Comfor-Pedic ready to market FR visco bedding
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, July 26, 2004
Fife, Wash. — Visco-elastic foam producer Comfor-Pedic says all its mattress production now meets California's stringent new open-flame flammability standards.
The fire-retardant bedding, made in China, will be available in the U.S. market in late August, the company said. That will make the West Coast-based company a leader in offering FR protection.
"We couldn't sleep at night knowing that a child sleeping on a Comfor-Pedic bed is not as safe as she could be just because she doesn't live in California," said President Jack Squires.
CEO Scott Smalling said, "Regardless if the attempts by lobbying groups hinder and/or postpone this inevitable new standard, Comfor-Pedic has mandated that it will continue to produce mattresses compliant with the 2005 TB 603 safety standards indefinitely."
TB 603 is the new California flammability standard.
Company officials said the FR protection, supplied by a barrier product, does not affect the comfort of their beds, a key consideration for visco bedding producers.
Squires said Comfor-Pedic rejects the notion that only Californians deserve to sleep safely. "We believe that TB 603 is a tremendous step in consumer protection," he said. "We support it completely and therefore we have made immediate compliance in the global market a top priority."
The company has taken the unusual step of announcing how much it is paying to add the FR protection.
"We will incur approximately $15, on average, per mattress produced (to add FR protection)," Smalling said. "By the time this increase reaches the consumer, it will be negligible compared with the increased safety it provides."
Comfor-Pedic's visco beds are made in China and shipped in finished form to dealers in the United States and other countries.
Tempur-Pedic, the nation's largest producer of visco beds, says it still is working on an FR solution and will be ready whenever the new standards go into effect. The FR protection will not detract from the comfort of its products, the company said.
