Culp to distribute FR fabrics
Ticking major partnering with Precision Fabrics
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 15, 2004
Stokesdale, N.C. — Stokesdale, N.C.— Culp Home Fashions has partnered with Precision Fabrics Group to enter the mattress flammability arena with a family of barrier fabrics.
Culp will be the exclusive distributor of SoftGuard MTP products to the bedding industry. These consist of a proprietary blend of readily available fibers and inherently flame-resistant fibers. The blend is treated to provide what the company calls a "superior flame-blocking capability."
Culp becomes the first mattress ticking supplier to offer FR products, although the new products are designed as a barrier rather than as ticking.
The thin-profile, coated products are white and are made from an inorganic compound.
When properly integrated into a sleep set, the bedding will meet California's new open-flame mattress flammability standard, Culp officials said.
Iv Culp, executive vice president of Culp Home Fashions, said the SoftGuard MTP line "further extends our offerings to customers, which allows us to strengthen our position as a leader" in mattress ticking.
"We hope this relationship will support revenue growth for both companies," he said. "We are going into this to distribute the products nationally."
Precision Fabrics Group, with plants in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, offers a line of specialty engineered woven and nonwoven products and has produced FR products for about 15 years. These have been used in airline seating, protective apparel for industry, and window treatments.
The company's FR products for the mattress industry have been in development for three years.
SoftGuard MTP products are designed to be used inside the bedding, and can be designed to replace existing mattress and foundation components. They offer what Culp calls a "soft, supple hand," contain no fiberglass or hazardous chemicals, are non-toxic to humans and animals, and are "easily integrated into the quilting process."
Iv Culp said that Culp and Precision Fabrics Group are exploring the possibility of combining the technologies of mattress ticking and barrier fabrics in future product lines.
Culp's sales force has been extensively trained on the new products, said Mike Cottonaro, vice president of sales and marketing for Culp Home Fashions.
"This is something we are taking extraordinarily seriously," he said. "We are going to insure our sales force is the best trained in the industry regarding FR and in assisting our customers when called upon."
Cottonaro said Culp will devote a showroom to the SoftGuard MTP line at the upcoming International Sleep Products Assn. Expo. The sales force is ready to make recommendations on where the products should be used in mattresses and box springs, he said.
Mark Painley, senior market manager at PFG, said production of the SoftGuard MTP products will begin at the company's plant in Greensboro, N.C. Additional production can be added.
"We will be able to meet the industry's needs," he said, noting that Precision already produces about 800 million square yards of nonwoven products annually.
Culp will inventory the SoftGuard MTP products.
