SleepTech Magazine / March – April 2017

March - April 2017 

www.sleeptechmagazine.com 

“Good 

Morning!’ 

page: 82

4 

16 

The best of Turkey shines in the 

world with Turquality 

TENCEL® sets high 

standards in the hotel trade 

36 

INDEX ADS 

54 

interzum 2017 - The world 

meets in Cologne 

Boyteks.............................................Back cover 

Boyçelik................................ Inside back cover 

Mert Makine......................... Inside front cover 

Mert Makine...................................................... 1 

Elektroteks.......................................................... 3 

Kırayteks............................................................. 5 

Latexco.............................................................. 7 

Nobel.................................................................. 9 

Nova Sünger.................................................... 10 

Aydın Tekstil ..................................................... 11 

Artilat................................................................ 12 

Şiteks................................................................. 15 

Nerteks............................................................. 17 

Jakarteks.......................................................... 19 

Arda Kimya...................................................... 21 

Comfyteks.......................................................22 

Bed Covers...................................................... 26 

Hürpol............................................................... 31 

Beha.................................................................33 

Histeks...............................................................35 

Tuğsan.............................................................. 39 

Şişmanoğlu......................................................45 

Karas.................................................................53 

SleepWell Expo................................................65 

Ersan Madeni.................................................. 72 

Aziz Tekstil........................................................111 

“interzum guangzhou in 

China has been known for 

its professionalism and 

internationalization” 

76 

104 

Dust mite allergy - 

biofunctional fabrics 

without permethrin 

66 

Comfytex offers comfort through 

its special mattress ticking fabric 

MAKSDER focuses on 

R&D studies 

96

6 

From The Editor 

w w w . s l e e p t e c h m a g a z i n e . c o m 

Publisher 

ISTMAG 

Magazin Gazetecilik Yayıncılık 

İç ve Dış Ticaret Ltd. Şti. 

Adına sahibi 

Turkey and 

China come 

closer… 

“There are a great number of good reasons to increase the 

bilateral relations with China but there is one major problem 

pushing the relations back: unbelievable setbacks put forward 

at issuing visas for Turkish trade people!” 

Recent years have seen a lot of developments to push these 

two big nations closer to the other. Political and economic 

developments have urged better cooperation between them 

and bilateral talks and visits have been performed. As every 

March, we are in Guangzhou for Interzum fair with a lot of 

Turkish mattress component and other furniture element 

producers. 

The mattress industry in Turkey is among the fastest 

growing sectors. The developments experienced in the sector 

and the innovations, the collaboration among industrialists 

are the important factors motivating the improvement of the 

mattress and bedding industry in the country. 

Turkish mattress industry has some world brands in mattress 

ticking, felt, wire, spring, box-spring, furniture, foam, 

chemicals and other supply material manufacturers for the 

mattress production. Some mattress manufacturers import 

raw materials and some use domestic brands while some 

others use both. The overall situation of the industry is 

improving at all aspects, supplying raw materials, mattress 

production and exports. 

There are some big mattress producing companies in Turkey 

and they are producing almost all kinds of mattresses 

including innerspring mattresses, visco mattresses, latex 

mattresses, adjustable mattresses, sleeping systems, roll 

mattresses, visco pillows, medical pillows, cribs and kids’ 

beds, mattress-protecting alezes, movable beds, customized 

beds, round mattresses, organic mattresses and intelligent 

mattresses, etc. 

Organized by Koelnmesse HK, Interzum is the most influential 

show of the industry worldwide. 

Mehmet Soztutan 

General Manager 

Responsible 

Editor-in-Chief 

Chief of Editorial Board 

Editorial Consultants 

HEAD OFFICE 

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8 

Exports started 2017 

with 49 months-high 

increase 

Exports increased by 15% in January 

2017, reaching 10 billion 528 million and 

47 thousand dollars 

Turkish national exports have 

started 2017 with a record. 

According to TIM data, exports 

have increased by 15% in January 

reaching 10 billion 528 million dollars. 

This increase is the greatest 

change since November 2012. 

In the press conference, TIM President 

Mehmet Buyukeksi told the 

following: “We announced 2017 

as a leaping point for exports. We 

expect an increase in petroleum 

and commodity prices, decrease 

in export losses in Russia due to 

normalization of relations, and 

increase in petroleum exporting 

countries’ imports” 

Mr. Buyukeksi told that 12-months 

exports, starting from February 

2016 to January 2017 increased 

by 1.8% reaching as high as 143 

billion 588 million dollars. 

Leading exporting sector was automotive 

in January with 2 billion 

69 million dollars, while Apparel 

sector has conducted 1 billion 253 

million dollars and Chemicals 1 

billion 234 million dollars. 

EU’s share in Turkish national exports 

has reached 49.9%. Middle 

Eastern countries have 18.2% and 

African countries have 8.3%. 

Exports to Russia have increased 

by 57%, highest level since crises. 

Fresh fruits and vegetables sector 

has increased its exports to Russia 

with 27 million dollars, almost 

half the increase to Russia. On the 

other hand, exports to Iraq have 

increased by 42.4%, which was 

TIM President Mehmet Buyukeksi 

mainly occurred due to increase 

in Jewelry, Fisheries and Animal 

Products. Istanbul, still, is the 

most-exporting city in Turkey, followed 

by Bursa, Kocaeli, İzmir and 

Gaziantep. Increasing its exports 

by 268%, Sakarya demonstrated 

the best performance within the 

first 20 exporting countries. 

SOURCE: TIM

10 

Industry conference tees off with 

successful fundraiser for research 

into the deadly disease 

(Alexandria, VA) – The International 

Sleep Products Association (ISPA) 

teamed up with the Colon Cancer 

Alliance (CCA) to host the ISPA 

Biennial Golf Tournament during 

the 2017 ISPA Industry Conference, 

March 8-9, at the Vinoy Renaissance 

Resort & Golf Club in St. 

Petersburg, Florida. The tournament 

and ensuing events, such as a raffle 

and silent auction, raised over 

$6,000 in support of the Washington, 

D.C.-based alliance and its 

work. 

The Colon Cancer Alliance is a nonprofit 

organization supporting more 

effective treatment, patient advocacy 

and research into a cure for 

the deadly disease. In the United 

States, colorectal cancer is the third 

leading cause of cancer-related 

deaths in women and the second 

leading cause in men. 

“The 2017 ISPA Industry Conference 

was an amazing event! The charity 

golf tournament shows just how 

big of a heart the sleep products 

industry has. I don’t recall participation 

ever being any larger for golf 

at previous Association events.” 

noted Brent Limer, director of new 

business development at Hickory 

Spring Mfg. 

Forty-eight golfers participated in 

the ISPA Biennial Golf Tournament 

and each wore a blue Colon Cancer 

Alliance bracelet in support of 

the cause. Players on the 18-hole 

course also had the opportunity 

to engage in fun mini-fundraisers 

during the game. 

Afterward, ISPA hosted a Women’s 

Network reception that included 

a successful raffle with multiple prizes, 

with all proceeds going to CCA. 

“The golf event was as fun as 

always and it really shows how 

our industry is made up of competitors 

that are all looking to rally 

behind a great cause such as Colon 

Cancer,” said Doug Guffey, director 

of national accounts at Corsicana 

Bedding LLC. “The speakers at the 

conference were also great in addressing 

challenges and solutions 

in our ever-changing industry.” 

A silent auction running throughout 

the conference allowed attendees 

to bid on a range of items, including 

two signed footballs from the 

NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and its 

quarterback, a two-night stay at 

the Vinoy Renaissance and a pair 

of boxing gloves autographed by 

the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard. 

Oncologists generally agree, you 

can reduce your risk of cancer by 

making healthy choices like eating 

right, staying active, not smoking 

and getting the proper amount 

of sleep. It’s also important to 

follow recommended screening 

guidelines, which can help detect 

certain cancers early. The likelihood 

of developing colorectal cancer in 

your lifetime is about 5%. For more 

information, visit www.ccalliance. 

org. 

Established in 1915, the International 

Sleep Products Association 

(ISPA) is dedicated to protecting 

and enhancing the growth, profitability 

and stature of the mattress 

industry. As the industry’s trade 

organization, ISPA represents nearly 

700 mattress manufacturers and 

suppliers throughout the world.

16 

Bold 

hues 

rule 

Bold hues rule 

as people seek 

empowerment, selfexpression, 

and 

optimism by leaving 

subdued colors in 

2016 

REINACH, SWITZERLAND - Archroma, 

a global leader in color and 

specialty chemicals, who pioneered 

custom color engineering 

in textile and fashion, recently 

sponsored a seminar with founder 

of Design Seeds, Jessica Colaluca, 

during this year’s PrintSource New 

York exhibition, that focused on 

the use of “Color Anthropology” 

and how recent global political 

events including the election of 

Donald Trump and the passing 

of BREXIT may alter the already 

established fashion industry color 

palette for the upcoming season. 

“Color has long been a form of 

self-expression over the years,” 

says Colaluca, “The US election of 

Donald Trump impacted the colors 

we are - and will be - wearing this 

upcoming season. While not in 

Color Atlas by Archroma, a color library created to easily bring color creativity 

and manageability to an entire new level for stylists and designers, brands and 

retailers, and their suppliers. (Photos: Archroma) 

the literal sense of red, white and 

blue being patriotic, but the notion 

of Americana and how people 

want to relate to it was shaken.” 

In many ways, the “modern folk/ 

hipster” aesthetic was born in 

reaction to “consumerism gone 

wild,” which made natural colors 

make sense the past three years, 

but with the volatility of politics, 

nationally and globally, it makes 

sense the aesthetic will evolve 

dramatically once again. Allowing 

for a feeling of empowerment, 

optimism, and self-expression. 

Colaluca points to strong fashion 

trends like flannel shirts and red 

dad caps that have dominated the 

market such as Modern Folk and 

Americana start blurring political 

lines of very different people with 

distinctly different ethos. As early 

as Q4 2016, color anthropologists 

could see a fallout coming on this 

trend aesthetic in the hipster and 

early adopter segments because 

the aesthetics cross over with 

people of very different political 

and cultural beliefs, therefore separating 

themselves from a belief 

system they don’t share. 

Archroma Color Management sponsored 

a seminar with Founder of Design Seeds, 

Jessica Colaluca, during this year’s 

PrintSource New York. (Photos: Archroma) 

To address the fast pace of these 

shifting color trends, Colaluca 

highly recommends that fashion 

designers and brands leverage 

tools like Archroma’s Color Atlas 

system. 

“The Color Atlas has beautiful 

modern colors that are constantly 

relevant,” said Colaluca. “As a 

designer, this is critical due to a 

quickly shifting consumer. And, if 

it doesn’t have the exact color I 

need, I can request a custom standard 

to achieve exactly the shade 

or hue I am looking for.”

18 

The best 

of Turkey 

shines in the 

world with 

Turquality 

Major brands 

covered by 

Turquality program 

breakthrough among 

others carry the 

quality of Made in 

Turkey labels to all 

over the world. 

Turkish brands are rapidly integrating 

with developing technologies, 

bringing the trends around 

the world in unique products they 

design. The awareness about 

Made in Turkey labels and is 

increasing day by day in international 

arena. One of the most 

important projects supporting this 

aim is TURQUALITY®, a master 

brand for Turkish made products 

and companies. Thanks to the 

support provided by the project, 

companies in medical, beauty, 

furniture, carpet, textile, energy 

sectors and many other Turkish 

brands in the field are doing great 

success in the world. With the R & 

D efforts, more innovative products 

have begun to be launched in 

the markets. While engaging more 

activities in the world of innovation, 

Turkey is presenting the 

world with the finest companies 

with TURQUALITY® project. 

Turquality is the first and only 

state supported branding initiative 

in the world. Selected brands 

are registered under the project 

and supported for their several 

foreign trade activities. The companies 

covered, find more opportunity 

and funds for the promotion 

of their brands and products in 

abroad. Supports offered to the 

brands cover incentives given 

for the activities of fast growing 

brands from the production stage 

up to the marketing, sales and after 

sales services. The project also

20 

aims to establish a master brand 

for individual Turkish brands in 

the world markets. Presently, 118 

brands are covered by the project. 

The brands supported by the 

TURQUALITY® program agrees on 

the common view that exports are 

accelerating and that they are 

better able to express themselves 

internationally thanks to the supports 

of the project. Many brands 

that have turned this support into 

advantage have already set an 

effective road map for their aims 

in overseas markets. As a result 

of their activities in these markets, 

they are making a strong 

partnership with brands that have 

received positive feedback from 

their foreign markets where they 

have introduced their products. 

These achievements are crowned 

with various competitions and 

awards held in the global field. 

We listened about this journey 

from the major brands included 

in the Turquality Program, which 

have achieved new successes by 

increasing their and Turkey’s brand 

awareness and effectiveness in 

the world.

22 

Boyteks sales and marketing 

manager Nuri Korahmetoglu: 

We joined in the program in 

June 2014. The project that was 

started to build a national brand 

in international arena is important 

for our brand. We agree that the 

supports reach up to serious levels 

to the efforts of companies who 

are becoming more professional. 

We have reached a serious brand 

awareness in our target markets 

in abroad. 

This is a journey… We as Boyteks 

have reached our targets in the 

way to have felt the quality and 

power of Turkish brands in the 

world. We keep launching new, 

innovative and quality products to 

more locations in the world. 

Kastamanu Integrated general 

manager Haluk Yildiz: 

We have been the first company 

to get Turquality certificate in the 

sector in 2015 by managing one 

more step ahead. It helped us to 

upgrade our brand and competitive 

power in international markets 

as an approval of our Made 

in Turkey perception in the world. 

35 % of our total income comes 

from foreign operations. As a result 

of our export oriented efforts, 

our company was awarded as the 

stars of exports as the top exporting 

company in its field of new 

markets having serious contribution 

on Turkey’s exports. It proves 

that our company is running on the 

way of becoming an international 

corporation, once more. 

