individuals
and the organizations that help them,
charitable giving increases a business’ visibility. The key is to maximize
exposure by publicizing events or
donations. People like to associate
themselves with companies that are
helping others. And for those suffering through their own hard times,
doing business with a philanthropic
company may be the only way they
can help causes important to them.
Finding the right partner
It’s important to partner with a
charity whose work and values mesh
with yours. Supporting any charity
To get the word out,
have the charity
promote your role
in helping it
is a good move, but finding one that
complements your mission and your
customers’ values will maximize the
rewards for the charity and your
business. When Storyville Coffee
was looking for a partner, it sought
to extend its philosophy that a cup
of coffee is a catalyst to slow down,
creating the opportunity to dream
and imagine. They teamed with the
International Justice Mission to end
human trafficking and modern-day
slavery. By helping to physically set
people free, the coffee purveyor also
helps those people become free to
dream of a better life. To spread the
word, Storyville Coffee publicized
its decision to donate 100% of its
profits for an entire month to the
group and to organize and sponsor a
national concert tour to raise awareness about the International Justice
Mission.
Ways to donate
Deciding whether to contribute
money, time or product depends on
your business and the charity you
choose. You have several options:
1
Give away products For the
mattress industry, perhaps the
most obvious way to help is to
donate bed sets, pillows and other
sleep products directly to a charity.
Shelters, hospices and other facilities
all need mattresses, making it a natural fit. Mattress producer Anatomic
Global sent emergency bedding to
victims of Hurricane Katrina and
now, under its WorldBed project,
plans to deliver as many as 200,000
rolled, portable foam beds to Haiti.
In the past, Simmons Bedding Co.
has donated traditional mattress
sets to evacuated Hurricane Katrina
27
MarketingMatters
People like to associate
themselves with
companies that are
helping others. And for
those suffering through
their own hard times,
doing business with a
philanthropic company
may be the only way
they can help causes
important to them.
victims, as well as to the American
Cancer Society’s Hope Lodges and
the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation. Simmons, too, is sending
portable bedding to Haiti.
2
Contribute a percentage
of sales As illustrated by
Storyville Coffee, it’s easy to
earmark a percentage of profits for a
charity. This could be an
across-the-board percentage of total
sales for a period of time or up to a
certain dollar amount. You also can
donate a percentage of sales from a
particular product that has a special
tie-in to the charity.
3
Create private-label
products Any number of auxiliary products can be developed and sold to benefit an organization. One example is Ethos Water,
which was founded in 2001 to help
children around the world get clean
water. The startup was acquired by
Starbucks in 2005, and the water is
now sold in Starbucks stores and
in many large grocery, convenience
and drug stores throughout North
America. A portion of sales goes toward humanitarian water programs.
4
Collect donations Homeless shelters, animal rescue
groups, food pantries and
other organizations often need
specific items. You can help promote
the needs of these groups by serving
as a drop-off spot for donations.
This works especially well if, like a
factory direct, you have a storefront,
but it’s not a requirement. Mattress
major Sealy partners with a host of
other groups each year to sponsor a
holiday concert and food drive. Admission to the show is canned and
nonperishable items that are then
donated to the Salvation Army.
5
Organize an event Hosting special events to raise
money for your charity can
be rewarding and fun for the whole
community. Encourage other businesses in the area to participate by
helping to organize the event or by
volunteering services in exchange
for their name being included in
the list of sponsors. Not all charity events need to be like Storyville
Coffee’s national concert tour.
Verlo Mattress Factory Stores in
Fort Atkinson, Wis., once held a
rummage sale to raise money for
flood victims in its area, donating
proceeds from the event and part
of its daily sales to the American
Red Cross. Be creative: A group
of mattress industry suppliers,
manufacturers and retailers has
organized what’s become a regular
poker tournament during the Las
Vegas Market to benefit the charity
Autism Speaks.
To get the word out, have the
charity promote your role in helping it. Ask the charity to include
information in its newsletters and
fliers and to spread the word on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. You will benefit
from the increased exposure and
they will earn much-needed funds.
Charity marketing isn’t a gimmick. According to the Wells
Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index
study, 80% of respondents said
they believe their philanthropic efforts benefit the communities they
serve more than their own businesses. By promoting and making
the most of your charitable giving,
you can do both—help others and
help yourself. BT
CherryPlanet.com was founded to
help businesses attract customers by
providing a platform for them to create coupon campaigns for free. The
site offers a way for businesses to save
money on advertising and marketing
while helping customers save money
as they shop and do business locally.
The company is committed to donating 10% of its profits to charity. For
more information, check
www.cherryplanet.com.
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IndustryNews
Sealy first-quarter earnings climb 31%
B
edding major Sealy posted $339.6
million in net sales during its
2010 fiscal first quarter, an increase of
9.6% compared to the same period a
year ago. The successful launch of the
new Stearns & Foster line and a more
stable retail environment drove the
positive performance, the Archdale,
N.C.-based company said.
