Innersprings are all over the place

Time：2019-10-11 13:38:32    Share：

It’s no secret that coils have sprung up everywhere in the mattress — in cores, comfort layers and edges. Typically, short microcoils are used in comfort layers and taller, usually fabric-encased springs are used as the core support layer. Now, Leeds, England-based Spinks has a development that could bring taller springs closer to the top. Called Cortec, this glue-free wrapped-coil core introduced at Interzum Cologne in Cologne, Germany, in May produces a spring mattress so comfortable that only the thinnest top layer, perhaps a spacer fabric, is required to create an ideal sleep surface, says Darren Marcangelo, Spinks commercial director.

Spinks

Darren Marcangelo, Spinks commercial director, shows how comfortable the company’s new springs unit, Cortec, can be without any additional layers. The full-height coils are assembled without glue, making them easier to recycle at the end of a mattress’ useful life.

“We spend all this time putting in comfort layers — whether it’s foam, fibers or natural materials — on top of the springs because the springs are supportive but not comfortable,” he says. “With Cortec being so comfortable on its own, the more you have on top of it, the more you lose the benefit of the product.”

While the Cortec wire is finer (0.8 millimeters instead of 2 millimeters) and the number of coils used in a queen-size mattress is larger (3,400 instead of 1,000) than in a typical queen innerspring core, another key to Cortec’s comfort comes from something the spring unit doesn’t have — glue.

Cortec, which won an Interzum award for High Product Quality, answers a growing environmental concern about used mattress recyclability.

HSM’s Hickory Springs division

HSM’s Hickory Springs division offers a host of spring sizes, including these Micro 2.0 microcoils. Other microcoils include Micro 4.0 and the spring-within-a-spring MicroDuo, which puts a slightly taller Micro 4.0 inside a Micro 2.0.

In 2013, Spinks and Hickory, North Carolina-based HSM created HS2, a joint venture in which HSM’s Hickory Springs division manufactures Spinks’ microcoils in the United States.

One recent shift is renaming the Posturfil line. Micro is the new brand, starting with Micro 1.0 and progressing to Micro 2.0 and Micro 2.5. The numbers represent the number of coils in a queen-size mattress. Micro 1.0 has 1,000 coils in a queen, 2.0 has 2,000 coils and 2.5 has 2,500 coils.

A new microcoil innovation is Micro 4.0, which is half the diameter of the Micro 2.0, offering twice as many coils per sheet. “Our philosophy is it’s about pressure relief, airflow, comfort and bringing all that together in a product that is truly durable and will outlast any other technology,” Crump says.

Also new is the spring-within-a-spring MicroDuo, which puts a slightly taller Micro 4.0 spring inside a Micro 2.0 spring, bringing the total coil count to 5,000 in a queen and creating a comfortable feel. “Once you lie on the bed, the little coil (the 4.0) catches you and the big coil (2.0) really supports you,” Crump says.

Leggett＆Platt Inc.

Leggett & Platt Inc.’s Quantum Edge, which provides a firm coil edge and eliminates the need for a foam rail, has become an in-demand feature for many mattresses, the company says.

The consumer’s appreciation of a better performing edge continues to push the demand for the ActivEdge family of products, Jewett of L&P says.

This family — Quantum Edge Elite, Quantum Edge, Caliber Edge and NanoCoil Edge — delivers support along the perimeter of the bed. Not only do these coil units prevent the feeling of rolling off when a person sits on the edge mattress, they also work well in an e-commerce market channel.

“It’s designed to help the mattress producer eliminate the need for a foam encasement,” Jewett says. “It’s very compress-, fold- and roll-friendly for boxed beds. A properly designed innerspring such as the L&P ActivEdge line allows a compressed hybrid mattress to recover very quickly, giving the consumer a better out-of-the-box experience and firmer edge.”

Starsprings

Tobias Lundberg, global sales and marketing director for Starsprings, holds the revamped S-touch, made with foam pads on top of coils, all in a softer fabric encasement.