AGT general manager Sirzat Subasi 

We joined the program in May 

2015. Turquality was a major step 

for the efforts of AGT in the way 

of globalization and improving our 

export performance. We met with 

our global customers in global 

platforms including in America, 

Canada, England, India, Germany 

and others, and at Intermob, 

TurkeyBuild fairs in Turkey. 

We aim to provide maximum value 

for national economy by believing 

the power of marketing, by 

investing in R&D and P&D and 

by following the trends. Exports 

accounts 40 percent of our sales 

and we think that we can manage 

our globalization process successfully, 

by believing the power of 

marketing, by differentiating and 

developing more alternative in our 

product portfolio. For this reason 

we as AGT, spend funds in these 

activities more than our rivals. 

We decided our strategic target 

countries for Turquality project. We 

will be more active in the Middle 

East, Europe and Canada. We 

also have plans for fair activities 

in Istanbul, Iran and Dubai to 

exhibit our products.

Tesla has bio magnetic feature and it improves 

metabolism during sleep. Natural materials are inside 

Tesla. It creates a magnetic field around mattress that 

is harmonious to the natural magnetic field of the 

body. 

Feature of Tesla; 

• Helps to improve blood circulation 

• Increase the level of transmission of oxygen and 

nutrients to cell 

• Regulates the sleep rhythm 

• Actives the low energy level 

UNIQUE 

MAGNETIC THERAPY 

COMFORT 

WASHABLE

“ 

Feel the cool comfort 

all night. “ 

You no longer have to suffer that clammy, 

overheated feeling with our Freeze mattress 

ticking made from high quality cool yarn. While 

you are sleeping cool yourself down, ecologically. 

The beauty of this unique “cooling” material 

lays in the usage of the advanced technology 

construction 

Comfytex Freeze mattress ticking help you 

to get ideal micro-climatic environment and 

provide thermal comfort. 

Freeze has high thermal conductivity yarn which 

can emit the body temperature quickly. 

Freeze mattress ticking can supply cooling 

feeling all night which helps having cool, restful 

and relax sleep. 

Enjoy each night with the confidence that 

comes from feeling cool, relaxed and wellpresented 

when you select our Freeze 

mattress ticking. 

Freeze mattress ticking also can be 

washed and it does not lose cooling 

efficiency. 

Feel the cool comfort all night. 

Anti-Cellulite mattress ticking’s benefits are reduction 

of cellulite appearance or orange peel, improvement of 

skin smoothness, increase of skin firmness and elasticity, 

collagen synthesis and skin microcirculation enhancement, 

in the same level of the best cosmetic creams in the market. 

Human body emits energy all the time, while we 

are walking, sleeping, running, working and 

so on. This energy is emitted in the form 

of heat in order to make our body and 

metabolism work properly. The bioactive 

crystals inside mattress ticking absorbs 

this heat and emits Far Infrared rays which 

will interact with the body, stimulating the 

blood microcirculation, leading to a better 

performance and to skin care benefits. 

O.S.B. 16.Cad. No:58 38070 Melikgazi / Kayseri / Turkey 

P : (+90) 352 290 15 95 - F : (+90) 352 290 15 97 

info@comfytex.com.tr - www.comfytex.com.tr

26 

interzum 

guangzhou 

to host 

exciting 

activities 

Asia’s largest and most comprehensive 

woodworking machinery, 

furniture production and interior 

decoration trade fair is slated 

to return again on March 28 at 

the China Import and Export Fair 

(Pazhou) Complex located in the 

country’s southern manufacturing 

hub of Guangzhou in Guangdong 

province. Expect another inspiring 

CIFM / interzum guangzhou this 

year as the trade fair will team up 

once again with the famed China 

International Furniture Fair (CIFF) 

for the 14th consecutive year to 

present what’s trending in the 

industry. 

As the only satellite event of the 

world’s most prestigious furniture 

production trade fair, interzum, 

interzum guangzhou in China is 

known for its professionalism and 

internationalization. interzum 

guangzhou has been committed to 

importing highly praised activities 

from its parent event in Germany 

to Guangzhou for domestic 

visitors to enjoy the same experience. 

Machinery Hall gets new buzz 

First introduced to interzum guangzhou 

in 2012 at Hall 14.1, the 

concept of the PIAZZA lounge at 

interzum guangzhou is identical to 

that of the piazza in Italian terms 

as a public square, surrounded by 

business activities. It gradually 

evolved into a marketplace for 

trade, information and meetings. 

The PIAZZA is the epicenter of 

activities as a venue for a series 

of seminars and product 

presentations. Besides being a 

gathering place for the exchange 

of ideas, the lounge also serves 

up a selection of complimentary 

refreshments, where exhibitors 

and visitors alike can enjoy comfortable 

business meetings in a 

relaxing atmosphere.

27 

An extension of the PIAZZA, PIAZZA 

mini, will be introduced to the 

Machinery Hall 12.1, providing 

another venue for participants to 

come together. 

Special feature display 

A special display entitled “Unveiling 

– The Mysteries of Furniture 

Production “ will be located between 

halls 14.1 and 15.1 showcasing 

innovative products and 

technologies of furniture accessories, 

hardware and raw materials, 

and at the same time presenting 

the story behind the products. Visitors 

can experience the products 

at the interactive area and gain 

a deeper understanding of the 

charm of the furniture industry. 

More opportunities to seal the deal 

To establish a more effective 

platform for exchange, interzum 

guangzhou will hold its first on-site 

business match-making program. 

Divided into two categories – 

“Brand Furniture” and “Premium 

Custom Furniture” – manufacturers 

and invited buyers can expect 

to meet face-to-face and gain 

in-depth understanding of each 

other’s offerings and requirements 

respectively. 

Work & play 

A two-hour interzum guangzhou 

Networking Happy Hour on the third 

day of the exhibition (March 30) will 

also take place. Industry leaders, 

VIP buyer delegations and representatives 

of the various national 

pavilions will be invited to share 

experience and explore the development 

of the furniture industry. 

To pre-register as a visitor or 

learn more about CIFM / interzum 

guangzhou 2017, visit www.interzum-guangzhou.com. 

interzum 

guangzhou has 

been committed to 

importing highly 

praised activities 

from its parent 

event in Germany 

to Guangzhou for 

domestic visitors 

to enjoy the same 

experience.

Adres - Address: Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bulvarı 

Saray Mah. No: 315/D Sarayköy / Kazan / ANKARA 

Tel - Phone: (312) 256 46 08 - 256 50 24 

Faks - Fax : (312) 256 38 87 

E-posta - E-mail: hakankardesler@hotmail.com 

www.bedcovers.com.tr

time for the change 

www.bedcovers.com.tr

30 

16 th Jowat Symposium: 

Trends and innovations 

from the World of 

Bonding 

About 200 participants from over 

100 enterprises in the wood and 

furniture sector joined the 16th 

Jowat Symposium under the headline 

“Perfect processes”. The focus 

of this year’s event was on latest 

trends in the technology of bonding, 

innovative adhesive solutions 

and the exchange of know-how 

covering the entire process of 

bonding. 

Bonding is a demanding technology 

where the quality assurance 

process already starts in 

the planning phase. Professor Dr 

Andreas Groß from the Fraunhofer 

IFAM explained how the new DIN 

standard 2304 is going to affect 

quality and process management 

in bonding. His presentation 

provided insights into bonding 

applications and described why 

bonding failures are not necessarily 

“adhesive failures”. In contrary, 

they are mostly application errors. 

Exactly at this point, the DIN 2304 

provides helpful information for 

processors on how to organise 

bonding processes in a professional 

manner. 

Additional presentations and practical 

workshops – all related to the 

headline of the symposium – addressed 

issues before, during and 

after the actual bonding process. 

From the selection of an appropriate 

adhesive for defined substrates, 

through monomer-reduced 

polyurethane hot melts and the 

zero-bondline in edgebanding, all 

the way to failure analysis and 

prevention of errors. The program 

was rounded off with information 

stands in the fair foyer presenting 

the latest innovations in engineering 

and R&D from Jowat’s development 

and business partners. 

The symposium ended with the 

presentation of the Jowat Adhesive 

Research Award for innovative 

solutions in the field of 

adhesive technology. This year, 

the award went to Dr.-Ing. Sebastian 

Süllentrop for his dissertation 

on the development of functional 

elements suitable for bonding in 

modern assembly operations.

32 

Premiere for new 

raw material 

Carbon dioxide as new raw 

material: At this production 

plant in Dormagen, Covestro 

is now incorporating 

20 percent CO2 into an 

important foam component. 

© Covestro 

Production plant opens in Dormagen 

/ Innovative process helps cut 

the use of crude oil / Innovative 

foam components manufactured 

with 20 percent CO2. The new 

CO2-based polyol has been 

engineered initially for flexible 

polyurethane foam intended for 

use in mattresses and upholstered 

furniture. In terms of quality, the 

foam achieves at least the same 

high standards as conventional 

material produced using only 

petrochemical raw materials, i.e. 

crude oil. 

Carbon dioxide instead of crude 

oil – Covestro is now, for the 

first time, using CO2 to produce 

plastics on an industrial scale. 

On Friday, the company opened 

a production plant for an innovative 

foam component made with 

20 percent CO2 at its Dormagen 

site near Cologne, Germany. The 

new process saves a proportional 

amount of the traditional oilbased 

raw material, thus making a 

contribution to sustainability that 

Covestro believes offers considerable 

potential.

34 

“We have to change the way we 

look at CO2, and we will. Using 

it as an alternative source of raw 

materials is a solution to some of 

the biggest challenges of our time 

– finding a replacement for finite 

fossil resources such as oil and 

gas and closing material cycles. 

Thanks to our innovative process 

and the launch of our production 

operations in Dormagen, we see 

ourselves as a pioneer in this 

area – true to our vision ‘To make 

the world a brighter place’,” said 

Covestro CEO Patrick Thomas at 

the opening ceremony, which 

was attended by more than 150 

guests from business, science and 

politics. 

Long-term perspective 

“This method of using carbon 

dioxide as a raw material is an important 

step as we move toward 

a sustainable future. The German 

Federal government is promoting 

the use of CO2 as a raw material 

in order to expand the chemical 

industry’s raw materials basis and 

open new avenues to sustainability,” 

emphasized Thomas Rachel, 

Parliamentary State Secretary 

from the German Federal Ministry 

of Education and Research. It 

supported Covestro’s technology 

financially in the research and 

development phase. 

Professor Ernst Schmachtenberg, 

Rector of RWTH Aachen University, 

added: “Making efficient use 

of the carbon dioxide molecule, 

Dr. Karsten Malsch heads 

Covestro’s Dream Production 

project for producing a new 

foam component with CO2. 

© Covestro 

which is normally slow to react, 

is a real scientific and technical 

challenge. We have made 

a breakthrough by combining 

application-centric basic research 

with research-based industrial 

practices.” 

Covestro scientists worked handin-hand 

with experts from the CAT 

Catalytic Center in Aachen – a 

research institute operated jointly 

with RWTH – to find the right catalyst 

that would make the chemical 

reaction with CO2 possible. 

For mattresses and upholstery 

In Dormagen, Covestro is now 

using carbon from CO2 to manufacture 

a new type of polyol. 

These are core building blocks for 

polyurethane foam – a versatile 

material that is used in many industries 

around the world and that 

we encounter throughout our daily 

lives. The carbon dioxide is chemically 

bound into the material. 

The company has invested some 

EUR 15 million in the new plant, 

which has an annual production

36 

capacity of 5,000 metric tons. The 

CO2 used is a waste product from 

a neighboring chemical company. 

Covestro achieved the key scientific breakthrough: A team under researcher Dr. Christoph Guertler 

discovered the right catalyst to enable the use of CO2 for plastics production. © Covestro 

The new CO2-based polyol has 

been engineered initially for flexible 

polyurethane foam intended 

for use in mattresses and upholstered 

furniture. In terms of quality, 

the foam achieves at least the 

same high standards as conventional 

material produced using 

only petrochemical raw materials, 

i.e. crude oil. 

Environmentally friendly processes 

By eliminating the use of crude 

oil and saving the energy otherwise 

used to process that oil, the 

method is more environmentally 

friendly than conventional production 

processes. Thanks to the 

catalyst and the considerable 

energy contained in the remaining 

content of petrochemical raw 

materials, no additional energy 

needs to be expended to make 

the low-reactivity CO2 react. 

If the new CO2-based products 

are received as warmly as is 

hoped, Covestro can envisage 

significant production expansion. 

In addition to flexible foam, the 

company is also working on manufacturing 

many other plastics with 

carbon dioxide. Its vision is to one 

day largely dispense with crude 

oil in plastics production. 

Carbon dioxide instead of crude oil: Covestro is now, for the first time, producing a foam 

component with CO2, saving 20 percent of the traditional oil-based raw material. © Covestro 

CO2 serves as an alternative raw material, replacing increasingly scarce crude oil in the production 

of plastics. © Covestro

38 

TENCEL ® 

sets high 

standards 

in the hotel 

trade 

© Lenzing/Grebe 

The results were presented at 

Heimtextil 2017 in Frankfurt 

for the first time.

39 

The TENCEL ® fiber is demonstrating 

its worth in the hotel business 

in bed linens. TENCEL ® fiber has 

no problem meeting the highest 

standards in bed linens. Years 

of product developments with 

international partners in industrial 

linens and bed linens manufacturers 

have led to success. The results 

were presented at Heimtextil 

2017 in Frankfurt for the first time. 

Bed linens of TENCEL ® are not only 

for home use 

“Following intensive effort on our 

part, we have developed excellent 

bed linens for the hotel trade. 

