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Freudenberg sees wide FR adoption by summer

By David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 29, 2006

Lowell, Mass. — Top officials at fire-resistant materials supplier Freudenberg Nonwovens here predict the bedding industry will be largely converted to FR products by this summer.

"At least 75% of the industry will be switched to FR by the middle of the year," asserted Stephan Tanda, president of Freudenberg Nonwovens' North American operations.

In an interview with Furniture/Today, Tanda provided an update on the company's FR efforts, assessed a rapidly changing bedding marketplace, and suggested the marketing of safety in the bedding industry is a good idea.

Just a year ago, Tanda said, there was talk that government plans to introduce stringent FR standards on bedding "should be stopped or aborted." But now that talk is gone and "the industry has gotten on board."

The difference in attitudes in the past year "is really amazing," he said.

He continues to believe that marketing the value of safer mattresses is a compelling idea. "Absolutely," he said, noting Volvo's success in marketing safety in its cars.

Now that the bedding industry is heading toward large-scale conversion to FR products, there is an opportunity for one bedding producer to stand apart from the others on this issue.

"One of these guys will break out and do it," Tanda said. "It's too big an opportunity. There can be only one Volvo. The time to grab the space and the positioning is now."

Tanda, who is based at Freudenberg's worldwide headquarters in Weinheim, Germany, said he expects a U.S. national FR standard to be in place by next year.

Jim Frasch, project manager for Freudenberg Nonwovens, sees the industry changing quickly once large-scale FR adoption begins. "I suspect the whole game will change when more people begin introducing FR products," he said.

There could be levels of differentiation in FR materials, with gold, silver and bronze standards. Learning about all of the different FR products "is a big task for a mattress company to take on," Frasch said.

Ashutosh Karnik, Freudenberg's market manager for new business growth and development, said the increased FR activity will spark a buzz in the industry.

"With enough awareness, everyone will be talking about it," he said.

Tanda also said the industry should be concerned about FR treatments that are chemically applied. He expressed concerns about the health effects those solutions will pose, and said major media outlets could air reports on that issue. "It will rear its head," he predicted.

Freudenberg is committed to offering FR solutions provided by fibers that have inherent FR properties, he said.

Tanda said the company's FR business "is meeting our expectations. It's on a growth track. We expect to see that growth continuing. We are not the commodity player, but rather the value-added supplier. We are adding extra value beyond just the base material."

As a global manufacturer of technical textiles for a wide range of applications, Freudenberg brings a long history of experience to the FR mattress materials market. The company says it serves all sectors of the market with varied products for all types of mattress designs.

Freudenberg said its FR materials help producers meet California's FR mattress standards "without disturbing the aesthetics of mattress design." The company has developed a number of products geared to specific mattress applications. It uses what it calls an Integrated System Solution, a process that matches the right materials to the specifics of mattress construction.

All Freudenberg bedding products are manufactured in North American plants. But the company maintains that it can, as part of the Freudenberg global network, avail itself of every type of engineered fabric technology in the world, "thus enhancing our ability to develop ideal solutions for customer product needs."

Upon entering the U.S. market, the company adjusted its customer support and distribution strategy with the assistance of Hickory Springs Converting, which is partnering with Freudenberg to market and distribute the products. The experience and industry knowledge of Hickory Springs Converting "has given us an advantage that has served us well as a relatively new entrant into this industry," Freudenberg officials said.

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