Basofil gears up for FR fiber push
Company is building inventory to meet soon-to-emerge demand
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, November 23, 2003
Enka, N.C. — At a sprawling industrial park in this mountain community just outside Asheville, N.C., McKinnon-Land-Moran is quietly building its inventory of flame-resistant Basofil fibers.
The multi-million-dollar, sophisticated operation here went on line in 1996 and is now adding about $500,000 in finished goods inventory each month. Already more than $8 million in Basofil fibers is in inventory, ready for bedding producers that want to comply with stringent new open-flame flammability laws proposed in California.
This facility is one of the key locations in the growing debate about mattress flammability. At a time when some bedding producers say flame-resistant mattress materials just aren't ready for the market, McKinnon-Land-Moran is moving ahead with a technology that produces a FR fiber already commonly used to provide fire protection for fire-fighters and for passengers on commercial airlines, among other uses.
The technology has been perfected and it works, says Bob McKinnon, chairman and chief executive officer of McKinnon-Land-Moran.
He already has plans in place to dramatically increase production of Basofil, an inherently heat- and flame-resistant synthetic fiber that does not shrink or melt when it comes in contact with flame, according to the company.
The 100,000 square feet of space currently devoted to Basofil production here encompasses just one production line, with a capacity of 3.5 million pounds per year. Four more production lines are on the drawing board and would boost capacity to more than 21 million pounds per year.
The price tag for that expansion — about $50 million.
McKinnon said his company already has lined up investors for the expansion.
Investors "recognize that the science behind the product was developed by scientists," McKinnon continued. "They also recognize the potential the product has in other markets. We are starting with the mattress and box spring market, then the top-of-the-bed market and ultimately the upholstery market."
Basofil is not a new product. It was developed in 1984 by BASF, which spent more than $100 million in the process.
McKinnon-Land-Moran purchased the assets of the Basofil business from BASF last year. Earlier that year, the company acquired the intellectual property for the Alessandra yarn and fabric technology from Land Fabrics.
That company, under the ownership of Frank Land, had been involved in research and development of flame-resistant products for more than 15 years.
Land, as the company's three-part name suggests, is a key player in McKinnon-Land-Moran. He patented the technology for the Alessandra yarn and fabric system, which is being marketed by Hanes Inds., a subsidiary of Leggett & Platt. The Alessandra product, whose dual core is wrapped with a Basofil/modacrylic fiber blend, is resistant to heat and flame while retaining the qualities expected in a quality mattress ticking or interliner fabric, the company says.
Basofil fiber is made from melamine resin, the same material used in kitchen countertops. The cross-linked chemical structure resists shrinkage, creating what the company describes as "a thermally stable fiber."
Basofil's capability to char without shrinking when exposed to flame, coupled with its soft hand, makes it a superior fiber for open-flame protection, particularly in the home furnishings category, according to the company.
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Basofil gears up for FR fiber push
Jul 20, 2003
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