Now business travelers or wellness 

guests can also experience 

TENCEL ® bed linens,” Susanne 

Jary, Home & Interior Director at 

Lenzing, comments. “It was no 

easy task to get TENCEL ® fit for 

industrial laundries. After years of 

cooperation with partners in industry, 

technical recommendations 

have been developed for cleaning 

hotel bed linens in industrial laundries,” 

Jary explains. 

International partners are ecstatic 

“The properties of the TENCEL ® 

fiber, such as high dry and wet 

strengths, make it possible to use 

the fiber in industrial laundries. As 

a result of the softness and high 

moisture absorption, it is possible 

to process the TENCEL ® bed 

linens faster and save more CO2 

than bed linens of other materials,” 

Textilpflege Leitgeb, a rental 

service provider from Austria, 

comments. 

The German rental service providers 

Dibella are well known for 

the responsible way they handle 

hotel textiles and constantly 

search for new eco-compatible 

materials. “With the TENCEL ® fiber 

we have found a material that has 

a lower eco footprint and a high 

textile resistance, which is again 

extremely important for the hotel 

industry,” Dibella explains. “After 

three years of development work, 

we have found the right fiber 

blend that meets our demands 

and the demands of our customers,” 

Dibella continues. The first 

bed linen suitable for leasing is

40 

made of 60% TENCEL ® and 40% 

cotton and has surpassed Dibella’s 

expectations. 

The American manufacturer, Valley 

Forge Fabric, works with internationally 

renowned hotel chains 

and specializes in TENCEL ® in the 

segment of furniture fabrics and 

bed linens. “We are convinced 

that we have changed the way 

that our customers see textiles 

in the hotel sector. Ecological 

compatibility and health aspects 

now have an influence on their 

purchase decisions. For us it is important 

to tell this unique TENCEL ® 

fiber story,” Valley Forge Fabrics 

explain in one statement. 

The Austrian company HEFEL Textil 

is a pioneer in the field of production 

of TENCEL ® bed linens. HEFEL 

Textil started to use the TENCEL ® 

fiber in their bed linens as early 

as 1998. “Many of our customers 

are exclusive hotels thus it was 

natural to use TENCEL ® in the hotel 

sector as well. The bed linens are 

characterized by the unique combination 

of skin-friendly and easycare 

properties,” Hefel comments. 

A pilot project convinced HEFEL 

Textil and confirmed TENCEL ® as a 

fixed feature in the hotel industry. 

“Mostly, however, the hotel 

guests will enjoy bed linens of 

TENCEL ® ,” HEFEL Textil is sure. 

Press conference Heimtextil, from left to right: Susanne Jary, Global BD Home & Interiors Textiles, 

Lenzing Aktiengesellschaft and Amit Gautam, Vice President, Global BM Textiles, Lenzing 

Aktiengesellschaft. 

The future in the hotel industry 

Lenzing is continuing to expand 

applications for TENCEL ® fibers 

in the hotel business. “First and 

foremost, it is a stable business 

and in which we can reach end 

consumers directly in partnership 

with the hotels,” Jary explains. 

“Guests can experience TENCEL ® 

directly at hotels and can then acquire 

the feel-good fiber for their 

use at home. The possibilities in 

this sector are interesting both for 

the hotel business as well as for 

final consumer marketing,” Jary is 

convinced. 

Development partners: 

Textilpflege Leitgeb GmbH, Austria 

www.leitgeb.at 

Damino GmbH, Germany 

www.damino.de 

Dibella GmbH, Germany 

www.dibella.de 

HEFEL Textil GmbH, Austria 

www.hefel.com 

Hotel Attersee, Austria 

www.hotelattersee.com 

Valley Forge Fabrics, Inc., USA 

www.valleyforge.com

42 

Tuğsan eyes 

foreign markets 

Having a respectful 

place in the sector 

with sales materials 

for sofas, armchairs, 

mattresses and 

boxsprings, the 

company opened to 

the world markets 

in 2016. 

Established as a family business in 

1992 the company started to continue 

as Tuğsan Foreign Trade and 

developed its foreign trade volume 

with its new trade name. We made 

an interview with Fatih Genç of the 

company. 

Can you inform us about 

your company’s foundation, 

development and organizational 

structure? 

Our company was established in 

1992 as a family business. We 

have been manufacturing materials 

for sofas, sitting sets, mattresses 

and boxsprings. We have developed 

our manufacturing line and 

trade relations over the years. 

What about your foreign trade? 

Which countries are you exporting 

to? 

Our sales would mainly be at 

domestic market until last year. We 

have a well-established clientele 

throughout Turkey but since last, 

we opened up to world markets 

with our new name, Tuğsan Foreign 

Trade Ltd. We are currently exporting 

to Iraq, Turkmenistan, Moldova, 

Georgia and Azerbaijan but our

43 

products are very well welcomed 

by foreign customers. We believe 

that we will develop our foreign 

market share considerably in the 

coming years. Placing special 

attention on quality and delivery 

terms we are satisfying customers. 

This reflects us very positively and 

we are happy with the trend we 

have managed. 

What are your expectations for 

2017? 

I hope this year will be a better 

year than last year. We are operating 

with this expectation and we 

are planning our business according 

to this. Turkey has a great potential 

and our company has a vast 

experience to offer competitive 

products. So, we are hoping that 

we will experience a productive 

year in 2017.

44 

YKK has a say in metal 

accessories as well, aims to 

be the best in the category 

Started in 1934 in fastening products 

category in Japan, YKK keeps 

producing value with its motto: 

“Insist on Quality”. Murat Cinko, 

business development representative 

of YKK Turkey, talked about 

the firm and the sector, before 

they go to Interzum Guangzhou 

Fair. 

What is the foundation story of 

YKK, in your words? 

The company was established by 

Tadao Yoshida in Japan in 1934, 

as Yoshida Limited Company, YKK 

(in Japanese). Years passed and 

YKK letters are minted on zipper 

cursors and it has become a trade 

mark of the brand. 

YKK opened its first office in Istanbul 

in 1991 then additional offices 

were opened in Izmir, 1997, in 

Sofia, Bulgaria, 2005, Almati, 

Kazakhstan, 2015 and now it provides 

products and services in 12 

countries with its 700 + staff. The 

factory in Cerkezkoy is the largest 

factory of our firm among the ones 

in America and in the Asia, having 

about 40 thousand sqm covered 

area on 67 thousand sqm. land. 

What about the product portfolio 

and your target markets? 

In addition to our zippers, we produce 

some other plastic products 

such as clicks, clips, buttons, etc. 

used in the textile industry. 

We are operating in almost all 

sectors because the fastening 

products are all around of our 

lives. We have a wide range of 

customers ranging from ready-towear 

to home textiles, automotive 

to footwear; marine sports wear, 

medical to civil defense products, 

etc. In today’s textile and apparel 

industry, consumer needs and

45 

shorter product terms are being 

observed. This means we need to 

work harder to speed up product 

development and reduce production 

costs. Today, YKK products 

are used worldwide. As YKK (Turkey) 

Inc. we are always committed 

to increasing the value of our 

brand and getting new demands 

for our products. 

Could you tell us about your R&D 

works? What are the special 

considerations in production? 

Since the founding of the YKK 

Group, ‘Quality Management’ 

has been the focus of all business 

activities. Like every YKK organization, 

YKK (Turkey) Inc. ensures 

that a consistent quality level is 

maintained and provided. Among 

our core values, “insist on quality” 

is one of the most important 

issues for us. While we increase 

the quality, standard and performance 

of our products, we feed 

them with new and original designs. 

One of the important issues 

in our proposal is technological 

competition. We are continuing 

to progress day by day with the 

importance we attach to our engineering 

departments. 

Do you have a quality certificate, 

a quality system in production? 

In what areas are you better than 

your competitors? 

YKK (Turkey) Inc. produces products 

in a way that will require 

REACH legislation envisaging 

registration, evaluation, authorization 

and restriction of chemicals. In 

addition, its products meet the requirements 

of Oeko-tex Standard 

100, Class 1 (a worldwide standardized 

testing and certification 

system for textile products and 

all related processing stages for 

the protection of the environment 

and for ecological compatibility). 

To ensure the safety of consumer 

products, the US government has 

enforced the Consumer Products 

Safety Act (CPSIA), particularly to 

prevent imports of children’s toys 

containing toxic chemicals. YKK 

(Turkey) Inc. confirms that it meets 

the CPSIA criteria with its own 

tests of lead and phthalate standards, 

although it is not obligated 

to provide child products to the US 

market and to prepare compliance 

certificates. YKK (Turkey) Inc. TS 

11516 Zipper Brand Compliance 

Certificate will be renewed very

46 

soon 

with 

TS EN 16732 

Certificate and YKK 

product quality is ISO 

9001 (Quality Management 

System Certificate), ISO 27001 

(Information Security Management 

System Standard), ISO 14001 

(Environmental Management System 

Certificate) ), OHSAS 18001 

(Occupational Health and Safety 

Management System Certificate). 

We value our customers’ confidence 

in us. Not only with our 

products, but also with our sales 

and after-sales services, we take 

quality a step forward. We would 

like to say that our metal accessories 

used in babies’ clothes and 

accessories are crucial for us and 

they are safely used and tested 

on the products. 

positive. More importantly, with 

this positive outlook in our mind 

we continue to invest for both the 

medium and long terms. 

Do you have anything you would 

especially add on? 

It is one of the greatest secrets of 

success to be fast in the period 

we are in. We also invest a 

large portion of our capital to be 

faster. It is our primary goal to 

make sample delivery and bulk 

ordering terms better. Flexibility 

and acceleration of decision-making 

processes are some of the 

issues we attach importance to. 

We are gaining experience with 

crisis management more and more 

every day. 

Many people know YKK as a company 

that only produces zippers. 

In recent years, breaking this 

perception, to move forward in 

the field of metal accessories, is 

perhaps our biggest goal. In fact, 

we aim to make YKK (Turkey) AS 

a base in this respect and to be 

the best company providing metal 

accessory to our country and in 

the countries in the region that we 

are responsible. 

Which countries do you have 

exports to? 

As YKK (Turkey) Inc. we are active 

in 12 countries. These include Turkey, 

Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, 

Azerbaijan, Israel, Iran, Turkmenistan, 

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, 

Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. At 

the same time, we send products 

to all sister organizations around 

the world. 

What are your expectations for the 

sector in 2017? 

The year 2016 was a very difficult 

year for the sector. We think that 

the 2017 season will be more

48 

Elektroteks 

living innovation 

in quilting 

and mattress 

machinery!

49 

The company 

will showcase 

its competitive 

products at 

Interzum 

Guangzhou 

2017 in late 

March. 

Elektroteks was established by 

Eng. Osman Guler in 1990 to 

develop electronic and software 

solutions to the textile industry. 

Later, with the strong technical 

infrastructure of the company, 

it started to produce complex 

control systems for machinery 

manufacturing and automotive industries. 

In 2003 with the extensive 

know-how gained by being 

partners with different machinery 

manufacturers in various sectors, 

Elektroteks chose mattress and 

quilting machinery to expertise 

in. In 2004, the first double needle 

continuous quilting machine 

in Turkey was produced and 

pioneered many innovations in 

the bedding industry. 

With long years of know-how and 

the 2nd generation engineers’ involvement, 

Elektroteks takes firm 

steps to be the leading manufacturer 

for mattress and quilting 

production technologies by growing 

its capabilities in multidisciplinary 

production systems. We 

conducted an exclusive interview 

with Serkan Güler, Sales Director 

at Elektroteks Quilting and Mattress 

Machinery. 

What is the motto of your company 

and what are the main principles 

of the brand? What advantages do 

you offer to your partners? 

We enjoy making things better. 

This is really an ongoing progress 

and needs permanent innovation. 

We always look forward 

and focus on better machines,

50 

easier use, better finish product 

and better service. Never say 

“enough done”. The biggest 

thing we offer to our customer is 

dynamic team especially after 

the sales. We, of course, enjoy 

making new stuff. Offering solutions 

to our customers satisfy us 

much more than anything. 

How did the economic, financial 

and politic dilemmas affect the 

sector and your company? Did you 

realize your targets set for 2016? 

What kinds of targets have you set 

for the current year? What do you 

offer in general? 

As an exporter company, of 

course we do not get affected 

from the instability of the economy 

and exchange rates. However, 

the psychology in the local 

market is not that good and this 

definitely makes us sad, but still 

we see people are optimistic for 

the near future, it was not very 

easy what we have passed last 

year, considering all these we 

can even say it is better than it 

should be. As Elektroteks we are 

above our target, and investing 

quiet significantly for the business 

by having new machines, 

employing more people, establishing 

new departments and 

increasing the budget percentage 

for the new projects. We 

increased our machining department 

capacity by around 50% 

this year and waiting for our new 

machines to be installed within a 

few months. 

For how many years have you 

been attending Interzum Guangzhou? 

What have you prepared 

to offer at this show. 

Serkan Güler 

Sales Director of Elektroteks Mattress 

Machinery Company

51 

This will be the 4th year for us 

at Interzum Guangzhou fair. We 

cannot say it is very good, the 

best, etc. But it is somewhere we 

should be at. 

Do you already export to China? 

Where do you export in general? 

We have small exports to China 

market although it is not a big 

volume, it is not an easy market, 

but we have plans in the near 

future to grow there. We cannot 

say our main markets, because 

according to the project, according 

to the months it is changing, 

we are already in 83 countries, 

we more focus on global infrastructure. 

Are there other fairs you are 

planning to participate in this 

year? 

We will be at Interzum – Cologne 

in May. 

Would you like to mention any 

additional comments? 

We are very optimistic for the 

country and the global mattress 

industry. Of course there will 

be peaks and lows. There are 

a lot of things to do in terms of 

mattress itself, components and 

machinery.

52 

Keep your 

sleep in 

FORM 

Quality of sleep is 

important to wake 

up rejuvenated. 

