Sources of flammability products

David Perry -- Furniture Today, February 16, 2003

High Point — Suppliers of fire-blocking materials are moving into the limelight as the bedding industry ponders how to meet stringent new open-flame standards.

Several of these companies began the process of getting their message to the bedding industry last fall during the International Sleep Products Assn.'s Industry Conference, where they exhibited their products to conference attendees.

This year will be a key year for these companies, as the deadline looms for compliance with California's strict new open-flame standards. Those standards become law on Jan. 1, 2004.

Here's a look at several companies offering fire-blocking products. The information in these listings came from a variety of sources, including the companies and Bedtimes, the International Sleep Products Assn.'s business journal, and was verified with the companies themselves.

Carpenter Co.

Product: Firestop.

Description: Firestop is a Basofil, fiber-based, thermally bonded, high-loft flame barrier blend of fibers that chars in place. It can be used as a fire-barrier cushioning component in applications where polyester or other fiber is currently used. It does not contain any flame-retardant chemical additives.

Contact: Dennis Mater, director of polyester fiber development engineering.

Phone: (804) 359-0800.

Address: 5016 Monument Ave., Richmond, Va. 23230

Chem-Tick Coated Fabrics

Products: Firegard ticking and other FR products.

Description: Company offers selection of flame-retardant fabrics as well as Firegard ticking and barrier fabric.

Contact: Allan Schwartz

Phone: (516) 997-0900

Address: P.O. Box 930, Hicksville, N.Y. 11802

Chestnut Ridge Foam

Products: AIRFLEX, CR SAFGUARD and CR SAFGUARD XL fire-resistant cushioning. VONAR fire-barriers.

Description: The various fire-resistant components offer creative ways to help manufacturers accomplish successful composite fire testing. The cushioning products utilize neoprene or neoprene hybrid cushioning technology. Products can be used without secondary barrier fabrics. Fire-resistant bedding applications include topper pads, full-depth foam inserts and quilting. Products can also be used successfully in seating applications.

Contact: Carl Ogburn

Phone: (800) 234-2734, extension 261

Address: P.O. Box 781, Route 981 North, Latrobe, Pa. 15650

Elk Technologies

Product: VersaShield TB 129

Description: A coated, woven fiberglass product developed as a result of the company's 50 years of experience in working with fire-barrier concepts and products in the roofing industry.

Contact: Frank Kelly, director of sales for consumer fire retardant products

Phone: (404) 338-0639

Address: 5345 Golden Leaf Trail, Norcross, Ga. 30092

Fred Clark Felt Co.

Product: Struto.

Description: Vertically structured cotton batting that does not emit toxic fumes when exposed to an open flame.

Contact: Debbie Fertitta, chief executive officer

Phone: (409) 842-5080

Address: 6305 Industrial Rd., Beaumont, Texas 77705

Freudenberg Nonwovens Group

Products: Viledon fire barrier fabrics.

Description: 500 series is a structured batting that can replace conventional mattress batting. Installed between the mattress ticking and foam, it prevents flames from reaching the interior of the mattress by virtue of its composition, which essentially blocks and smothers the flame. The 400 series is a thin interlining, also installed between the mattress ticking and foam, which uses a safe, inorganic coating on one side of a needlepunch liner. A variation of that product, the 300 series, available as an uncoated interlining, is currently under evaluation.

Contact: Ashutosh Karnik, market manager, new business growth and development, or Charlie Mason, manager, new business development

Phone: (978) 454-0461 (extension 669 for Karnik, extension 401 for Mason)

Address: 221 Jackson St., Lowell, Mass. 01852

Herculite

Products: Sure-Chek

Description: Sure-Chek healthcare fabrics, in use around the world, are flame-retardant. The company's Sure-Chek Blaze Blocker fire barrier fabric is a 30-inch tubular knit, designed to slip over the mattress core and act as a flame barrier between the outer cover and the mattress core and offers ultra-high flame barrier performance. The Sure-Chek Blaze Blocker FG fire barrier fabric is a woven fabric designed to be used as a fire barrier in-liner that can be run behind a traditional mattress ticking during the quilting process, offering ultra-high flame barrier performance. Sure-Chek FFB fluid and flame barrier fabric offers ultra-high flame barrier performance and fluid resistance.

Contact: William Wanner, vice president of sales, healthcare fabrics

Phone: (800) 772-0036

Address: P.O. Box 435, Emigsville, Pa. 17318

Hickory Springs Mfg. Co.

Product: Code*Red-II

Description: Fire-retardant, flexible polyurethane foam.

Contact: Bobby Bush

Phone: (828) 328-2213, extension 3407

Address: P.O. Box 128, Hickory, N.C. 28603

HS Fibers/Inno-Therm (Hickory Springs)

Product: Poly-Therm fiber batting

Description: Blend of polyester fiber and fire-retardant cotton fibers.

Contact: Greg Gabrel

Phone: (828) 466-1147

Address: P.O, Box 226, Newton, N.C. 28658

HS Converting (Hickory Springs)

Product: Barrier Fabric

Description: Needle punch protective barrier inner fabric.

Contact: Sandy Van Dyke

Phone: (828) 322-1050

Address: P.O. Box 1266, Conover, N.C. 28603

Jones Fiber Products

Products: FR-modified cotton barrier products.