Net income was $5.7 million, an
increase of 31.5% when compared
to $4.3 million in the first quarter of
2009. Operating income rose to $34.8
million, up 49% over the same period
a year ago.
“We are very pleased with our firstquarter 2010 results, as we delivered
top-line growth, driven by both unit
growth and average unit selling price
growth,” said Larry Rogers, Sealy
president and chief executive officer.
“These results represent our second
consecutive quarter of year-over-year
sales growth. We are seeing the benefits of our relentless focus on reducing our cost structure throughout the
economic downturn.”
Sealy’s gross margin increased 331
basis points to 41.3%, driven by a 202
basis point gain in its U.S. market.
Gross profit was $140.1 million compared to $117.6 million in the first
quarter of fiscal 2009. U.S. gross profit
margin increased 202 basis points
to 42.3%. The increase was driven
primarily by lower material costs and
improved manufacturing efficiencies,
the company said.
PBteen recalls ottoman beds
PBteen, a division of San Francisco-based WilliamsSonoma Inc., has recalled about 3,000 ottoman beds
because they fail to meet the federal open-flame
mattress standard, 16 CFR Part 1633. The beds were
produced in Taiwan and imported by PBteen.
No injuries or incidents associated with the beds
have been reported, according to the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission, which issued the recall
notice.
The recall is for mattresses sold as part of PBteen
ottoman beds. The multifunctional ottomans, which
can turn into a twin-size bed, can be used for sitting
or sleeping. They were sold with a cover in stone,
navy, ivory or pink colorways. The ottoman cover has
a tag that reads “PBteen” and a label with registration number CA-31586 (TW).
The beds, which retailed for about $300, were
sold through the PBteen catalog and Web site from
August 2008 through November 2009.
The CPSC tells consumers to contact PBteen
to receive a free cover that will bring the mattress
into compliance with the flammability standard.
Consumers can contact the company by calling
866-472-3010 or checking www.pbteen.com.
Total U.S. net sales increased 4.9%
to $246.4 million. Wholesale domestic
net sales, which exclude third-party
sales from Sealy’s component plants,
grew 4.6% to $241.6 million when
compared to the first quarter of 2009.
International net sales for the quarter increased $18 million, or 24%, to
$93.3 million. Excluding the effects of
currency fluctuation, international net
sales increased 11.9%. Sales growth in
Canada played a significant role, the
company said. Canadian sales were
32.5% higher than in the same quarter
of the previous year.
“We are encouraged by the stabilization we have seen in retail demand across our business segments,”
Rogers said.
Tempur-Pedic acquires
Canadian distributor
Mattress and pillow maker Tempur-Pedic International has
acquired its Canadian distributor Tempur Canada. The
company is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lexington, Ky.-based Tempur-Pedic and will continue to supply
the Canadian market with Tempur-Pedic products.
Tempur Canada’s net sales in 2009 were approximately $9 million, according to the company. Terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition follows similar transactions in Austria, Australia, China and New Zealand during the past
four years.
“Tempur Canada has done a tremendous job of
developing this market and has positioned the TempurPedic brand for increased investment,” said Mark
Sarvary, Tempur-Pedic chief executive officer. “We are
committed to growing Canadian market share and
so we will increase our investments in advertising
and sales initiatives, which over time we believe will
drive significant sales and earnings growth. We are
pleased with the results we have experienced in driving
sales growth and improved profitability from recently
acquired markets. In 2010, we expect the Canadian
acquisition will be modestly accretive to earnings.”
33
IndustryNews
U.K. trade association launches bed show
T
he National Bed Federation, a
U.K. trade association, will hold
its first industry-specific trade exhibition Sept. 28-29.
Exhibitors include the Airsprung
Group, Harrison Spinks Group,
Hilding Anders UK, Hypnos, Millbrook, Relyon, Simmons Group and
ViSpring. Participation is restricted
to NBF members. Seven months before the show, about 40 companies
already had signed on, according to
the association.
“We really felt the time was right
for a low-cost exhibition, which
brings the leading brands together
under one roof at a time of year
when retailers are planning for the
busiest sales period after Christmas,” said Simon Spinks, association
vice president.
Suppliers of bedding equipment and components—including
foam, innersprings, ticking, fillings,
machinery and label printers—also
will exhibit.
“The Bed Show is not just
another show. It’s a unique event
for everyone with an interest or
involvement in the U.K. bed industry, bringing retailers, manufacturers and suppliers together as never
before,” Spinks said.
The Bed Show will be held at the
Telford International Centre in Telford, Shropshire, England. The event
will include a gala dinner, where
the first NBF Special Achievement
Awards will be presented.