Form Foam offers 

a wide range of 

choices for both in 

bedrooms and in 

living rooms for 

optimum comfort. 

We visited to and made an 

interview with Ali Yoruk, general 

manager of Form Foam company 

before they go to China for Interzum 

Guangzhou fair. Excerpts as 

follows: 

On the foundation, development 

and corporal structure of the firm 

Started as a foam supplier for 

group companies such as Istikbal, 

Merkez Celik and Boydas in 2002, 

our firm has now two production 

facilities that not only meets the 

needs of group companies but 

also sell to other customers in 

domestic and international 

markets 

with its high quality 

products, competitive 

prices and 

being a customer 

focused company. 

Having a daily capacity of 7000 

cubic meters of foam, the factories 

of Form Foam and Yatak San., the 

largest ones in the country that 

established in Incesu, Kayseri in 

2015 employ about 408 people. 

On product portfolio and the 

sectors that are served 

We supply to the needs of several 

industries from mattresses, to 

home textiles; from insulation to 

furniture. Our main product categories 

are, polyurethane foam, 

visco foam, visco gel foam, high 

resilience foam, flame retardant 

foam, etc. Besides we produce 

foamed mattresses and visco 

pillows. 

On R&D activities and priorities in 

production 

In a fast changing business world

53 

that change and developments 

are very fast, we maintain our 

efforts in R&D field to keep pace 

the developments and to meet 

changing needs of our customers. 

Both with our present products and 

with newly developed varieties 

we aimed to offer the best to our 

buyers. We will exhibit our new 

products in Interzum fair. In lab we 

have Lab Foam machine, there are 

only six of them in the world, four 

of the in the manufacturer and one 

is in another producer in abroad. 

We emphasize on every detail 

for product development and in 

production and we are a member 

of Europur, European union of 

foam producers, and observe the 

standards of it in manufacturing 

processes in terms of environmental 

and health protection. We also 

use the best materials and machinery 

in the production. We keep 

the records of the tests to improve 

Ali Yoruk, 

General Manager of Form Foam

54 

the processes. Other products that 

are sent from other customers are 

also tested in our lab. We try to 

reduces wastes through Kaizen, 

SAP and control programs. 

On the certificate of quality 

that the firm has and basis of 

competition over rivals 

My company is a member of 

Europur, and I am a member of the 

board of this organization. We 

have several quality certificates 

including Certipur, Oeko-Tex, TSE, 

TSE ISG management system 

and quality system management. 

We also provide upon demand 

of our customers, technical test 

reports such as Phtalates, MDA, 

and inflammability all related with 

foam production. We also observe 

the conditions of ISO 9001-2015 

& ISO 18001 & ISO14001 & ISO 

10002 & ISO 17025 & ISO 27001 

and BSCI standards. 

On foreign trade and targeted 

countries 

Earlier we have been exporting 

our products over Boycelik account, 

however, since from May 

2013 we are exporting directly 

through our export department. 

Started with only in 12 countries, 

we now have customers in 53 

countries as of 2017, from the USA 

to Europe, from South Korea to 

Mauritus, to Gulf and neighboring 

countries. 

On expectations from the year 

2017 

Problems that have been 

encountered last year in 

the procurement of raw 

material have been 

felt both by us and 

by all other foam producers. We try 

to minimize the casualties and try 

to look optimistically to the future 

by assuming all our responsibility 

that we have for our customers.

56 

interzum 

2017 - 

The world 

meets in 

Cologne 

interzum is the world’s leading 

trade fair for furniture production 

and interior design. This is where 

the most important business is 

conducted and momentum for the 

global furniture supply industry is 

created. Decision makers, opinion 

leaders and disseminators from 

all over the world keep up with 

the innovations in the industry, 

seek and establish new contacts – 

those who want to do truly good 

business in 2017 should not miss 

this opportunity. 

As the world’s largest trade fair 

in the sector, interzum is a mustsee 

event for everyone aiming for 

success in the market for furniture 

production and interiors. That’s 

because interzum offers a comprehensive 

overview of new technologies 

and designs, encompassing 

an extremely broad scope of products 

as only a leading international 

trade fair can. 

Since 1959, interzum has rightly 

enjoyed its worldwide reputation 

as a state-of-the-art trade fair. 

It is the world’s largest event 

serving this sector, with over 

1,500 exhibitors from more than 

60 countries. So, there are plenty 

of reasons for visiting interzum. 

They’re great reasons for coming 

to a great trade fair as interzum 

takes place every two years and 

presents the trends of the supplier 

sector, which are the inspiration 

behind our living spaces of the

57 

future. By attending the show you 

may discover the best innovations 

from all over the world – clearly 

presented in three areas. 

World premieres, product innovations 

and pioneering concepts: 

interzum is the showcase for the 

entire sector’s new developments. 

Formats such as »interzum award: 

intelligent material & design« and 

»innovation of interior« will showcase 

the key trends. 

More than 65 % of the visitors 

and exhibitors come from outside 

Germany. That makes interzum the 

sector’s most international trade 

fair. It is appealing, informative 

and pioneering: interzum features 

an outstanding event program. 

As the world’s leading trade fair 

for furniture production and interior 

design, interzum is a fixed date 

in the diaries of this industry. It is 

quasi the beginning of all furniture 

designs and stands at the 

beginning of the innovation cycle 

because the products that are presented 

at interzum lay the foundation 

for the interiors design of the 

future: For instance, an innovative 

pullout system at interzum inspires 

the designers. This interplay

58 

between the different players 

of the finishing process is what 

makes the trade fair so successful 

and will ensure that 2017 is going 

to be a record year for interzum. 

More exhibitors, more area is the 

current status. From 16 to 19 May, 

more than 1,600 exhibitors will 

present their products in 10 Halls 

on space covering 180,000 m² - 

the exhibition area was already 

almost sold-out in December. And 

with 150 new exhibitors from Germany 

and all over the world, we 

will be welcoming more first-time 

participants in one go than in a 

long time. 

The international appeal of interzum 

continually increases. This is 

as a result of the efforts to strategically 

focus on the international 

competence of Koelnmesse across 

all trade fairs and events. Koelnmesse 

verbalizes this competence 

in the motto “Global Competence 

in Furniture, Interiors and Design”, 

which links all thematically related 

events: imm cologne, interzum, 

LivingKitchen and Orgatec. 

Everyone profits from this internationalization: 

The exhibitors can 

penetrate new markets and find 

international marketing possibilities 

for their products in the 

centrally located and hospitable 

city of Cologne. And trade visitors 

can find an unparalleled selection 

of component manufacturers, so 

they can search for solutions for 

their products of tomorrow in a 

targeted way. 

In Cologne the world does business 

with the world! The current 

figures impressively confirm that 

this concept is the right one: 

A growth was recorded in the 

number of foreign exhibitors of 36 

percent compared to 2015. And 

regarding attendance, 17 percent 

more international visitors found 

their way to Cologne.

59 

Every two years one can see at 

interzum which innovations will be 

implemented in newly produced 

furniture over the coming years. 

It attracts more and more creative 

directors every year. It is an 

obligatory date for architects and 

designers. They gain material and 

technological inspiration for their 

daily work here. 

Koelnmesse fully supports this 

development of interzum becoming 

a trendsetter for the creative 

industry - for example with online 

measures, an own blog and 

the special area “Innovation of 

Interior”, where forward-looking 

materials and projects are presented 

especially to architects 

and designers. 

In addition to the international 

alignment and the innovation 

impulses, it is the coherent concept 

that helps make interzum so 

successful. The division into three 

segments ensures the clearly 

structured and comprehensive presentation 

of the broad spectrum 

of furniture and interior finishing 

components. Besides the exhibitors 

and their innovations, the 

Piazze, i.e. the special exhibition 

areas that address current industry 

themes and which provide 

a perfect and unique source of 

inspiration and meeting place for 

exchange, form further highlights 

in each segment. 

This year the organizer has slightly 

altered the hall layout - this 

was the only way to generate 

more room for additional companies 

and correspondingly accommodate 

the strong interest of the 

exhibitors. To provide the companies 

with planning reliability, this 

hall layout will remain at least up 

until interzum 2021. The three sections 

are planned as follows in the 

coming May: Textile & Machinery 

will be spread over Halls 9, 10.1 

and 11; Function & Components 

will be staged in Halls 4, 5, 7 and 

Hall 8 and the Materials & Nature 

segment will be located in Halls 6, 

10.2 and 4.2. 

As every year, the Materials & 

Nature segment focuses on more 

versatile materials that ensure a 

modern and individual furniture 

design. Here, a particular emphasis 

is placed on the theme 

sustainability. Those who are 

interested in the keywords, conserving 

resources, sustainable raw 

materials or cradle-to-cradle concepts, 

will find a lot of input here. 

There will be 2 Piazze in this sec-

60 

tion for the first time. They will be 

designed by the interior designer, 

Katrin de Louw, and concentrate 

on the theme “Individuality”. 

Individuality and sustainability 

are also the theme of the Function 

& Components section. Here, 

companies that develop light 

solutions or semi-finished products 

for furniture, fittings, locks 

and furniture components can be 

found. At the Piazza everything 

will revolve around the theme 

“Upcycling” this year. The material 

researcher, Dr. Sascha Peters, will 

demonstrate how the furniture 

industry can transform seemingly 

worthless materials into new products 

and thus contribute towards 

the conservation of resources. 

In the final section, Textiles & 

Machinery, the protagonists are 

upholstery materials, fabrics and 

leather with the related processing 

machines. Here, we are 

looking forward to a totally new 

theme this year: “Mobile Spaces” 

is the motto of the Piazza - and 

as the name already suggest it is 

about interzum also being highly 

interesting for the designers and 

outfitters of mobile interiors such 

as cars or caravans. Well-known 

suppliers from the automotive sector 

will be located in the proximity 

of this event area - a completely 

new exhibitor group for interzum.

Boyteks presents limitless 

design alternatives to 

more than hundred 

countries 

Among the top ten exporting companies Boyteks 

keeps introducing its innovative products to its 

buyers. General Manager of the company Mustafa 

Yildirim answered our questions before going to 

Interzum Guangzhou fair in China.

62 

There are many different 

businesses in your group as 

Boyteks. How long have you been 

operating in the mattress industry? 

How did this adventure begin? 

As Boyteks we started production 

of mattress in 2002. At that 

time, we started with 8 weaving 

machines in order to meet the 

needs of mattress ticking fabric 

of our group companies and 

today our company continues 

sales with a brand that produces 

with more than 500 machines 

and exports to more than 100 

countries in the world. We started 

production of upholstery fabric 

in Bursa in 2003 and carpet 

production in our Kayseri factory 

in late 2011. 

Mustafa Yildirim 

General Manager

63 

Boyteks is a company known for 

innovative products. What are 

the prominent features of the 

innovative products you produce? 

We believe in the power and importance 

of innovation very much 

as an institution. Up to now, we 

have offered more than 100 innovative 

products. The products we 

produce are the products that add 

value to our customers’ products 

and provide added value for them. 

These innovations will continue 

incessantly. We will invest more in 

R & D in the near term and we will 

expand our team further. 

So what are the special 

considerations in production? What 

is your annual production volume? 

Customer satisfaction has always 

been a priority for us. Our brand 

is customer focused. We want our 

production teams to have this 

point of view in particular. That’s 

why we make sure that our sales 

and marketing teams and our production 

professionals are as good 

as possible. We visit regularly to 

our customers and listen to their 

needs and demands. 

What are innovations in the field of 

bedding in the world? How do you 

integrate these innovations into 

your products? 

The mattress sector in the world 

is growing at least over 8% every 

year. The changing lifestyle, population 

growth, rising numbers of 

hotel, hospital and project business, 

known as contract business, 

are the factors behind the growth. 

So, the demand for mattress 

fabrics is also growing. Of 

course, with this supply demand, 

new companies, companies will 

enter in the market and fuels the 

competition. In this competitive 

environment, you can go as far 

as your price. In order to ensure 

profitability and sustainability of 

our businesses, we have to be 

different.

64 

What are the customer preferences 

in mattresses? How does customer 

expectation affect production at 

this point? 

Each country has its own habits 

and culture. Of course, producers 

have to diversify their productions 

accordingly. We have a wide 

product range that can meet any 

demand at this point easily. We 

can meet almost all the needs of 

the manufacturers. 

Which countries do you have 

export activities? Are you 

exporting mattress-ticking fabrics 

more or are you more active in the 

domestic market? 

Today, Boyteks exports to more 

than 100 countries. Our brand is 

among the top 10 companies of 

Turkey in exports.

65 

How is the reflection of different 

cultures to the design side as a 

company that has export activities 

all over the world? Is there a 

general line in design or an original 

style for every culture? 

We have a very large design 

and collection preparation team. 

We have design offices in countries 

like Italy and Spain where 

we work abroad. You need to be 

original in design and consider 

the differences. 

We can best respond to these 

differences.

66 

The year 2016 was a challenging 

year for every sector. How was the 

year 2016? As Boyteks, did you 

catch your goals for 2016? 

It was a difficult year for us as it 

was in all sectors. Fortunately, 

despite these difficulties, we 

have realized the production 

volumes we aimed at. We’ve 

completed our investments. This 

year we made a very good start. 

Finally, what is your turnover 

target for 2017? Are there new 

projects on the agenda? 

In 2017, we aimed to grow by 

more than 10%. Boyteks has 

been able to grow at least 15% 

every year since its foundation. 

We have completed our 

necessary investments in this 

direction. Our modernization 

work continues. Our construction 

investments will be completed 

within a few months. In this 

direction, we are completely 

convinced that we will reach our 

targets this year.

68 

Karen Lee: 

“interzum guangzhou 

in China has been 

known for its 

professionalism and 

internationalization” 

Lee: “Turkey 

is among our 

most leading 

national 

exhibiting 

countries.” 