In many mattress market showrooms these days, hybrid beds dominate the floors. For springs makers, that’s wonderful news.

At Interzum Cologne two years ago, Starsprings introduced S-touch, a coil topped with a latex pad within a needle-punched fabric encasement. This year, the Herrljunga, Sweden-based company debuted an updated version with foam “pillows” on top of the springs, all wrapped in a softer, spunbond fabric. The new materials offer different characteristics, says Tobias Lundberg, global sales and marketing director of Starsprings.

Starsprings also promotes the idea of mattress manufacturers incorporating into their bedding designs multilayer spring units, with different types of coils in each layer. The concept offers a way of combining different springs and their characteristics, creating new options with ultimate comfort as the outcome. For example, at the base, the firmest springs. In the next layer, zoned springs for spinal alignment. The top two layers could provide pressure relief and surface softness.

This display at Agro Group’s Interzum Cologne booth featured A.POC RelaxGuard I-VLT at the top, A.POC RelaxGuard I in the middle and A.POC RelaxGuard II on the bottom.

Also at Interzum in May, Agro Groupfocused on edge-to-edge coils with zones for comfort and support. The A.POC RelaxGuard I-VLT integrates different coil densities in the central portion of the mattress and secures them with an inner frame for extra stability. The A.POC RelaxGuard I also can be zoned and its interlacing coils allow for a smooth join between the inner coils and the framing coils, says Verena Dimper, who works in marketing for the company, which has headquarters in Bad Essen, Germany.

Finally, the A.POC RelaxGuard II has an even firmer edge with smaller coils along the length. It gives the mattress a higher coil count and a straight outer line, according to the company.

“Recycling is more and more of an important trend,” she says. “(By not having to add framing foam), this reduces the number of different materials used and increases the proportion of mattress components that can be recycled.”

Industrias Subiñas,

At Interzum Cologne, Industrias Subinas showed how its array of coils could work together as a SUB (a super utility base).

Another consideration for both springs producers and the mattress manufacturers they service is online product distribution. “More and more, customers ask for products that are suited for being rolled and folded (for boxed beds),” Dimper says. “This request is realized in nearly all innersprings that are produced by Agro, including the A.POC RelaxGuard.”

Industrias Subiñas, which partners with Agro for the A&S Innersprings USA venture in Windsor, Connecticut, also offers a coils-on-the-perimeter product — ForcEdge. Different wire thicknesses make up the firmer edge, says Javier Rodilla, president of Industrias Subiñas, which is based in Vizcaya, Spain. The company uses titanium wire to get firmer units with lighter wire or uses a combination of carbon steel wire and titanium wire for different feels across the mattress.

At the most recent Interzum Cologne show, the company also promoted combining different types of springs into one unit with a clever name — the SUB. It’s a take on SUV, the abbreviation for sport utility vehicle. As Rodilla explains, customers in England sometimes refer to the company’s products as Subs (short for Subiñas), so the company built on that. SUB stands for super utility base.

Boyçelik Metal Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S’s

A close up of Boyçelik Metal Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S’s Duo Pocket System shows the double weld that creates a softer and less expensive product. Boyçelik also promoted its Dura Coil at Interzum Cologne.

Metal Matris

Metal Matris, also based in Kayseri, didn’t introduce new products on the Interzum floor but hinted something new was on the horizon. The company recently opened its third factory in Turkey. Aytekin Marasli, international sales chief for Metal Matris, reported that traditional Bonnell coils are selling well for the company, which is a bit of a surprise because pocket coils seem to have the largest growth in the springs market in the past few years, according to a number of suppliers.

Texas Pocket Springs

Texas Pocket Springs’ Quad Coil remains a staple for the springs supplier. It’s made by ultrasonically welding the pockets together to create a stable unit.

Martin Wolfson, president of Texas Pocket Springs, is seeing several specific trends among his customers. The company still makes zoned units, but instead of five and seven zones, three zones seems to be sufficient, Wolfson says. And spring heights have come down, from 9- and 10-inch coils to the more popular 6- or 8-inch coils.