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IndustryNews
Serta, Paula Deen partner
for mattress collection
B
edding producer Serta has signed a licensing deal
with Paula Deen Enterprises LLC to produce a
collection of mattresses called Paula Deen Home
by Serta. The line was designed in collaboration
with the Food Network celebrity cook, author and
entrepreneur. It will be available exclusively at Mega
Group USA retailers.
“This new mattress collection reflects the dedication that both Serta and Paula Deen have to style
and comfort for the home,” said Bob Sherman,
president of the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based mattress
maker. “Together, we have designed mattresses that
are extremely comfortable, affordable and that will
really appeal to consumers shopping at Mega Group
retailers.”
Mattresses in the Paula Deen Home by Serta
collection feature individually wrapped innerspring
coils, foams with soy-based content and Serta’s exclusive KoolComfort memory foam with EcoSense.
The mattress covers are made from a knit fabric
containing silk. Suggested retail price points range
from $799 to $1,499.
“You can definitely tell that these mattresses have
been inspired by my life in the South and my home
in Savannah, Ga.,” Deen said. “The collection is all
about feeling good, comfortable and getting a good
night’s sleep in one’s home. And, just like my food, I
send you comfort and love from my home to yours.”
Shorts
Kluft’s Sublime carries $40,000 price tag
E.S. Kluft & Co., a bedding maker in Rancho
Cucamonga, Calif., has introduced the Beyond
Luxury Sublime, a limited edition bed with a
suggested retail price of $40,000 for a queen
set. The hand-sewn bed includes cashmere, silk,
wool, horsehair, organic cotton, Talalay latex
and calico-covered innersprings. Only 100 of
the beds will be made.
Green Cradle renovates, reopens
Green Cradle Organic Home, Mattress and Baby
in Sherman Oaks, Calif., a vendor of OrganicPedic by OMI sleep products, recently held a
grand reopening celebration in its newly renovated space. Green Cradle requires all items in
the store to have an organic or natural label and
be free of chemicals, preservatives and dyes.
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IndustryNews
Spring Air establishes Mideast presence
S
pring Air International, with
headquarters in Boston, has
signed a licensing agreement with
Bed Janssen & Co. in Cairo, Egypt.
The 60-year-old mattress producer is
known as American Bedding to retail
customers in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon
and Syria.
Bed Janssen was expected to
launch the brand in early April, producing a full line of Spring Air products, including Back Supporter, Sleep
Sense and Chattam & Wells. It also
will promote Spring Air’s proprietary
Comfort Silhouette Imaging technology, which performs body scans that
calculate retail customers’ weight,
body mass index and pressure points
to make mattress recommendations.
“We’re very excited to have Bed
Janssen as a new licensee, as well as
a full-line producer of Spring Air
products,” said Eric Spitzer, Spring
Air senior vice president. “We are
now in 32 countries. Our objective
is not only to continue expanding
our brand globally, but to ensure full
participation from our international
partners in marketing the Spring Air
brand and products.”
“We expect that stepping up to a
recognized American mattress name
will significantly impact our business here in Egypt and in Jordan,
Lebanon and Syria, where we have
equally significant distribution,” said
Mohamed Mostafa, Bed Janssen president. The company is expanding its
70,000-square-foot factory in Cairo to
accommodate increased production.
New partners Eric Spitzer, senior vice
president of Spring Air, met with Bed Janssen
& Co.’s Mohamed Mostafa and Mostafa El
Naggar during ISPA EXPO 2010 in
Charlotte, N.C., in March.
MPT Group unveils innerspring maker
The Helix Spring Machinery division of MPT Group Ltd., which has headquarters in Bacup, England, has announced the global launch of its patented
Infinity Sleep Support System, a continuous-wire spring unit fabricator.
According to the company, the fully automatic system produces
zoned coils and spring units at high speed. It saves manufacturers on raw
materials through its use of micro-gauge wire to produce a spring unit
with “excellent durability and body conformity characteristics,” the company said. A typical queen spring unit with 916 coils is far lighter than a
standard Bonnell innerspring, according to MPT Group.
“Mattress manufacturers can save in excess of 50% in steel costs,”
said Andrew Trickett, MPT Group sales director. “It is also twice as fast
as current systems, producing spring units at a rate of about 200 units
per eight-hour shift,” Trickett said. “This machine gives mattress makers
serious justification for investing in machinery to manufacture their own
spring units.”
The Infinity Sleep Support System produces 6¼-inch tall spring units
that better adjust to the contours of the body, according to the company.
Coil heights of 7 inches and 8 inches are coming soon.
“Feedback we’ve had from people who have bought the system has
been that this machine could turn the spring industry on its head, and
possibly eclipse use of the much heavier Bonnell coil,” Trickett said.