CIFM / interzum Guangzhou is the 

most comprehensive woodworking 

machinery, furniture production 

and interior décor trade fair in 

Asia. interzum guangzhou presents 

the latest products and technologies 

of woodworking machinery, 

furniture and sleep products and 

interior decor. 2017 edition of the 

show will offer a wealth of highly 

interesting supporting events 

and activities again to enrich the 

visits to the event. We asked the 

details to Ms. Karen Lee, General 

Manager South China, Koelnmesse 

Co., Ltd. She outlined the success 

story of the show and what they 

have in store for this year. 

What were the major achievements 

of the last edition of Interzum 

Guangzhou? 

The scale of CIFM / interzum 

guangzhou 2016 reached 140,000 

square meters, spanning 16 halls. 

More than 26% of all 1,243 exhibitors 

hailed from abroad and a 

total of 38 countries and regions 

were represented. The event

69 

attracted 73,312 visitors from 

over 100 countries and regions to 

procure there. 

In addition to the usual Western 

European manufacturing powerhouses, 

such as Germany, Italy, 

Spain, Belgium and the United 

Kingdom, an increasing number of 

brands from the emerging economies 

of South America, Eastern 

Europe, Turkey and the Middle 

East are gradually making their 

presence felt at CIFM / interzum 

guangzhou in recent years. Many 

exhibitors from Latvia, Romania, 

Estonia and Ukraine chose CIFM / 

interzum guangzhou as their first 

point of entry into the China market, 

bringing with them new products 

with unique characteristics, 

and at the same time enriching 

the pool of quality suppliers from 

different countries and regions for 

buyers to select from. 

How is the next edition positioned? 

What are the main objectives? 

As the only satellite event of 

interzum cologne, the world’s most 

prestigious furniture production 

trade fair, interzum guangzhou 

in China has been known for its 

professionalism and internationalization. 

Since its inception in 

2004, we have been achieving 

gratifying results in regard to 

the scale of the event, number of 

exhibitors and visitors, as well as 

proportion of international brands 

and industry reputation, winning a 

number of “Asia’s firsts”. For 2017, 

we will build on our positioning 

as a highly efficient trading

70 

platform, and introduce a variety 

of design-related activities and 

international industry trends to 

the event. So, do stay tuned for 

more exciting updates. 

Are there any new events such as 

awards, seminars and workshops 

at the next edition? 

interzum guangzhou has been 

committed to importing highly 

praised activities from its parent 

event, interzum, in Germany to 

Guangzhou, for domestic visitors 

to enjoy the same experience. 

In addition to regular activities 

well received by exhibitors and 

visitors alike, such as seminars, 

lounge for international halls, 

and gift redemption program for 

visitors, there will be three new 

on-site activities this year, which 

I believe will be the highlight of 

this edition. 

First, is a special display entitled 

“Unveiling – The Mysteries of Furniture 

Production “, which will be 

located between halls 14.1 and 

15.1, showcasing innovative products 

and technologies of furniture 

accessories, hardware and raw 

materials, and at the same time 

presenting a narrative of the story 

behind the products. Visitors can 

experience the products at the interactive 

area and gain a deeper 

understanding of the charm of the 

furniture industry. 

On top of that, there will also 

be business-matching activities 

aimed at establishing an efficient 

business communication and trading 

platform between visitors and 

furniture manufacturers. 

And lastly, we will hold an intimate 

interzum guangzhou Happy 

Hour reception on the third day of 

the exhibition (March 30). Industry 

leaders, VIP buyer delegations 

and representatives of the 

various national pavilions will be 

invited to share experience and 

explore the development of the

71 

furniture industry in a pleasant 

atmosphere. This will be a rare 

opportunity for exchange during 

the event. 

How does interzum guangzhou aim 

to be different from other industry 

trade fairs? 

Due to the location and positioning 

of the event, interzum guangzhou 

is destined to be different 

from the other similar exhibitions 

in China. 

Our objective is to form an efficient 

and effective “one-stop” 

trading platform to serve as a hub 

for the latest products and technologies 

for furniture production 

in Asia, and become the gateway 

into China for international brands 

as well as for quality Chinese 

enterprises to reach international 

markets. 

As the world’s largest furniture 

producer and consumer, China 

has a strong demand for furniture 

industry-related suppliers. Guangdong 

province, as the first region 

in China to open to foreign trade, 

has a long history of international 

trade and development experience. 

Apart from that, Guangdong 

is also the largest furniture 

production base in China, and the 

epicenter of the entire national 

industry value chain. Such are the 

geographical advantages that 

other similar exhibitions do not 

possess. 

For exhibitors and visitors, the 

exhibition itself is always the 

most important: Which big brands 

will be participating in the event 

this year? Who are the new 

exhibitors? What new products 

and technologies will be released 

at the show? These are the main 

concerns of everyone. So, we 

have been working hard all these 

years to attract more high-quality 

brands from abroad, for them to 

showcase the industry’s latest 

products and technology in China,

72 

and also sparing no efforts in promoting 

and attracting more international 

visitors here, to purchase 

quality products from China. 

How many visitors and exhibitors 

are likely to be there at the next 

edition? What percentage of them 

are repeat exhibitors and how 

many of them are new? 

interzum guangzhou 2017 is 

expected to have more than 1,200 

exhibitors from around the world, 

attracting more than 70,000 visitors. 

Among them, about 13% of 

the brands will make their debut 

appearance, and the remaining 

87% of them will be repeat exhibitors. 

In recent years, the proportion 

of new and old exhibitors has 

been maintaining at around 2:8. 

Who are some of the new 

exhibitors making their debut at 

the next edition? 

First-time wood and woodworking 

machinery-related exhibitors are: 

ALLEGHENY WOOD, Brownlee, 

Cascade, CLC Hardwoods, Harold, 

Kennebec, Seeland, TYR Wood, 

WHEELAND, TRN USA FOREST, 

CORAL, KRAUSS, LignaDecor, Mammut, 

Metal Matris, NDB Timber, 

Schugoma, T-PRIN, Veysel Kutuklu, 

VIRGO and WOODTRON.

76 

Clariant improves sustainability 

and performance of paint 

manufacturing industry in Turkey 

with Easily Dispersible Pigments 

Paint industry in 

Turkey focuses on 

prioritizing R&D and 

innovation to continue 

its successful growth in 

the marketplace 

ISTANBUL - Clariant, a world leader 

in specialty chemicals keeps creating 

added value to the paint and 

coating manufacturers in Turkey 

by appreciating the needs of its 

customers with competitive and 

innovative solutions. 

Turkey’s paint and coatings manufacturers 

are looking to improve 

the sustainability profile of their 

companies and products while 

maintaining the same level of 

performance in their paints. Easily 

dispersible (ED) pigments help to 

improve the sustainability profile 

in paint production along the process 

chain towards the consumers. 

With a total economic value of 

about 2.5 billion dollars, Turkish 

paint industry is among the top 5 

paint industries of Europe. The industry 

aims to be among top 3 in 

the next 10 years therefore focuses 

on strengthening its production 

and technology infrastructure and 

prioritizing R&D and innovation 

to continue its success. In alignment 

with this strategy, Clariant 

has developed a range of organic 

pigments called Easily Dispersible 

(ED) Pigments. 

In the paint manufacturing process, 

one of the most important 

steps is the dispersion of pigments. 

To achieve “Easily Dispersible” 

characteristics of organic 

pigments, Clariant has developed 

an economic production process 

which includes surface treatment 

of the pigments with highly 

efficient and widely compatible 

dispersing additives. As the name 

suggests, Clariant’s ED pigments 

can be easily incorporated into 

the paint systems with a dissolver 

and without an additional milling 

step. This is an innovative 

approach for paint manufacturing 

which offers efficiency as well 

as savings in raw materials and 

energy. ED Pigments are available 

for both solvent-based industrial 

coating systems and water-based 

decorative paints.

77 

All of these pigments also hold 

Clariant’s EcoTain® Portfolio Value 

Program certification label. The 

EcoTain certification is awarded 

only to products that undergo 

systematic, in-depth testing using 

36 criteria representing the social, 

environmental and economic 

dimensions of sustainability, and 

prove best-in-class performance 

and sustainability excellence. 

During the certification process, 

products are evaluated on a fourphase 

life cycle, from sustainable 

design to ecointegration. 

Competitive, Innovative and 

Sustainable… 

ED Pigments are used in a vast 

number of applications including 

wood, metal surfaces and can 

also be used with other effect 

pigments to improve the appearance 

of the final products. With ED 

Pigments, full color strength can be 

achieved in a high-speed dissolver 

with an average dispersion time 

of about 30 minutes. Thus, the 

overall processing time is significantly 

reduced and production 

capacity increased. ED Pigments 

reduce conversion costs in production 

by offering the possibility to 

skip one processing step. With ED 

Pigments, no bead milling process 

is necessary, which is the most 

energy-consuming step in paint 

production. This way, the carbon 

footprint is reduced for the whole 

value chain. Moreover, waste and 

cleaning efforts are reduced. 

“Thanks to Clariant’s extensive 

know-how, we provided our customers 

pigments that we believe 

in. They have to be able to handle 

the toughest demands, extreme 

storms or heavy UV exposure,” 

states Esra Durna, Clariant Sales 

Manager Coating BU Pigments. 

ED pigments are not only easily 

dispersible; they need fewer raw 

materials and bring more flexibility 

in production than standard 

pigments. 

EDS Pigments for Solvent-Based 

Industrial Coating Systems 

EDS pigments are surface modified 

organic pigments specifically 

designed for solvent-based 

industrial coatings. The ED effect 

is achieved with a combination 

of a tailor-made additive and 

considerable technical knowhow 

in the pigment manufacture 

process. EDS pigments are easily 

incorporated into paint systems 

that use dissolvers and eliminates 

an additional production step. 

EDS pigments require significantly 

less milling time compared to the 

conventional pigments that rely on 

bead mills. 

The pigments have been successfully 

tested compared to similar 

pigments in various coating 

systems including alkyd (air drying 

and baking enamels), polyurethane, 

polyester (saturated and 

unsaturated polyester), acrylic (UV 

curing, e.g. epoxy acrylate resins) 

and epoxy systems. Several EDS 

pigments can be added to a mill 

base formulation or co-dispersed 

with inorganic pigments for specific 

shades. The simplified process 

lowers manufacturing costs, 

improves productivity, and offers 

lower cost options for high-performance 

coatings. 

Esra Durna, 

Clariant Sales Manager Coating BU Pigments 

EDW Pigments for Water-Based 

Decorative Paints 

EDW pigments are dispersed 

with a dissolver using a reduced 

amount of additives, as well as 

through a shorter bead mill process. 

In both cases, EDW pigments 

offer cost savings thanks to simplified 

processes. Recommended 

fields of application of the EDW 

range are water-based pigment 

dispersions for in-plant / point-ofsale 

tinting of decorative paints 

like aqueous emulsion paints. 

The additives used to modify 

the surface of EDW pigments are 

widely compatible with most decorative 

paints. EDW pigments can 

be used, for example, to produce 

low VOC tinters. They are highly 

suitable for manufacturing eco-labeled 

low VOC paints according to 

EU Directive 2004/42/EC (20129).

78 

Nerteks, a professional 

brand in industrial 

yarns and threads 

Nerteks is a customer oriented 

industrial thread manufacturer 

in Istanbul, Turkey. With a rich 

heritage coming from 1969, the 

company provides an extensive 

variety of industrial yarns, threads 

and textile sub-products. Since 

1999, our high technology thread 

manufacturing plant has become 

the producer of the best quality 

threads in a wide range of colors 

and thread types. Now, Nerteks 

Iplik is an international company 

supplying industrial threads to 

whole world from Europe to Africa 

and from Asia to America. 

Talking about their success story, 

Saim Erdoğan, proprietor of 

Nerteks, made it clear that his 

company provides an extensive 

variety of threads used during all 

sewing operations in mattress, 

bed and furniture manufacturing. 

We produce our goods in a wide 

range of thread types and colors 

to create solutions for your all 

production stages such as quilting 

(top and bottom threads), tape 

edge, lock-stitch, furniture upholstery 

and decorative sewing. 

Choosing the correct thread for 

high-speed machine is important 

to achieve maximum performance 

in production. To meet specific 

demands about targeting most 

efficient production and delivering 

maximum performance by 

machines, our superior quality 

products are engineered in collaboration 

with leading manufacturers 

in industry. “Nerteks, with 

a professional team, offers an 

extensive variety of threads depending 

on the machine needs of 

the customers. We find solutions 

for the problems encountered in 

bed, quilting and furniture manufacturing,” 

says Erdoğan.

79 

Muhammed Said Erdoğan - Owner of Nerteks 

Talking about their product portfolio, 

Saim Erdoğan detailed the 

products as follows: 

•Continious Filament Polyester 

Sewing Thread (HOT) 

•Textured Polyester Sewing 

Thread (NERTEX) 

•Cocoon Bobbins (NERKOZA) 

•Polyester Corespun with Polyester 

Wrap (POLY MAX) 

•Staple Spun Polyester Sewing 

Thread (MASTER, SPRING) 

•Polyester Corespun with Cotton 

Wrap (JOKER) 

•Mercerised Cotton Sewing Thread 

(ON) 

•Cotton Sewing Thread (MISRA) 

•Stretch Sewing Thread (NERFLEX) 

•Monofilament Nylon Thread 

(NERLON) 

“As a regular visitor of Interzum 

fairs for long years, we are aware 

of that Interzum Guangzhou is an 

efficient and effective ‘one stop’ 

trading platform in China. We are 

glad of having a chance to present 

our products enhanced for furniture 

and mattress manufacturing 

industry and also to follow the latest technologies and developments in 

global market. Additionally we are proud to announce that we will be 

an exhibitor in Interzum Cologne on May 2017, too,” outlined Erdoğan.

