HSM Promotes New Alternatives to Foam Shortages & Price Hikes
Furniture World News Desk on
6/1/2021
With the prevailing shortage of foam products coupled with rising prices impacting the industry, Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company (“HSM”) is promoting a variety of coil and fiber solutions that can be used in place of foam across different products to alleviate the challenges in producing upholstered furniture and mattresses.
“Since the crisis began, our research and development team has been working on new ways to incorporate more readily available coil and fiber solutions that can help our customers find alternative ways to keep up production while providing the same level of performance for their accounts. We have identified a number of good solutions that can be implemented relatively quickly to help our customers,” said Tim Witherell, vice president of HSM’s Bedding business. “Foam shortages continue to be an obstacle, but we have products that can help our customers decrease their reliance on that material.”
HSM’s Micro Comfort Layer micro-coil system provides an option for replacing foam in a mattress build which also enhances its durability, comfort, air flow and ability to relieve a body’s pressure points. Featuring coil counts as high as 5,000 for a queen-size mattress – one of the highest standards for micro-coil layers in the industry – the Micro Comfort Layer line is ideal for use in many mattress types, especially in hybrids and beds in a box.
In addition, HSM’s line of Inner Rest coil products can serve as substitutes for – or to offset – the amount of foam used in mattress edge supports. Normally, mattresses are constructed with foam rails which add side-to-side edge support to eliminate the “roll-off” feeling and sagging traditionally felt when sitting on the edge of a bed. Due to the shortage of foam, manufacturers have turned to HSM to incorporate additional springs in their foam-encased units, thereby reducing the amount of foam needed for the edge support rails. Alternatively, HSM’s Inner Rest Dual-Edge Coil System provides a double row of fabric encased coils on each side of its Inner Rest coils, serving as a complete substitute for foam edge supports.
Another product line that can be applied in the manufacturing of mattresses to replace layers of foam is HSM’s Flexecore glue-free spring system, which debuted last year. Constructed of fine gauge wire and sonically welded fabric combined in a concertina construction pattern, the product line eliminates the glue that is used to bond coil springs, offering a foam alternative that is also eco-friendly. In addition, HSM offers densified fiber products that can be used in place of foam in quilt tops and on top of spring units.
For furniture makers, HSM has several fiber and pocketed coil solutions that can be used as foam alternatives in the seat cushion, arms and backs of upholstered furniture. These include polyester fiber paired with individually wrapped coils – displacing some of the foam used in seat cushions – or the use of pocketed coils as a replacement for the foam traditionally used in the center of the seat cushion. In addition, the company’s polyester fiber solutions can be used in the trim parts of an upholstered furniture piece to replace foam used to pad the arms and backs.
About HSM: HSM is a privately held company based in Hickory, North Carolina, with more than 25 manufacturing plants in 13 states. In addition to its core furniture and bedding markets, HSM serves a range of customers in the transportation, packaging, healthcare, apparel and other industries. For more information, visit hsmsolutions.com.