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3 bedding majors disclose FR plans

By David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 20, 2003

High Point — Bedding majors Serta and Spring Air say they intend to distribute new fire-resistant bedding lines throughout the United States and not just in California.

And sales leader Sealy says it is likely to convert all of its facilities to produce beds that are FR compliant shortly after a stringent new flammability standard is implemented in California.

Furniture/Today surveyed the Big Four bedding producers on the eve of important flammability hearings in California this week.

"It is our intention to roll out our new flame-resistant lines throughout the country shortly after the California standard is implemented," said Ed Lilly, Serta's president.

"We would like to convert all of our lines to the California standard," said Jim Nation, Spring Air's president. "That is our intention."

Dave McIlquham, Sealy president, said it is "premature" to confirm Sealy's product direction before California's FR standard and implementation date are finalized. But he added, "It is likely that within a reasonably short period of time after the California FR standard is implemented, Sealy will convert all of our facilities to produce products that are FR compliant. This will ensure that our multi-state customers with stores in California can carry the same product line in all markets."

Simmons President Bob Hellyer summarized his company's position: "We have always been a company that strives to do what is in the consumers' best interest. It is our intention to work with the International Sleep Products Assn. to help develop a (FR) standard that is in the best interests of consumers."

Asked about Simmons' product plans in connection with the California standard, Hellyer said: "We don't know what the standard is. There are too many 'what ifs' to make a decision at this point."

Nation did leave open the possibility that Spring Air might be forced by competitive pressures to back off from its plans to convert all bedding to the California standard. "We won't give competitors a free run at us," he said.

The new open-flame mattress flammability standards become effective in California Jan. 1. Bedding producers who sell in that state will have to meet those standards, but are not bound by them elsewhere.

Some industry sources predict that virtually all U.S. bedding producers will convert all of their lines to meet the California standard. If they don't, they would face a variety of logistical, legal and public relations issues, these observers say.

But Nation sees a rising possibility of a non-level playing field in which some producers have two lines of bedding, one for sale in California that meets the California standard and one for sale elsewhere that doesn't. Meeting that standard could add $100 to $200 to the retail cost of a sleep set, a gap that would give producers who don't meet the standard a price advantage over those who do.

Nation said his concern about this is growing, because he doesn't see smaller producers taking the actions that indicate they plan to comply with the California standards.

Spring Air has identified "a number of potential solutions" to meet the proposed California standards, Nation said, and "a number of Spring Air beds" have already passed the proposed standards.

Serta's Lilly said his company "has done extensive product research, design and testing to produce mattresses that meet the proposed California open-flame resistance standard. As of today, we can meet the proposed standard by Jan. 1, 2004 in all our product lines."

Dick Doyle, president of the trade group ISPA, is on record as challenging several aspects of the proposed California FR standards, including their timing, cost and reasonableness.

Sealy's McIlquham said his company "supports ISPA's position that California's proposed effective date of Jan. 1, 2004 is unreasonable if the rules will not be finalized until November."

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