80 

Comfytex offers comfort 

through its special mattress 

ticking fabric 

Adding value to the 

mattress industry 

with its various 

design and featured 

products Comfytex 

has been growing 

fast through 

its R&D and 

innovation works. 

Realizing a lot of innovative successes 

and winning many awards 

during its 5 years of activity period 

Comfyptex, one of the leading 

in the manufacturing of mattress 

and mattress fabrics, has been 

constantly progressing its service 

quality. Selim Sahin, Vice General 

Manager of Comfytex talked about 

the factors which inspired their 

R&D studies and about the solutions 

they have been preparing 

for Interzum Cologne. 

Could you inform us about the 

establishment, development 

and corporate structure of your 

company? 

Küçükler Textile, known as Comfytex, 

has started business in 

mattress ticking industry in 2012. 

In a very short time, Comfytex 

has developed many innovations 

leading the market. Its innovative 

and innovation-driven growth 

approach and strategy has put 

forward projects for new trends. In 

2016, we received from the Turkish 

Patent Institute (TPE), the best 

award for “the highest number of 

design applications in Turkey”, 

which has been a milestone for 

us. This award has given us the 

motivation to be more confident, 

to be different and to be one the 

leading innovative textile manufacturer.

81 

Quality, flexibility and efficiency 

has always been our main core 

principles. That’s why our company 

had started an ERP (Enterprise 

Resource Planning) project in 

2015 which is used today in all 

our integrated company processes 

and systems. 

This program called I-Com (Integrated 

Comfytex), which allows all 

our teams to work more efficiently 

and intensively, is today a way 

for us to satisfy our partners 

worldwide. This year, we are planning 

to include all the automation 

system to the integrated system 

and are working on this project. 

Can you inform us about your 

R&D studies? What are your main 

principles at production process? 

Our company has started R & 

D and innovation researches 

in 2014. The R & D team was 

founded and started to work 

quickly in the same year. Strategic 

targets have been determined 

and the important projects have 

been realized for this aim. In 

2015, we had some researches 

on the magnetic field studies of 

Ibni Sina (Avicenna), an important 

medical scientist who lived in the 

… century. Inspired by his works, 

we have then launched the TESLA 

fabric which fibers and yarns has 

Selim Sahin, 

Vice General Manager of Comfytex 

natural magnetic properties. Tesla 

has been scientifically proved by 

world’s leading universities and 

laboratories that it increases the 

sleep quality. The patent application 

has been made for Tesla 

Fabric in the same year. 

Our team continues to work on 

new projects with inspiration 

which is a result of the successful 

Tesla project. New designs have 

been developed for the bedding 

market in 2016. Freeze, Meditation, 

Sakura Sleep products and 

our brand new Anti-Cellulite fabric 

are some of our innovative brands

82 

which will be offered to our partners 

and all mattress manufacturer 

in Interzum Köln fair. 

I want to give more details about 

these new products: 

Anti-cellulite: This revolutionary 

fabric will be a gift from Comfytex 

to all the women in the 

world. Thanks to the special Nano 

technological particles, it helps to 

reduce the appearance of the orange 

peels. The product has been 

tested directly on subjects and 

has been scientifically proved. 

Freeze: A special mattress fabric 

has been developed by our R 

& D team to prevent sweating 

and to increase quality during 

sleep. It does gives a real feeling 

of coolness. Unlike the existing 

thermal comfort products, there is 

a constant cool touch. This fabric 

is resistant to the washing and 

provides a long term using. 

Meditation: Textiles, which are 

used in many areas of our lives, 

generate static electricity as 

a result of friction. This static 

electricity disrupts the comfort 

of everyone this is why our R&D 

team has developed this product. 

Meditation will allow you to avoid 

any static electricity on your beds 

for ever. 

Sakura Sleep: This fabric has been 

inspired from Japanese culture. 

Cherry blossom, which has a big 

importance in this culture, is used 

against complaints about mind 

and thought. Sakura Sleep; with 

its special odor spread; helps to 

reduce discomfort such as unpleasantness, 

depression, panic and 

claustrophobia. 

All this new products will be 

offered to our partners in Interzum 

2017 with some new designs and 

trends developed by the R&D 

team. And we do believe that this 

will really contribute to the expansion 

of the bedding sector. 

At last, I want to say also that our 

company has prepared necessary 

sub-structures for an R&D Center 

Project carried out by the Ministry 

of Science, Industry and Technology 

of Turkey and has completed 

its applications to obtain the R&D 

Center authorization certificate. 

Do you have any quality certificate, 

quality management system 

applied on your production? What 

makes you different from your 

competitors? 

Our company has been started 

to integrated quality system 

work and audited according to 

ISO 9001 Quality Management 

System, ISO 14001 Environmental 

Management System and OHSAS 

18001 Labor Health and Safety 

every year. In addition we also

83 

have Oeko-Tex certification. In 

2017, new work for Information 

Security Management System and 

Industrial Hygiene Certification 

has been started despite all these 

certification mentioned above as 

all of them are not enough for our 

company. 

New projects are continuing about 

the hygienic working conditions 

which shall be the primary basis 

of mattresses sector. The Industrial 

hygiene certificate project is 

running with our expert team. 

Can you talk about your foreign 

trade? Which countries do you do 

business with? 

We have been working on achieving 

to our strategy that is in line 

with our country’s exportation 

target since our establish date. In 

this direction, we are improving 

sales & marketing strategies. It 

is our priority to develop value 

added products, and to give the 

best service to our customer in 

the frame of our vision which we 

revealed in the mid and long term. 

Today, our marketing activities are 

continuing in the different markets 

such as Europe, Middle-East, Far 

East, Africa and US 

What do you expect for your sector 

in 2017? 

We are pursuing closely World 

conjuncture and technological 

developments to keep on our 

successes we gained up to today. 

Especially, in 2017 we will exhibit 

more powerful sales & marketing 

strategies with our Research and 

Development Center. We will 

put forward our new innovative 

products and designs that we 

will prepare specifically for our 

customers.

84 

“Good 

Morning!’

85 

Sleep product buyers will wake up in Istanbul in the 

morning of October 2017! As the only show covering 

all segments of the sleep products industry, from raw 

materials and technologies to finished products, 4th 

International Sleepwell Expo Istanbul will stimulate the 

trade in the sector for the fourth time.

86 

From raw materials to the finished 

mattresses, including the 

supply industry, components, 

machinery and technology 

SLEEPWELL EXPO Istanbul is the 

event showing all segments of 

the sleep products industry. 

To be held in Istanbul Expo 

Center, 19-22 October 2017, 

the next edition of Sleepwell 

Expo - Mattress and Technologies 

Fair, which is the first and 

only fair in Turkey in its field, 

will host the sector for the 

fourth time this year. Having a 

sharp rising trend in its threeyear 

history, the 2016 edition 

of the show had recorded a 

drop due to the unsuccessful 

coup attempt. Still the show 

had hosted 76 exhibitors who 

had welcomed some 4,200 

professional visitors. 

Turkey’s mattress industry has 

been going through major 

changes leaving many less-developed 

stages behind. Almost 

all kinds of modern mattresses 

are either manufactured or 

represented in Turkey. 

Sleepwell Expo represents 

a wide range of portfolio 

including the latest products of 

mattress manufacturers, pillow 

manufacturers, comforter and 

other sleep product manufacturers, 

exporters and dealers.

87 

They were mainly mattress exporters 

and importers, bedding 

manufacturers, home textile 

manufacturers, coverlet manufacturers, 

equipment firms, 

distributors, agents, chain 

store purchasing authorities, 

local furniture stores, professional 

import and export firms, 

designers, hotel purchasing 

managers, interior design firms, 

experts of the private sector, 

mattress industry buyers and 

trade press portals… In short, 

all members of the industry 

come together at the Sleepwell 

Expo-Mattress and Technologies 

Fair. 

Running towards its major 

targets of 2023 set by the 

government, Turkey continues 

to pursue its development 

worldwide with its rapidly 

increasing population, advantageous 

geography, and 

contribution of exports by its 

advantageous geography. One 

of the most important sectors 

in Turkey, without any doubt, is 

the mattress industry, mattress 

machinery and components industry. 

Developments, innovations 

and example solidarity of

88 

the sector which has been performed 

in the mattress sector in 

recent years, have become the 

factors which affect the sleep 

products sector positively. With 

the same token, many positive 

economic indications which 

have been performed on behalf 

of the country and the sector 

in recent years, many regulations 

and directives made 

for the business volume and 

the mattress sector which has 

grown depending on the flow 

of foreign investments, indicate 

the importance of the SLEEP- 

WELL Fair. The mattress main 

sector, sub-industry, machinery 

and equipment fair, which has 

been awaited for a long time 

by all sleep products industry 

professionals, will successfully 

be held for the 4th time in 

Istanbul Fair Center, which is 

located opposite of the Ataturk 

International Airport. 

THE SLEEP ZONE 

A special trend and testing 

area will be dedicated again 

in the main foyer of the fairground 

namely THE SLEEP ZONE 

where latest mattresses of 20 

manufacturers will be displayed 

for the testing of professionals 

and consumers and to showcase 

the latest trends in the industry. 

This part had attracted 

a great deal of interest during 

last edition by the visitors as 

well as by the exhibitors. 

The mattress industry in Turkey 

has reached the sales figures 

of over 4 million in the local 

market in 2014. 95 percent of 

the market has been consisted 

of spring mattresses and 

remaining 5 percent of foam 

mattresses. The size of the mar-

89 

ket is very close to TL 1 billion and 

the growth rate is 7%. 10 thousand 

mattresses of Turkey’s total 

20 thousand daily are produced 

in Kayseri which is followed by 

Istanbul and Izmir. There are more 

than 400 manufacturers in Kayseri. 

The production capacity of these 

firms approaches to 2.7 million. 

Kayseri holds the half of the total 

production with 2.5 million mattresses. 

The share of the sector 

in the foreign market is over 100 

million dollars. Kayseri performs 

more than half of the total export 

value. The mattresses, which are 

produced in Kayseri, are exported 

mainly to France, Germany and 

The Netherlands and other European 

countries and the different 

countries of the Middle East. 

Representatives of the industry 

express that the trends that are 

seeking healthier, more comfortable 

sleep environments, play an 

important role in growth. According 

to the industry representatives 

the 3 million of the 4 million 

mattresses sold, have been sold 

to the individual consumers, 1 

million to the institutions such as 

hotels, dorms and hospitals. There 

are around one thousand hotels 

which are under construction with 

800 thousand-bed capacity in 

the country and the private sector 

hospital investments are accepted 

as an indicator that the growth in 

the industry will be continuous.

90 

According to the info released 

by the Ministry of Health, 90 

thousand of the bed capacity 

of the total 130 thousand at 

the hospitals will be changed 

and improved to advanced 

technology in a four-year period. 

All of these made SLEEP- 

WELL EXPO more important 

and it seems that the future 

editions of the show will gain 

more ground. 

The truest venue for the sector! 

The firms, which deal with mattress main and supplier industry, machinery 

and equipment, visit the fair by coming from both Turkey and 

surrounding countries in order to boost their production efficiency and 

competition.

91 

Opportunities to negotiate with 

the top level managers! 

Mostly as the top-level managers 

and company owners, the professional 

visitors come to Sleep Well 

Expo Fair to contract business 

agreements. Majority of the fair 

visitors consists of top-level officials, 

general managers, assistant 

general managers, purchasing 

and finance managers of producer 

firms that want to get information 

about the new technologies, 

products and services. 

Enlarge your connecting network 

for more business agreements! 

You have the chance to meet with 

the sector officials who come from 

the Middle Eastern countries, 

European countries, China, the 

USA, Russia and Turkic Republics 

and many surrounding countries. 

Sleep Well Expo Fair constitutes 

an excellent platform between 

exhibitors to set new business 

connections as well as letting 

exhibitors meet with target audience 

of visitors. 

TESTIMONIALS… 

We conducted a survey about 

what the exhibitors say about 

the show. Over 90% expressed 

their satisfaction and they highlighted 

their expectation that the 

fair will grow very fast to be one 

of the world fairs in the industry. 

The survey follows:

92 

Boyteks 

Mustafa Yildirim 


First of all we wish that the fair is to 

be beneficial for all parties. We are 

experiencing a fruitful event. We 

thank to the organizing firm, Voli 

Fairs Organization, and its staff who 

work hard to serve us, the participants. 

Wish them to be more successful 

in the next editions of the fair. 

At the beginning we consider that it 

may be poorer than before due to the 

problems of recent developments in 

the country. However, we experienced 

the opposite. We saw serious 

number of visitors coming from 

both Middle East and from Europe. 

It seems that the year 2017 may be 

harder. But, the mattress industry is 

durable to short term crises because 

mattress is a basic need for humans. 

We completed our investments that 

we planned for the year 2016. We 

hope that the year 2017 will be a 

better year for our industry. Again 

we thank you all for your services 

and hospitality. 

Boycelik 

Feridun Tosun 

Export Manager 

We are so happy with the fair. I can 

proudly say that we, as Boycelik, 

have been a part of it since 2014. 

First days of the fairs are important. 

At the first day of the fair we had 

talks with about 40 companies, 15 

of them are new for us. We have visitors 

from several countries of the 

world especially both from Europe 

and Middle East. We divided 

our customer profile into two. One 

group is present customers and who 

put orders during fair. The second 

group is new ones. Any company 

who wants to produce mattress is 

able to find what it needs for production 

from still wires up to machinery. 

Our satisfaction about this fair 

is paramount and eager to support 

it for next editions with all what we 

can do. We believe that both visitors 

and companies in the Sleepwell 

Expo fair will continue to grow in 

the years ahead. I think that this fair 

will be a real competition for Interzum 

in about five years.