Short
Flexible Foam joins Facebook
Flexible Foam Products Inc. is posting links, photos, commentary and
educational materials at its newly created Facebook page. The Spencerville,
Ohio-based company invites members
of the bedding, furniture and cushioning
industries to visit the page and become
a “fan.” “Beyond traditional marketing,
many companies are using social media
to spread their message,” said Michael
Crowell, Flexible Foam vice president of
marketing. “We hope our Facebook page
is used as a forum for discussions and as
an information source within the industries we serve.” See the page at
www.facebook.com/flexiblefoamproducts.
39
IndustryNews
Leigh Fibers expanding S.C. plant
F
iber recycler and supplier Leigh Fibers is investing more than $10 million in new machinery and
a plant expansion at its Wellford, S.C. The investment is expected to generate 40 new jobs over the
next five years.
Leigh Fibers serves a number of markets, including home furnishings, textiles, nonwovens, automotive and construction. The 100-year-old company
is a major supplier of reprocessed and raw fibers. It
recycles post-industrial and post-consumer textile
waste to manufacture new fibers and operates in
more than 25 countries.
“We continue to see an increase in demand for
our products and services. This expansion will help
us better serve our customers, as well as position us
for future growth,” said Keith Taylor, Leigh Fibers
president. “Our plans to invest in the Wellford facility will not only promote job growth, but will also
have a positive environmental impact on our county
and state by minimizing waste going to landfills.”
New York AG sues Tempur-Pedic
The New York attorney general’s office has filed a lawsuit against Lexington, Ky.based Tempur-Pedic International. The suit seeks an injunction barring the
mattress maker from enforcing its retail pricing policy. The suit also seeks
restitution for New York consumers who, the attorney general says, have paid
too much for the company’s mattresses because of the pricing policy.
In a statement, Tempur-Pedic Chief Executive Officer Mark Sarvary
expressed disappointment with the action, noting that the company had
cooperated fully in a prior antitrust investigation conducted by the state.
The company also noted that the attorney general has not charged TempurPedic with violating any state or federal antitrust laws, but complains that
the company violated a 1975 New York law that declares certain contractual
provisions to be unenforceable.
“We believe the attorney general’s claim that Tempur-Pedic violated state
law is simply wrong and we intend to defend the case vigorously,” Sarvary
said.
The lawsuit claims that Tempur-Pedic’s retail partner agreement has
provisions that violate New York law, as well as the competitive conditions of
a free market. Tempur-Pedic explicitly states it will not do business with any
retailer who charges retail prices that differ from those set by the manufacturer, according to the attorney general. The complaint also details TempurPedic’s enforcement methods, which include encouraging retailers to report
competitors who are selling the company’s products below the minimum
established price.
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IndustryNews
L&P rolls out VertiCoil Edge
I
ndustry supplier Leggett
& Platt, with
headquarters in
Carthage, Mo.,
has introduced
VertiCoil Edge,
an open, offset
alternating coil
innerspring that
is part of its
VertiCoil family
of innerspring units.
Unveiled at ISPA EXPO 2010 in
Charlotte, N.C., in March, the new
unit has a re-engineered coil that
is lighter yet stronger, the company
said. It also has 21% more coils than
a typical innerspring.
VertiCoil Edge is configured for
improved perimeter consistency
to ensure uniform
firmness across
the entire mattress.
“We recently
conducted
research to better understand
consumers and
we’re using that
information to drive product innovation,” said Mark Quinn, group
executive vice president of marketing for L&P’s Bedding Group. “Both
innovation and quality of sleep are
important to consumers and we’ve
met those needs in our creation of
VertiCoil Edge.”
Short
Natura World Baby now in U.K.
Natura World, a producer of
mattresses and sleep accessories
based in Cambridge, Ontario,
has signed a deal to exclusively
distribute Natura Baby & Kids
products in the United Kingdom
through Cumberland Bedding.
Natura cot mattresses are made
from natural Talalay latex,
wrapped in wool and then covered with cotton. Natura mattresses have passed testing for
the Soil Association, a group of
organic farmers and others, and
has been given permission to
promote its organic certification
at the Harrogate Nursery Fair.
Providing the Foundation for a Stronger
Future for the Mattress Industry
For more information about the benefits of membership,
visit www.sleepproducts.org/Join
Chili Technology adds
comfort layer inserts
M
attress heating and cooling systems supplier Chili Technology, based in Mooresville, N.C., unveiled Chili/Ready
inserts at ISPA EXPO 2010 in Charlotte, N.C., in March.
Chili/Ready incorporates the company’s temperature-regulating technology into a 1-inch memory foam layer with dual
controls for two sleepers. The insert, which has the capacity to
regulate a bed’s sleep surface temperature from 48 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit, can be used in both innerspring and specialty
beds. A motor fits under the bed frame.
“The new Chili/Ready insert makes it easy for manufacturers to offer temperature-controlled sleep solutions to their customers,” said Todd Youngblood, Chili Technology president and
chief executive officer. “Disrupted sleep is often caused by core
body temperature changes, which can wreak havoc on your
sleep or your partner’s ability to sleep throughout the night. We
are helping solve this problem by allowing consumers to adjust
the temperature on each side of the bed so they can sleep better
and feel more rested.”