Description: FR barrier product is specifically designed to address mattress border panel flammability issues. For top-of-the-bed applications, a soft, resilient fire-barrier product is offered for use directly under the mattress ticking.

Contact: Kenneth Oliver, president

Phone: (901) 948-4469

Address: 1184 Channel Ave., Memphis, Tenn. 38113

Leggett & Platt

Products: Pyro-Gon and Alessandra yarns.

Description: Pyro-Gon is a patented family of flame-resistant products that provide the comfort and durability of high-loft, non-woven products. Pyro-Gon is an engineered blend of Zoltek Pyron fiber that is designed to be used as an effective fire blocker, and to substantially reduce heat generation and transfer. When subjected to an open flame, the polyester fibers rapidly retreat, leaving a layer of the inert Pyron fiber to absorb and disperse the heat. Pyro-Gon is available in rolls for quilting applications for bedding, as well as wraps for cushion, back and frame fabrication for furniture. Pyro-Gon allows producers to maintain current production methods and product characteristics. Pyro-Gon has been selected by an experts' panel of the California Fire Chiefs Assn. as an innovation in fire protection.

Contact for Pyro-Gon: Gerry Welkley, (800-888-4136) or Phil Kaylor (828-495-7064) Leggett & Platt's Hanes Inds. division also offers woven fire-barrier interliner systems and mattress tickings, based on the patented Alessandra yarn technology developed by McKinnon-Land-Moran. These fabrics offer a high degree of resistance to flame and heat, while retaining the characteristics expected of quality mattress ticking or interliner fabric.

Contact: Gary Smith or Bruce Cloninger at Hanes Inds.

Phone: (828) 464-4673

Address: 500 North McLin Creek Rd., Conover, N.C. 28613

McKinnon-Land

Products: Basofil fiber and Alessandra yarns.

Description: Basofil fiber, the key to Alessandra's effectiveness, is an inherently heat- and flame-resistant fiber that has been used to protect firefighters around the world for years. It does not burn, melt or shrink and needs no chemical treatment to enhance its performance. Producers can choose a lighter-weight barrier fabric to be used under current ticking or upholstery fabrics, or a heavier fabric to directly replace the current ticking. In January 2003, developmental work started to produce the first decorative upholstery fabrics for the market, and those products will be available this year. Alessandra's patented design begins with dual-sheath, dual- core, yarn-spinning technology. When woven into a fabric, these yarns form a grid-lattice system. The Basofil fiber stabilizes the carbon char that forms upon flame exposure, creating a lattice that fills the grid and prevents the flame from penetrating to the underlying fill materials.

Contact: Frank Land, president and chief operating officer

Phone: (704) 423-2244

Address: 4824 Parkway Plaza Blvd., Suite 250, Charlotte, N.C. 28217

Tex Tech Inds.

Products: A variety of products using Basofil and other fire-retardant fibers.

Description: Products vary in weight, thickness and Basofil content and can be tailored to meet a variety of applications. The products can be used as fire-barrier cushioning components in applications where polyester or other fibers are currently used.

Contact: Edward Burnett, development consultant

Phone: (888) 414-4884

Address: 6 Lockwood Dr., Hampton, Va. 23661

Trace Inds.

Product: Densified flame-barrier batting.

Description: This 100% cotton batting product is produced by a process that mechanically interlocks the fibers to produce a dense, firm, strong batting, with good fire barrier properties.

Contact: John Rowland, chief executive officer

Phone: (662) 456-4261.

Address: P.O. Box 71, Houston, Miss. 38851

Ventex Inc.

Products: SpunGold, Integrity 30, Enhancer-F, Barrier-F and ProAktiv.

Description: Several of its products utilize Visil fiber, a highly fire-resistant fiber developed in Finland. SpunGold is a quiltable fire barrier that using no fiberglass or chemical fire retardants. It is tailored to be incorporated into existing manufacturing processes. ProAktiv FR fabric is intended for flame-resistant bedclothes and ticking applications. Its inherent flame-resistant performance is achieved by locking the protection into the fibers of the fabric.

Contact: Harrison Murphy, president

Phone: (800) 800-3994

Address: P.O. Box 1038, Great Falls, Va. 22066

Western Nonwovens

Product: Esyntial Safe.

Description: Safe, effective and transparent in application, Esyntial Safe highloft barrier fabrics are effective in meeting the requirements of the TB 129 and NIST burners. The patent-pending barrier system is based on readily available fiber sources to ensure the user continuity of supply. Esyntial Safe barrier fabrics require no additional manufacturing steps for the mattress producer.

Contact: Tom Taylor, manager of bedding business.

Phone: (704) 535-6139.

Address: 1218 Beechdale Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28212

Wolf Corp.

Product: Adventech.

Description: This is a thermally bonded cotton fiber-based product with a small percentage of low-melt fibers. Through a random fiber orientation process, Wolf uses the natural curl of cotton to its advantage. The random orientation of the fibers provides a high degree of loft and resilience — and inherent flame-resistant characteristics. The orientation makes it difficult for a flame to draw a consistent or continuous draft of air. Adventech is easy to use with current machinery and production processes.

Contact: Tony Wolf, president

Phone: (260) 749-9393

Address: 3434 Adams Center Rd., Fort Wayne, Ind. 46857