93 

Form Sunger 

Arif Emre Olmeztoprak 

Sales & Marketing Manager 

The fair was good for us. There 

were more visitors on the 

second and third day of the 

show. We observed stagnancy 

in general. I believe this had several 

reasons. The event brought 

professionals of the sector 

together. To me, this was the 

most important feature of the 

fair. 

Giz Group 

Eser Karakaslar 

Board Member 

Sleepwell Expo is now being 

organized for the third time. I 

know that this fair is a valuable 

event, because it is the first in 

its field. There is no other fair, 

addressing exactly to our needs. 

It is the most efficient fair 

for us, the mattress producers, 

because it focuses on only mattress 

industry. We have been 

participating in the fair for three 

years and we will participate 

in the future. I thank you all 

the people for every thing you 

provided. 

Ergofoam 

Malik Enes Huroglu 

Domestic and Export Specialist 

Manager 

We are the first and the only 

supplier of gelled products that 

can be applied to all models and 

quality levels. Gel products attract 

the interest of the visitors 

as well. Customers could find 

us here in the fair. This year 

the fair has started fast. There 

is growing number of foreign 

visitors. We have been deals 

with customers in 13 countries. 

America is our target market 

for this fair. By now, the fair runs 

well and we are happy with results. 

Due to recent problems 

in the world and in Turkey in 

terms of economic, political 

and psychological fields, there 

is less participation in the fair 

than the year before. However, 

it will be higher next year..

94 

Gunteks 

Mehmet Erdem Kurt 

Export Manager 

In general, the fair is better than 

we expected. The organization 

is growing year after year. Despite 

all the problems that have 

been experiencing recently as 

a whole nation there are more 

qualified visitors in the fair. 

They came from Europe, North 

Africa and other regions. We 

establish new business contacts 

and met with new buyers 

and customers. The fair will be 

more effective in its next editions. 

Thanks for everybody. 

Kirayteks 

Onur Kirayoglu 

Board Member 

We are one of the companies 

who participated in the first 

edition of this fair. We have high 

hopes about this event. Second 

edition of it was better than the 

first. Some of the effects caused 

by global economic and political 

and economic outlook in the 

country were felt this year. This 

was also true in all fairs that we 

visited. However, visitors were 

more professional than before. 

There seems to be more active 

by the weekend. It will be good, 

I hope. Since the Sleepwell is 

the first and only fair, it will 

keep its growth in next years. 

More promotion and more participants 

are always needed. 

Innova Bedding 

Onder Honi 

Owner 

We are here this year as well. 

This is my third presence in this 

fair. I witness a growing interest 

and recognition in the fair year 

after year. Not much visitor 

loss is experienced despite all 

adverse developments in and 

out of the country. Mattress industry 

in Turkey has a long way 

to go. I personally relate the potential 

in the sector to several 

authorities at every occasion. I 

want to be active in the efforts 

to divide the mattress industry 

from furniture sector. The future 

of mattress industry is bright. 

I thank you all of you and 

for all your efforts.

95 

Kucukler Textile 

Hasan Kucuk 

Board Chairman 

The fair that we participate in for the second time as Comfytex, was 

good this year. Visitor numbers, especially those who came from abroad 

were higher than our expectations. There were visitors from almost 

every country, actually from 20 countries in the fair. Last year the fair 

was more crowded. The reason is that the events that we have been experiencing 

nationally may cause this. We are happy and satisfied with 

the fair. Next year we also be here. We participated in Intermob fair this 

year. But, I already informed the organizers of Intermob that I will not 

participate in their fair. This (Sleepwell Expo) is our event, because we 

target more business in export markets. This fair serves this exactly. 

Is a good opportunity for us. I thank all other participants and all the 

people who put their efforts in. 

Nertex 

Said Erdogan 


Really qualified and professional 

people came to the fair. We 

have done good talks and deals 

with them. We will participate 

next year as well. It is good 

that the event is special for only 

mattress industry. Customers 

in the fair were also happy 

about this positioning. 

I thank all the people. 

Mert Makine 

Mustafa Nabi Dogan 

Member of the Board 

Held as the third edition this 

year, the number of visitors 

and participation to the fair is 

growing steadily. Productivity 

of the customers is more important 

for us than the number 

of customers. In this regard the 

fair runs very well and very 

productive. Number of companies 

and visitors are good. 

Visitor interests are high and 

we are happy for this. There 

are fairs in America and in Germany 

attracting great number 

of visitors. We also have to improve 

the number of visitors 

up to the levels of fairs held in 

abroad. Fair in Germany have 

been held since 1930, a deep-rooted 

event. We are happy 

that we now are comparing 

the Sleepwell Expo with these 

famous fairs. Our’s is only three 

years old, however, it has 

great potential for the coming 

years. It will be the best fair 

in its field. I hope that every 

one investing in this fair will 

be profitable and beneficial. 

Thanks for everybody for their 

contributions.

96 

Milkay 

Oguz Ozev 

Sales Manager 

The fair is magnificent, as a result 

of the efforts of the organization 

staff as it was in last year. 

We invited all our customers to 

visit the fair. We all have managed 

it successfully. The first 

fair on mattresses Sleepwell, 

though it was three years old, 

is so successful. This makes 

up hopeful for the future. We, 

the Turks can manage it. We 

make this the only fair an international 

event. Having it be 

enlarged and reaching to more 

companies in the future requires 

some more time and efforts. 

We want to do more. We want 

to attract more visitors from 

foreign countries. The interest 

that mattress-manufacturing 

companies have shown to the 

fair is rising higher and higher. 

This will be a major motive for 

both fair organization and for 

companies. We are happy more 

this year, because the profile of 

visitors is expanding to cover 

new segments. Thank you all 

for everything. 

Mitsan 

Mustafa Cetinbulut 

Board Member 

We have had some reservations 

due to the recent events. 

There may be fewer visitors. 

But, fortunately, we experienced 

the opposite. There were 

fewer numbers from domestic 

market but more visitors especially 

from foreign countries. It 

seems that there is a need for 

more promotional activity to 

attract national visitors. Hope 

that next year they will be 

more. It was good to meet with 

new names in the industry. 

We expect more business with 

them. I thank you all who serve 

in the event. 

Nova Foam and Spring 

Mustafa Taka 

Board Chairman 

We participate in Sleepwell 

Expo for the second time. This 

edition was also highly efficient 

and effective for us. We met 

with new customers from 35 

countries. We established fruitful 

contacts. We have experienced 

a fair full of hopes. There 

were more new participants in 

the fair area. We are also happy 

that almost all our customers 

and the people to whom we 

sent invitations to the fair accepted 

and were present in the 

fair. We talked with them about 

our present business plans. We 

are hopeful for the success of 

the fair. We thank you all for 

everything.

97 

Ozka Machinery 

Esra Ozkan 

Assistant General Manager 

We have been making machines 

for the sleep industry including 

the ones for pillow and filling, 

machines for silicon openers, 

and silicon beads and bag filling 

machinery, since 2003. Besides 

these, I own a private workshop 

where we do works on 

pillows. This is our second time 

in this fair. This year was better 

then the first experience and 

we satisfied more. There are 

lots of sales and orders during 

fair. There were great interest 

from foreign customers coming 

from Arab countries, including 

Egypt, Palestine and Morocco. I 

thank you for all. 

Sefox 

Ramazan Celik 

Owner 

We wish all the best for our fair 

and for our country. Developments 

are good and fast. We 

are honored to be here. There 

is enough participation from 

abroad. It is a good opportunity 

for the expansion of the market. 

The mattress market is still 

growing and demand for high 

quality mattresses is rising. Our 

country is located in a strategic 

spot in the world and has major 

share in the international market. 

Focusing on a specific field 

is one of the major advantages 

of the fair. Also, participants in 

the fair have professional approach 

to mattress business. 

Our partners and others in the 

industry visit to other fairs and 

they express their problems finding 

a suitable position for their 

products in general purpose 

fairs. In short, Sleepwell Expo 

will be highly beneficial for the 

mattress industry. 

Pakipek Group 

Ugur Bukumcu 

Board Member 

We participated in the fair jointly 

with Pakipek Textile as 

Rahat Yaslan brand, as one of 

the oldest firms in Bursa. We 

started recently to sell pillows 

in our two stores in Bursa and 

online channel. We try to expand 

our brand. The fair was 

successful for us. We met with 

new buyers. We like the profile 

of buyers and visitors. We plan 

to be here next year. We hope 

that other companies are also 

satisfied. We thank for all the 

things you done. 

Tugsan 

Fatih Genc 

Board Member 

Tugsan Materials Company is a 

family business established in 

1992 to produce fabrics, hardware 

tools and materials for 

the furniture industry. This is 

our first participation in Sleepwell 

Expo. There are high 

numbers of visitors from both 

domestic and especially from 

foreign markets. It means higher 

contribution to the national 

economy. We are also happy to 

be a part of these contributions. 

We will participate regularly in 

this fair in coming years. It is an 

effective and efficient fair. All 

players in the sector are convened 

in this event. We thank you 

and wish for the continuity of 

your efforts.

98 

Ames Europe targets to 

develop human resources 

with ‘Akademi’ 

Producing special protective textiles 

for the mattress industry in 

addition to semi-finished products 

Ames Europe has been offering 

services to various sectors through 

its ministry certified R&D center. 

Stating that their main objective is 

to develop commercialized innovative 

products for projects, Mehmet 

Ünlütürk of Ames Europe stressed 

that their first priority was quality 

in their production processes. His 

remarks about their success story 

are given below as part of an 

exclusive interview he granted to 

Sleep Tech magazine. 

Could you inform us about the 

establishment, development 

and corporate structure of your 

company? 

Ames Europe’s history dates back 

to 1865 and was established in 

the U.S.A. The company was taken 

the decision to manage their 

European operations from Netherlands 

and opens the facility first 

in Netherlands and then France 

in 1963. In 2006, it was acquired 

Realizing 

special 

production 

technical 

textiles by 

different sewing 

and lamination 

techniques Ames 

Europe targets 30% 

growth in 2017. 

by Dutch businessman, our current 

partner Marc Derooij. Ames Europe 

then becomes partners with Sun 

Group and starts manufacturing 

spacer fabrics initially in Aegean 

Free Trade Zone in 2012. It is also 

the first time to have development 

activities in different business 

segments additional to automotive 

with the contribution of group’ 

s R&D Center. In 2014, Ames 

Europe shuts down the circular 

knitting factory in Netherlands and 

moves entire operations to Turkey. 

The company is developing products 

knitted with both circular and 

warp knitting techniques and has 

the ability to combine these with 

stitching and lamination methods 

in order to create engineered fabrics 

so called technical textiles. 

Can you detail us your product 

portfolio? Which sectors have you 

been operating? 

We manufacture various substrates, 

circular knitted fabrics for 

lamination and coating operations 

for automotive and protective 

clothing business, warp knitted 

spacer fabrics for again automotive, 

protective and mattress 

business. Additional to semi-finalized 

products we also manufacture 

finished products such as mattress

99 

toppers, seat covers and bed 

sheets for mattress industry. 

Can you inform us about your 

R&D studies? What are your main 

principles at production process? 

We are running R&D projects in 

different areas within our company 

with the cooperation of group 

or other companies in coordination 

of Ministry approved Group 

R&D Center. Our company is leading 

the projects in the selected 

areas like automotive, medical 

and protective clothing which are 

defined as key business areas of 

the Group. R&D projects are managed 

through Stage-Gate system 

and fully open for the access of 

the group employees. The main 

objective of the R&D projects is 

the developing of innovative and 

commercial products while quality 

is the representing the key target 

in our production processes. 

Do you have any quality certificate, 

quality management system 

applied on your production? What 

makes you different from your 

competitors? 

Our company are driving all 

processes under the umbrella of 

so called Integrated Management 

System including ISO 9001 

Quality Management System, 

ISO 14001 Environmental Management 

System, OHSAS 18001 

Occupational Health and Safety 

System and ISO 50001 Energy 

Management System certifications 

as the other group member companies 

do. All products that are 

being produced have the certification 

of Okotex Class 1 as well. 

We are trying to differentiate our 

current position as being quality 

producer and being solution partner 

against our competitors. 

Can you talk about your foreign 

trade? Which countries do you do 

business with? 

We are mainly working with the 

companies based in The Netherlands, 

Germany, Belgium and The 

UK. We are also supplying warp 

spacer knitted fabrics to China. 

What do you expect for your sector 

in 2017? 

We believe that 2017 will be a 

great year for us as we are expecting 

to grow 30% with the same 

portfolio of customers. We are 

also expecting new partnerships in 

selected areas in terms of combining 

different manufacturing capability 

in order to design unique 

engineered textile solutions. 

Would you like to add any 

comments? 

We are aware of the dynamic and 

global looking human resources, 

not for our company for our country 

as well. We are aiming to benefit 

from the new internal education 

system called Akademi which 

designed in order to supply this 

mentioned human resources within 

group companies.

100 

MAKSDER 

focuses 

on R&D 

studies 

Summoning firms in the 

furniture and accessories 

industry Maksder reshapes 

the furniture industry with 

impressive activities 

We visited Tekin Cinar, board 

chairman of Maksder, furniture and 

accessories industrialists association, 

who informed us about 

activities of the association in 

fairs and in the field of research 

and development. 

May we listen about your 

principles and concept you have 

been following from the foundation 

of Maksder? 

Aim of the Maksder is to unite 

all the firms active in accessories 

industry in Turkey. It should have 

a certain identity as a profession. 

After successive meetings 

with partners starting in 2007 to 

2008 we decided to register our 

association and since then we 

have been active towards our 

objectives. 

What kind of activities you started 

in the field of furniture accessories 

and industry up to date? 

Our major aim was to arrange 

fairs. Upon our demands and initiatives 

the largest fair in its field 

in Turkey Intermob became a settled 

organization. Our members 

express their satisfactions about 

results. Visitor profile was upgraded 

and become more professional. 