Ergomotion debuts
‘sound’ foundation
Adjustable bed base supplier Ergomotion, with headquarters in
Santa Barbara, Calif., is making music with its prototype Ergo Sound Bed. The adjustable base has built-in
Acoustic Resonance Therapy technology, which allows
sleepers to “feel the music.”
“We find the system resonates best when paired with
an innerspring mattress with specialty foam comfort layers,” said Kelly Clenet, Ergomotion president.
The Ergo Sound Bed is the first bed base with ART, a
proprietary sound system from SO Sound Solutions in
Louisville, Ky.
“The bed delivers music into the body tactically, so
you feel the music you hear,” said Suzannah Long, SO
Sound Solutions chief executive officer. “It can be very
soothing and relaxing and can take people into different
brain wave states.” The bed base debuted at ISPA EXPO
2010 in Charlotte, N.C., in March.
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43
IndustryNews
Simmons helps Haitian earthquake victims
Atlanta-based Simmons Bedding Co. partnered with humanitarian organization
CARE to donate 720 foam mattresses to Haitians left homeless by a Jan.
12 earthquake.
The mattresses, made of 5-inch polyurethane foam cores, were transported to the cities of Port-au-Prince and Leogane, where CARE staff
and community volunteers are overseeing distribution. Priority is being
given to injured and ill individuals, children and the elderly. Three foam
producers—Flexible Foam Products Inc., Future Foam and FXI Foamex
Innovations—donated the polyurethane cores.
“The people of Haiti have demonstrated a tremendous will to survive
and persevere despite losing homes, neighborhoods, friends and family members to this terrible tragedy,” said Tim Oakhill, Simmons executive vice president of marketing. “Upon learning of the destruction, we
recognized that Simmons could help bring an element of comfort to the
homeless by donating beds to CARE’s relief effort.”
Simmons has a history of donating mattresses to those in need, including victims of Hurricane Katrina. The company also has made mattress
donations to charities such as the American Cancer Society’s Hope
Lodges and the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation.
Short
Frame producer opens plant
As part of a maquiladora program, W. Silver Products has
opened a facility in Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico, to manufacture
steel bed frames. Raw angle
steel from W. Silver’s plant in
Vinton, Texas, is shipped to
the Juarez plant, where it is
punched, painted and assembled into various bed frames.
The frames are then shipped
back duty- and tariff-free for
sale in the United States. The
frames are marketed and sold
under the name Bed Frames &
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NewsMakers
Comfort Solutions hires Cruz-Levy
M
sale, key account sales
attress licensing
and retail store managegroup Comfort Solument,” Shoemaker said.
tions has named mattress
“Her particular backand home furnishings
ground and skill set will
industry veteran Janet
be invaluable to us as we
Cruz-Levy to the newly
continue to develop sleep
created post of brand
solutions and brands that
development manager.
are timely and relevant
She reports to Owen
to both retailers and
Shoemaker, senior vice
consumers.”
president of product and
Previously, Cruzmarketing for the WillowJanet Cruz-Levy
Levy was a sales reprebrook, Ill.-based company.
sentative and key account manager
She is responsible for assisting in
for the former Spring Air Chicago
the development and promotion of
licensee. Before that, she was key acnew and existing products, includcount manager for Universal Furniing Comfort Solutions’ Laura Ashley
ture Co., primarily serving Sears and
brand.
its 72 HomeLife stores in the Midwest
“Janet has had a range of experiand eastern United States.
ence in mattress and furniture whole-
Natura’s Rosien named to WithIt, BSC
Julia Rosien, director of communications for mattress and sleep accessory producer
Natura World, has been selected as second vice president of the WithIt board
and has joined the Better Sleep Council, the consumer education arm of the
International Sleep Products Association. WithIt encourages and develops
leadership, mentoring, education and opportunity for professional women in
the home furnishings industries.
“Julia’s dynamic and creative approach to marketing and social media
has cultivated a thriving online community that reaches deep within our
industry,” said Ralph Rossdeutscher, president and chief executive officer of
Natura World, based in Cambridge, Ontario. “Julia’s appointments reflect her
remarkable ability to inspire, engage and lead.”
Prior to joining Natura in 2008, Rosien served as senior editor of a magazine for pregnant women and was community developer, buzz-builder and
social marketing strategist for an online media company.
Short
Kozlowski joins Bed Frames & More as account rep
Tom Kozlowski has been named strategic accounts representative for Bed
Frames & More, a manufacturer of steel bed frames and other bedding
products. Kozlowski has 30 years of experience in the bedding industry,
working for Restonic and Dixie Bedding, among other companies. He
is based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. W. Silver Products, headquartered in
El Paso, Texas, produces bed frames and other items in Ciudad Juarez,
Mexico, and markets them under the Bed Frames & More name.
