Teijin Twaron marketing FR line to U.S. producers
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, July 4, 2005
Conyers, Ga. — Teijin Twaron, an international supplier of fire-resistant materials to a variety of markets, has begun offering its products to the U.S. mattress industry.
The company, whose U.S. arm is based here, supplies fire-resistant para-aramid yarns and fibers to the firefighting industry in the United States, a market it has served for more than a decade. Its products also are used to make bullet- and cut-resistant clothing.
It now hopes to sell to mattress producers, who must meet stringent new open-flame regulations in California and are facing a national FR mattress standard in 2006 or 2007.
The company's para-aramid products are marketed under the Twaron name and are distributed to U.S. mattress producers by Freudenberg Nonwovens and AFT. The Twaron FR mattress products include sewing thread and nonwoven barriers.
Germany-based Christoph Hahn, sales and marketing manager for Teijin Twaron's heat and cut protection products, said during a recent U.S. visit that in a price/performance comparison, his company's products surpass those of its competitors.
"We are a supplier of high-performance fibers who offers cooperation to its customers," Hahn said. "We offer a superior product, quality and innovative solutions."
Sales Manager David Carlson heads the company's sales efforts, with support from technical account managers.
"We look at FR protection not as a negative, but as a way to offer added value," Carlson said. "We have a solution that is superior, but still brings value to the end product. We are doing this without the addition of chemicals."
Strong demand for Twaron products, which are also used in tires, hoses and belts in automobiles, and in the aerospace, civil engineering, construction and leisure goods industries, has prompted the company to expand production this year. The expansion — the third since the Japan-based Teijin Group acquired the company in 2000 — will boost production of Twaron yarn and pulp by 20%.
The Twaron products are manufactured at two factories in the Netherlands. Teijin Twaron serves the North American market from its warehouse here.
