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New FR standard represents emerging paradigm shift

By David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 24, 2007

Orlando, Fla. — ORLANDO, Fla.-- The new federal mattress flammability standard will bring fundamental changes to the bedding industry, an expert on the issue said here.

And another expert, this one a marketing veteran, said the new standard gives the industry a unique opportunity to sell more bedding and related products.

The subject of mattress flammability dominated an afternoon of Therapedic's recent annual meeting here. It was the second straight Therapedic meeting that devoted substantial time to the topic.

The FR speakers included two well-known figures in the bedding industry: Allen Podratsky and Don Hofmann, both formerly of Simmons but now involved in new FR ventures.

Podratsky, president of Global Supply Chain Partners, a provider of FR consulting services to bedding producers, said the new standard introduces fire science into an industry that has emphasized fashion and craftsmanship.

"A paradigm shift for the bedding industry is in the making," he said. "We are moving from a comfort product to a safety product. We are moving from a production/schedule adherence focus to a quality documentation focus."

The new standard requires bedding producers to meet rigorous quality assurance and record-keeping requirements, in addition to passing a tough burn test. Bedding producers need to become quality-driven organizations in this new climate, Podratsky said.

"It's a new day for us," he said. "We need to zero in on those controls to protect our business."

Podratsky gave the Therapedic licensees an overview of the new standard, saying it is designed not to make beds fireproof but to prevent flashover, in which everything in a room catches fires.

The standard stipulates that beds exposed to two open flames cannot give off more than 200 kilowatts of heat in the 30-minute test; flashover occurs when the room reaches 1,000 kilowatts of heat.

He said the technology exists to make bedding "almost bullet-proof."

It is possible to provide enough FR protection so that the bedding will self-extinguish in less than 10 minutes after being exposed to the flames that begin the test.

Podratsky's company has the endorsement of Therapedic, Gerry Borreggine, Therapedic president, told the group.

Also addressing the licensees was Hofmann, a consultant to Louisville Bedding, which recently introduced its FireDefender Sleep System for mattresses and foundations. He said that research conducted for Louisville Bedding clearly indicates that the new FR standard presents opportunities for increased sales of FR-protected bedding and mattress pads.

The research found that 63.9% of women, the primary bedding purchasers, said they would consider buying a new mattress set after they heard news about the upcoming FR standard. That is a huge increase over the current industry purchase intent, which is about 12%, Hofmann said.

"We haven't seen an opportunity like this," he said.

He noted that almost half of the women who purchased a new bed in the last one to two years said they would consider buying another new bed when the law takes effect. Mattress purchase intent rises steadily from there based on the length of time the consumers have owned their mattress; almost 81% of the women who have owned their beds for nine or more years said they will look into buying a new sleep set when the law takes effect.

One key to realizing marketing opportunities with the new standard is to "sell the positives," he said. The industry should train retail sales associates to stress the positives, noting that FR protection is "the newest innovation" in the industry, Hofmann said.

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