Innofa adds
Wiles as VP
Knit mattress fabric supplier Innofa has named Randy Wiles
vice president of regional sales.
The position is a new one for
the company, which has North
American manufacturing in
Eden, N.C., and headquarters in
Tilburg, Holland.
Wiles is a longtime ticking
sales executive. He formerly was
vice president and sales manager
for the now-defunct Blumenthal
Print Works.
At Innofa, Wiles is responsible
for sales and support for Canada
and the western and southwestern regions of the United States.
He reports to Innofa President
Job Dröge.
“With the breadth of his sales
management skills, his years of
experience in the industry and
his proven ability to build strong
customer relationships, Randy is
an extremely valuable addition
to our North American team,”
Dröge said.
Got News?
BedTimes want to
know about it!
Editorial deadlines for
the Industry News and
Newsmakers sections
of the July issue of
BedTimes are
Tuesday, June 1.
49
LAVA-adv-april2010
09-04-2010
10:32
Pagina 1
EXPERTS IN KNITTING
LAVA USA INC.
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ISPANews
Association promotes Trainer to president
New leader has extensive experience with ISPA & in D.C.
T
he International Sleep Products Association has named Ryan Trainer
president. He previously was executive
vice president and general counsel for
the association.
Before joining ISPA in 2002, Trainer
spent more than 20 years at the U.S. Department of Commerce and at leading
law firms in Washington, D.C. During
that time, he built a strong reputation
as an advocate for business in publicpolicy debates.
During his eight years at ISPA,
Trainer has played a key role in the association’s statistics, legal, government
relations, consumer product safety and
sustainability efforts.
“Ryan has a thorough understanding of the issues that are critical to the
sleep products industry and the skill to
navigate the corridors of Washington
to assure our voice is heard on matters
important to us,” said Don Wright, ISPA
chairman and chief marketing officer
for industry supplier Wright of Thomasville in Thomasville, N.C. “Our board
had a very clear vision that, at this time
in the evolution of ISPA, we needed a
top professional who was a strong executive, experienced Washington hand
and someone who already understood
Out front Ryan Trainer addressed the
audience during the Industry Breakfast at
ISPA EXPO 2010 in Charlotte, N.C., in March.
our industry issues. Ryan was the only
person we felt combined all of these
talents.”
The president’s post had been vacant
since Dick Doyle resigned in August
2009. Before elevating Trainer, a search
committee surveyed ISPA members
about their vision for the association
and considered several industry executives and external candidates for the job.
“We have learned a lot about what
the industry wants and expects from
ISPA in the future,” Wright said. “With
Ryan’s promotion, we will be able to
start acting upon many of these recommendations. It is a very exciting time for
our industry and ISPA.”
Under his leadership, Trainer said,
“ISPA will continue to focus on the
issues that affect the sleep products
industry and maximize the value of our
programs to our membership. Washington is trying to impose many new
costs on business and the sleep products
industry needs a strong and unified
voice in our nation’s capital, which ISPA
provides.”
Trainer continued: “Even before I
joined the ISPA staff in 2002, I worked
with the organization on many matters
as its outside legal counsel. As a result, I
am familiar with both our history and
advocacy in Washington and what we
must do to assure that we have a greater
voice and impact for our industry.”
Previously, Trainer was a partner
in the Washington, D.C., office of law
firm Clifford Chance and a partner in
the Rogers & Wells law firm. Early in
his career, he worked in the office of
the general counsel for the Commerce
Department. BT
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Interzum Moscow/
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May 18-20
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TNC Global, Inc.
336.668.7060
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September
Sept. 3-6
China International Furniture Fair
China Import & Export Fair
Complex
Guangzhou, China
Phone 86-20-2608-0427
[email protected]
www.ciff-gz.com
June 3-7
Furnex Egypt
Cairo International
Exhibition Center
Cairo, Egypt
Phone 202-2527-1010
[email protected]
www.furnexegypt.com
Sept. 16-19
ZOW Istanbul: International
Exhibition of Components
& Accessories for the
Furniture Industry
Instanbul Expo Center
Istanbul, Turkey
Phone 90-212-3249610
[email protected]
www.zow.com.tr
July
OCTOBER
June
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Tupelo Furniture Market
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Tupelo, Miss., U.S.
Phone 662-842-4442
[email protected]
www.tupelofurnituremarket.com
July 15-18
Furnitex
Melbourne Exhibition Centre
Melbourne, Australia
Phone 61-613-96547773
[email protected]
www.furnitex.com.au
July 20-23
Movinter
Interior Eventos
Mirassol, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Phone 16-2132-8936
www.movinter.com.br
Oct. 16-21
High Point Market
International Home Furnishings
Center & other locations
High Point, N.C., U.S.
