ISPA Expo rolls on fast track
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 5, 2004
INDIANAPOLIS — The pace was fast at Expo 2004, the International Sleep Products Assn.'s trade show held in this speed-loving city, which hosts the famed Indianapolis 500 auto race.
"All roads lead to Indy" was the theme of the Expo.
Roads and airports leading to Indianapolis were thronged with bedding professionals headed here for a well-attended event, according to Carpenter Co. executive Ed Malechek, chairman of ISPA's trade show committee. He said the event's exhibit floor was the largest ever at 122,000 square feet, hosting 180 exhibitors from 24 countries, including a record number of first-time exhibitors displaying new products and services for the bedding industry.
As he stood in his booth in the waning moments of the four-day show, Malechek proclaimed the event a solid success. Even the weather was nice, he noted.
Befitting the show's automotive theme, the event gave the industry a comprehensive view of what's down the road for bedding.
In part, that included a look at the latest products driving innovation, such as foams, tickings, springs, bedding components and machinery offered by suppliers from around the world.
Among the notable introductions: Three new foams from Foamex, new latex foams shown by Latex Foam International, an art-inspired line of ticking at Culp, new digital printing technology and high-speed quilting and flanging machines at Leggett & Platt, a line of encased coils at Hickory Springs, a good-better-best assortment of visco-elastic foams at Carpenter, scented mattress ticking at Deslee Textiles, and showy mattress labels by Wright of Thomasville.
To the staple of traditional bedding products was added a full complement of vendors with fire-resistant materials. Twenty exhibitors — more than 10% of the total — were showing a variety of FR products ranging from barrier fabrics to fibers to threads.
California is ready to begin enforcing its new open-flame mattress flammability standard on Jan. 1, 2005. Suppliers of FR materials said producers approached the subject seriously, realizing decisions about FR protection must be made soon.
"I was astounded at the number of FR offerings at the show," said Tom Taylor, who manages the bedding products business for Western Nonwovens, a supplier that includes FR products among its product mix. "Ultimately this will be good for customers."
Producers at the show accepted that higher prices are a fact of life for various bedding components, including those made of steel, suppliers said.
"Their concerns are about raw material supply," said Jay Sanders, vice president and director of marketing for Leggett & Platt's Bedding Components Group. "Leggett & Platt is comfortable we have the supply covered. We are dealing with knowledgeable and educated customers who fully understand the escalation of prices in raw materials, steel and otherwise, and are making their plans accordingly."
On the educational front, two seminars at the ISPA show drew crowds. Michael Colopy, a foreign affairs specialist, said that China isn't bent on destroying the U.S. economy as some might say.
In addition, economist James Glassman gave an informative and entertaining presentation on the outlook for the U.S. economy.
For star power, ISPA turned to Frank Abagnale, whose real-life exploits gave Steven Spielberg the story for his hit movie, "Catch Me if You Can."
He related how his broken childhood led him to improvise a life on the run, and concluded by stressing the importance of family in his life today.
