Foamex expands offerings to bedding industry
Introduces a number of new green products
David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 28, 2008
LINWOOD, Pa. – Foam major Foamex has expanded its offerings to the bedding industry, introducing a number of new green products fashioned from memory foam and latex foam.
Consumers and retailers are increasingly interested in green products, company officials said. Offering those foams “is the right thing to do,” noted Alvaro Vaselli, senior vice president of global business development and marketing.
Foamex is backing its new foams with the broad marketing programs for which it has become well known in the bedding industry.
The introductions, successfully launched at the recent International Sleep Products Assn. Expo, include Aerus Natural, a family of high-performance, highly breathable memory foams using renewable resources. One of the key ingredients is agriculturally derived, replacing portions of the petroleum-based raw materials traditionally used in conventional memory foams.
Aerus Natural is manufactured using Foamex’s proprietary Variable Pressure Foaming (VPF) technology, a virtually emission-free manufacturing process that creates significantly higher quality cushioning materials in a range of densities and firmness. That demonstrates the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship, officials said.
“Our goal has always been to develop innovative materials that can significantly improve the quality of sleep,” Vaselli said. “Foamex has built a track record of successful products that clearly deliver that benefit. The new Aerus Natural family is by far the broadest line of green memory foams that, with its highly breathable open cell structure, delivers the benefits of a cooler night’s sleep in a wide variety of options for mattress manufacturers.”
Foamex also has introduced Natural Bedding, a system of engineered components designed to work together to offer a complete solution that incorporates renewable resources. The product family includes all types of bedding components, including cores, rails, toppers and quilt layers. With this family of products, bedding makers can develop products to meet their customers’ growing desire for beds containing natural materials.
In addition, the company has also launched Natural Latex by Foamex, a line of 100% natural latex products. “Latex is growing and well accepted,” Vaselli noted. “We want to be a solutions provider for specialty bedding.” Foamex is offering two grades of latex in this program, which marks Foamex’s first offering of latex foam.
Foamex rounds out its latest product launches with DriFast performance cushioning for the bedding industry. DriFast is a polyurethane foam with an open cell construction. The bedding application is designed to dissipate heat and moisture, thus giving consumers a more comfortable night’s sleep.
This product builds on the long-standing success of the original DriFast line, used in cushions for outdoor furniture.
Andrew Thompson, executive vice president of business management and marketing at Foamex, said bedding consumers are interested in innovative products. “We believe that our customers share our passion for product innovation and will respond positively to these new offerings,” he said.