Phone 336-869-1000
[email protected]
www.highpointmarket.org
Furnex Egypt The furniture trade
show will be June 3-7 at the Cairo
International Exhibition Center in
Cairo, Egypt.
August
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Aug. 2-6
Las Vegas Market
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Las Vegas, U.S.
Phone 888-416-8600
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www.worldmarketcenter.com
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800-777-5282
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Dave Williams
262-473-7331
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43
Bloomingburg Spring & Wire Form
Vickie Schwarm
740-437-7614
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44
BLR
Martin Leroux
819-877-2092
www.blrlumber.com
17
Bodet & Horst GmbH & Co. KG
Ute Schmiedel
49-37349-697-27
www.bodet-horst.de
24-25
Boyteks Tekstil AS
M. Nebi Dogan
90-533-685-6041
www.boyteks.com
46-47
Bruin Plastics Co. Inc.
Steve Angelone
401-568-3081
www.bruinplastics.com
26
Costa International
Daniel Vazquez
305-885-9761
www.costa-international.com
55
Diamond Needle Corp.
Abe Silberstein
800-221-5818
www.diamondneedle.com
43
Dueffe SRL
Francesco Arcangeli
39-071-7926054
www.dueffe.com
35
Eclipse International/Eastman House 8
Stuart Carlitz
800-634-8434
www.eclipsemattress.com
www.eastmanhousemattress.com
Edge-Sweets Co. (ESCO)
Kevin Ryan
616-453-5458
www.edge-sweets.com
40
Enriquez Materials & Quilting Inc.
Silvia Enriquez
323-725-4955
www.enriquezquilting.com
Flexible Foam Products Inc.
Michael Crowell
419-647-4191
www.flexiblefoam.com
Global Systems Group
Russ Bowman
954-846-0300
www.gsgcompanies.com
6
19
30-31, C3
Hengchang Machinery Factory
Belinda Lau
769-83307931
www.hcjixie.com
Hickory Springs Mfg. Co.
Rick Anthony
828-328-2201
www.hickorysprings.com
48
2
John Marshall & Co. Ltd.
Peter Crone
64-3-341-2004
www.joma.co.nz
29
Kenn Spinrad Inc.
Randy Weinstock
800-373-0944
www.spinrad.net
44
Latex Systems Kitti Charoenpornpanichkul
66-2-326-0886, Ext. 204
www.latexsystem.com
23
Latexco U.S. LLC
Kevin Callinan
866-528-3926
www.latexco.us
37
Lava USA Inc.
Ann Weaver
864-998-4892
www.lavatextiles.com
50
MAMMUT
Lothar Fohrn-Germany
49-2234-2180
Peter Poulsen-U.S.
952-448-1935
www.mammut.de
MPT Group Ltd.
Andrew Trickett
44-1706-878558
www.mptgroup.com
45
12-13
New England Needles Inc.
Thomas Lees
800-243-3158
www.newenglandneedles.com
38
Pacific Spring Inc.
Victor Nguyen
626-272-8882
55
P.T. RubberFoam Indonesia
Andreas Janssen
62-21-53662190
www.rubberfoam.co.id
39
Quilting Inc.
Mark Gibney
800-358-0153
www.quiltinginc.com
36
SABA North America LLC
Jim Turner
810-824-4964
www.saba-adhesives.com
4
Simalfa
Darren Gilmore
973-423-9266
www.simalfa.com
11
Therapedic Sleep Products Gerry Borreggine
800-314-4433
www.therapedic.com
32
Tietex International Ltd.
Wade Wallace
800-843-8390
www.tietex.com
C4
Wright of Thomasville
Area Account Executive
800-678-9019
www.wrightlabels.com
22
Classifieds
For Sale
TAPE-EDGE MACHINES, MULTINEEDLE AND SINGLENEEDLE QUILTERS, long-arm label machines, sergers, etc.
Contact Victor LeBron, American Plant and Equipment. Phone 864-574-0404; Fax 864-576-7204; Cell 864-590-1700; Email [email protected];
Web www.americanplantandequipment.com.
REBUILT AND RECONDITIONED MULTINEEDLE
QUILTING MACHINES. Specializing in PATHE precision
parts and service. Technical consultants. SEDCO. Phone 201-567-7141; Fax 201-567-5515.
TAPE-EDGE MACHINES, QUILTERS & MISCELLANEOUS
SEWING MACHINES. Contact Frank Carlino,
U.S. Mattress Machinery. Phone 815-795-6942; Fax 815-795-2178; Email [email protected].
Place your classified ad today!
Reach mattress industry professionals around the world with your
advertising message through the BedTimes Classifieds. Rates: $3 per
word for the first 100 words and $2.50 thereafter; minimum charge
of $75. “Blind” box number: $50 per insertion. Ad copy and pay-
Seeking Employment
MULTINEEDLE QUILTER SPECIALIST
➤ Electronics & mechanical
➤ Servo drives, motors, computers & PLCs
➤ Retainer drive upgrade
➤ Re-timing eccentrics
➤ Training 101 operations
➤ Stitching problems
Call 772-607-1851 or email [email protected].
Licensing Opportunity
Well-known MANUFACTURER OF MattressES and soft furnishingS is seeking a licensing arrangement
or joint venture with a reputable worldwide mattress
manufacturer, preferably based in the United States or Europe.
We are headquartered in Oman and have been operating in
countries in the Middle East for eight years. If interested, email
company information to [email protected].
ment must be received by the first of the month preceding publication. Send ads and payment to BedTimes Classifieds, 501 Wythe St.,
Alexandria, VA 22314-1917. Contact Debbie Robbins, advertising
production manager. Phone 336-342-4217; Fax 336-342-4116;
Email [email protected].
Pacific Spring Inc.
An American company
importing springs
from Cambodia
6.5” H 312 Bonnel units
7” H 336 Bonnel units
8” H pocket units
Pacific Spring Inc.
Victor Nguyen, VP of Marketing & Sales
6418 E. Washington Blvd.
Commerce Ca. 90040
Tel: (626) 272-8882 • Fax: (626) 226-4166
55
TheLastWord
No lullabies here
B
ut you might get rocked to sleep at the Sleep
Country Amphitheater in Ridgefield, Wash.
The retail chain recently bought three-year naming rights to the privately owned facility. It originally went by a much sleepier name, the Clark
County Amphitheater.
The 18,000-seat stadium, built
in 2002, has hosted big-name
bands like Nickleback
and Pearl Jam and
schedules about 10
shows a year. Though
Sleep Country USA
employees might like to
rock out as much as anyone, the
retailer plans to use the sponsorship as a way to promote its
extensive fund-raising efforts for
foster children.
Sleep Country has 70 stores
in Oregon and Washington. Its
sister company, Sacramentobased Sleep Train, sponsors the
Sleep Train Amphitheater outside
Sacramento.
DIY bedbug detector
Researchers at Rutgers University in New
Brunswick, N.J., have created an
inexpensive, do-it-yourself bedbug
trap using readily available household items.
After testing dozens of setups,
researchers found success using
an insulated, one-third gallon jug (available at camping supply
stores) packed with 2.5 pounds of dry ice (check the Web for local
dealers). The jug is placed in a plastic dish—researchers used one
made for cat food. Paper taped to the bowl’s rim serves as a bedbug ramp; a dusting of talcum powder inside the dish keeps the
bugs from crawling back out. By leaving the top of the jug open
slightly, bedbug-attracting carbon dioxide leaks out. A similar trap
made with travel mugs also works.
Reports on the researchers’ findings were presented at the annual
Entomological Society of America meeting in December 2009 and
published in the Journal of Economic Entomology in August 2009. You
can read the research at www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/bedbugtrap.pdf.
The device isn’t intended to exterminate bedbug populations,
which are notoriously hard to wipe out, but it can be used to check
for an infestation or re-infestation.
Bedbugs have become a major problem in many U.S. cities,
including New York, where the number of reported infestations more
than doubled between 2007 and 2009.
Study: Serene scenes better than sheep
It’s an old idea: Counting sheep helps you get to sleep. And like many
old ideas, it may have outlived its usefulness.
Oxford University sleep researchers recruited people
who had difficulty falling asleep. When the insomniacs were told to count sheep—or were given
no visualization instructions at all—they took
slightly longer than usual to drift off, according to the research, which was published in
the Behavior Research and Therapy journal.
But, when study participants were told to
imagine a relaxing scene, such as a tropical beach, they fell asleep an average of 20
minutes earlier.
Researchers theorize that, at least in
today’s modern world, counting sheep doesn’t hold
our attention. But the image of a tranquil lake or
beautiful meadow can be calmly engrossing.
Not every “great price”
is a good value.
Some machinery suppliers assemble the
minimal standards of a machine, offer it at a
low, low price, and call it a good value.
Real good value delivers top quality
within a reasonable budget.
It’s great to know every quilter from Gribetz
International® is a good value. Each model is
designed to deliver the best results for the needs
of every level of the bedding market.
Contact your local GSG rep to see which Gribetz model provides the
greatest value for your needs.
800-326-4742
954-846-0300
www.GSGcompanies.com
Nobody
dreams in
black
and white.
MATTRESS SOLUTIONS
Why
sleep that
way?
ECo Fa B R I C S ,
CoT To N S ,
PRINTS,
jaCquaRdS,
P o Ly E S T E R S ,
BLENdS,
ST I TC h B o N d S ,
Wa R P k N I T S ,
FILLER CLoThS.
Tietex International Ltd., 3010 North Blackstock Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29301, Ph. 864.574.0500, Fax 864.574.9490, www.tietex.com

BedTimes Magazine

Transcription

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