Small fair could not find enough 

participants for their events. 

Secondly, we try to determine the 

needs and wants of our members 

from governmental offices. We 

got more positive responses from 

them when we visit them as an 

organization than our individual 

demands. Our members support 

our activities. 

What are the conditions for 

membership? How are your 

criteria? 

They have to employ 25 people at 

minimum. They have to emphasize 

on original designs, not on imitations. 

They should have a good 

reputation in the market, observing 

legality and rules, emphasiz-

101 

ing on research and development, 

open to export markets. We have 

fifty members, all are known in the 

accessories business in Turkey. 

What is important while designing 

products? Do you have any 

incentives for better products? 

This is also a problem for the 

industry in general, not only of 

our members. There is certain 

amount of imitated designs and 

products in the market. We try to 

explain them about the hazards 

of infringements. Authorities 

should take some steps. However, 

our members began to realize 

Tekin Çınar, 

Bboard Chairman of MAKSDER 

the problems when they do not 

observe intellectual and economic 

rights of others. This reduces our 

added value and profit opportunities. 

We have been organizing design 

contests for about eight years, 

though we postponed them in 

last two years due to the lack of 

contestants. Some universities, 

especially Mimar Sinan University, 

support us in this award. We 

changed the requirements for applying, 

now everybody may apply 

for the accolade. 

What is your opinion about sectoral 

fairs? 

Fairs are the first choice for our 

members to find new customers. 

Valuable contributions of Intermob 

are out of question. We have 

been participating other fairs 

such as Interzum, Germany, Expo 

Sicam Italy and others. Though 

we do not get satisfactory results 

from other fairs. One of our aim 

is to organize a fair of our own, if 

we can find enough support of et 

least fifty companies.

102 

Are there any legal problems in the 

sector? 

Yes, there are serious problems, 

especially about patents and 

designs. The regulations are 

satisfactory, however, they are 

not practically applied. Sometimes 

people could not protect their 

rights and get their shares. 

What activities are your members 

and you engaged in Asian markets? 

I can say that almost all of our 

members are far from Asian 

market, because competition with 

Chinese is hard. I also think that 

we do not need Asian markets. 

We motivate our member to enter 

in other markets in America, South 

America, the Balkans and in Russia. 

Further markets may only be 

thought during times of crises. 

What do you especially have to say 

in? 

Turkey is a good place for production. 

It is one of the few countries 

having production facilities in 

Europe. We have a high potential 

and power for production. Political 

problems and crises aside, Turkey 

and our industry have a bright 

future have more to do.

104 

ITMA 2019 to focus on 

innovation in Barcelona 

ITMA, the world’s largest textile 

and garment technology showcase 

will continue its focus on innovation 

for its upcoming edition 

in Barcelona in June 2019, with 

the main theme of the show being 

‘Innovating the World of Textiles’. 

Mr Fritz P. Mayer, president of 

CEMATEX, the European Committee 

of Textile Machinery 

Manufacturers, which owns the 

ITMA exhibition, explained: “The 

increasingly high level of automation 

and digitization in combination 

with real time data tracking 

and interconnection has spawned 

the 4th industrial revolution and 

the emergence of smart factories. 

ITMA is a unique showcase of live 

machinery demonstrations and 

innovative solutions that boost 

productivity and profitability. 

“For this latest edition of ITMA, we 

have chosen to focus the indus-

ITMA 2019 

is expected to 

feature over 1,500 

exhibitors from 45 

countries spread 

over 100,000 square 

meters of net 

exhibition space. It 

will be held from 20 

to 26 June at Fira 

de Barcelona, Gran 

Via venue. 

try’s attention on innovation which 

generates a competitive advantage 

for manufacturers. Sustainable 

innovation that drives growth 

for the textile and garment industry 

will continue to be emphasized 

at the exhibition.” 

As many leading textile machinery 

and raw material manufacturers, 

and service providers look forward 

to the exhibition to launch 

or promote their latest innovations, 

the organizer of ITMA 2019, 

ITMA Services, has already been 

receiving numerous enquiries for 

participation. 

Mr A.E. Roberts, Chairman of ITMA 

Services, said: “ITMA was last held 

in Barcelona in 2011. We expect 

strong response when the exhibition 

returns to the city after eight 

years. A host of exciting highlights 

and knowledge-sharing activities 

have been planned which give 

added value to exhibitors and 

visitors alike.” 

The last ITMA exhibition, held in 

Milan in 2015, featured exhibits 

from the entire textile and garment 

making value-chain spread over 

108,268 square meters of net exhibition 

space. It drew the participation 

of 1691 exhibitors from 46 

countries and visitorship of almost 

123,000 from 147 countries. 

105 

Turkey is among 

the most leading 

international 

exhibitors at ITMA.

106 

Dust mite allergy - 

biofunctional fabrics without 

permethrin 

New treatment 

proves effective 

against the dust 

demons 

Permethrin is a widely used substance 

for treating textiles against 

mites. However, the neurotoxin 

may also cause undesirable 

side effects, e.g. headaches or 

deafness, in humans. The William-Küster-Institute 

for Hygiene, 

Environment and Medicine at the 

Hohenstein Institute has now 

tested a new product made by 

Proneem France, which contains 

alternative active ingredients but 

proved highly effective against 

mites. 

These little arachnids prefer to live 

in duvets and mattresses, upholstered 

furniture and carpets where 

they find ideal hygrothermal 

conditions. Using treated bedding 

can reduce the rate of reproduction 

of the mites and so decrease 

the allergen load. 

Normally, these finishing treatments 

contain the acaricide permethrin. 

As a toxin that can be ingested 

or absorbed, it is effective 

against numerous insects, including 

mites. Permethrin is a neurotoxic 

chemical, which, in insects, 

causes agitation and cramps, then 

coordination disorders and finally 

paralysis. Permethrin is poorly 

absorbed by healthy skin, but 

Mites of different sizes on a textile. © Hohestein Gruppe 

Scanning electron microscope photo of a mite. © Hohestein 

Gruppe

107 

nevertheless attempts are being 

made to find alternative finishing 

agents. Now Proneem France has 

shown that this is entirely possible. 

In a test in accordance with 

NF G39-011, their “Proneem” finish 

was able to inhibit the growth 

of a mite population by over 90% 

and was therefore awarded the 

Hohenstein quality label “Effective 

against Dust Mites”. 

This shows that the Hohenstein 

test for effectiveness against dust 

mites in accordance with standard 

NF G39-011 is also suitable 

for alternative, permethrin-free 

finishing treatments and offers 

textile manufacturers a way of 

developing optimised bedding 

and home textiles that will reduce 

the symptoms of house dust allergy-sufferers. 

Background 

Between 4 and 5 million Germans 

suffer from a house dust mite allergy. 

However,this is not caused by 

the mites, but by their faeces. The 

little arachnids prefer to livein 

duvets and mattresses, upholstered 

furniture and carpets. The 

conditions thereare perfect for 

them: an average temperature of 

25 °C, humidity of up to 70% and 

the human skin flakes on which 

the small creatures feed. The 

faeces disintegrate into very small 

particles, and when stirred up, 

these particles enter the mucous 

membranes through the respiratory 

tract, causing allergic reactions 

with the typical symptoms, including 

a runny nose, watery or itchy 

eyes, and in severe cases even 

asthma and breathlessness. 

Restful sleep is important for health and well-being. Bedding with a finishing treatment helps to 

relieve allergy symptoms and contribute to restful sleep. © OEKO-TEX®

108 

Breakthrough 

solution for items 

filled with feathers 

Pillows and duvets made of 

feathers and down are extremely 

comfortable and provide a feeling 

of top of the range bedding. But 

this sensation of well-being can 

quickly be spoilt by escaping 

down and dust, not to mention 

the discomfort generated by the 

feathers with their sharp tips poking 

through the fabric. Super-microfilament 

textiles - the latest in 

the Evolon® product range - are 

the new technical and eco-friendly 

solution for pillows, duvets, 

sleeping bags and other quilted 

products filled with feathers and 

down. 

Thanks to its structure of closely 

entangled super-microfilaments 

which are up to 200 times thinner 

than a human hair, weighing less 

than 130gsm, the new Evolon 

variant is a high density cover 

fabric which prevents any loss of 

filling from even the finest layer 

of down. The textile also makes 

it possible to mask dark feathers 

or those that are a little too thick 

and prickly. 

Moisture management and 

allergen particle filtration 

For even greater comfort, Evolon 

super-microfilament fabric 

is breathable, light, soft and 

drapable. The moisture generated 

by perspiration during sleep is 

quickly evacuated. The moisture 

management properties and 

downproof performance have 

both been validated by Germany-based 

Hohenstein Textile 

Testing Institute. 

Pillow filled with down and feathers contained 

by Evolon® super-microfilament fabric 

Evolon is well-known for being a 

natural physical barrier against 

dust mite allergens. As a result, 

Evolon also filters residual dust 

from feathers and down which 

could escape from the pillow or 

duvet. Bedding hygiene is considerably 

improved. 

The filtration quality of Evolon is 

strengthened with each washing. 

Unlike traditional textile covers 

with weave that can loosen and 

allow the down to escape, repeated 

washing causes the multidirectional, 

microfilament structure to 

tighten up, thereby reinforcing the 

barrier effect provided by Evolon. 

About 400 times less water 

consumed 

Producing Evolon does not require 

the use of any solvents and minimizes 

water consumption quite 

spectacularly when compared to 

cotton-based textiles commonly 

used to make pillows and duvets 

containing feathers and down. 

Within this context, it is estimated 

that the Evolon production 

consumes about 400 times less 

water, depending on the type of 

competing product. 

Evolon is manufactured in Europe 

in accordance with ISO 9001, ISO 

14001 for respecting the environment, 

ISO 50001 for its continuous 

programme of reduction in energy 

consumption and OHSAS 18001 

for employee health and safety. 

Pillow and duvet manufacturers 

will appreciate the ease of working 

with Evolon, with its edges 

that do not fray, therefore doing 

away with the need for a hem. 

Evolon can be dyed, printed and 

sewn just like any other textile.

109 

Cotton USA 

offering sourcing 

support at Texworld 

COTTON USA promoted U.S. cotton 

and offered sourcing support to 

the fashion industry supply chain 

at its exhibit at Texworld in Paris 

from February 6-9, 2016. COTTON 

USA provided visitors with comprehensive 

background information 

on responsibly-produced U.S. 

cotton, global cotton market developments, 

the findings of current 

market and consumer studies, and 

its ongoing Licensing, Marketing 

and Sourcing Programs. 

COTTON USA provides proactive 

support through its Sourcing Program 

with respect to procurement 

issues, which includes organized 

sourcing trips to important 

regions. Visitors also discovered 

the COTTON USA Marketing and 

Licensing Program at the exhibit 

and learned about COTTON USA’s 

collaboration with leading brands 

and retailers around the world. 

Cotton is a natural and renewable 

fiber, and U.S. cotton producers 

are leading the way in responsible 

cotton production practices. 

U.S. cotton has a track record of 

continuous improvement with respect 

to water and crop protection 

product use, and habitat and soil 

preservation. The U.S. system’s 

transparency allows for constant 

monitoring and improvement. The 

roughly 18,000 U.S. cotton growers 

comply with stringent U.S. government 

regulatory requirements 

and are committed to the principle 

of continuous improvement. 

At the COTTON USA exhibit, the 

textile trade also was able to 

gather information on how the 

Cotton LEADS program, initiated 

by Australia and the United 

States, offers manufacturers, 

brands and retailers a reliable cotton 

supply chain solution and confidence 

that the raw material used 

from these countries is responsibly 

produced and identified. 

COTTON USA is a premium 

trademark ingredient brand that 

identifies products made from U.S. 

cotton through all stages of processing 

and marketing. COTTON 

USA has strong consumer awareness 

and preference for COTTON 

USA, with more than 51,000 

products.

110 

CIFM / 

interzum 

guangzhou 

opens 

Asia’s largest and most influential 

furniture production and woodworking 

trade fair, CIFM / interzum 

guangzhou 2017 will be held 

from March 28 to 31, 2017, at the 

Pazhou Complex in Guangzhou, 

China. 

Spanning 17 halls to cover an 

area of 150,000 square meters, 

over 1,200 exhibiting companies 

gathered at this flagship event of 

the industry; expected to attract 

over 70,000 visitors at the event. 

CIFM / interzum guangzhou presents 

buyers from Asia and other 

regions with the latest products 

and technologies of woodworking 

machinery, furniture production 

and interior decor. 

The much-anticipated CIFM / interzum 

guangzhou will be held from 

March 28-31 at the China Import 

and Export Fair Complex (Pazhou 

Complex). As Asia’s largest and 

most comprehensive woodworking 

machinery, furniture manufacturing 

and interior decoration trade 

fair, interzum guangzhou will see 

the addition of a new hall this 

year, boosting the total area to 

150,000 square meters – the 

largest in its history. More than 

1,300 exhibitors from 38 countries 

and regions will compete for the 

attention of some 70,000 visitors 

who are expected to walk through 

its doors. 

Strong national pavilion, international 

presence

111 

Asia’s most comprehensive 

woodworking machinery, furniture 

production and interior décor trade 

fair CIFM / interzum guangzhou 2017 

will once again be held in conjunction 

with the China International Furniture 

Fair (CIFF) from 28 - 31 March. 

Widely regarded as an event 

not-to-be-missed by the industry, 

interzum guangzhou has 

been attracting a strong lineup 

of international group participation. 

Nine national pavilions from 

Germany, Turkey, Korea, Chile, the 

United States / Canada as well 

as industry-driven contingents led 

by the Malaysian Timber Council, 

American Hardwood Export Council, 

Canada Wood and Swedish Wood 

will feature their latest wares. 

Joining them are 330 other international 

exhibitors hailing from 

Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, 

Finland, France, Germany, India, 

Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Poland, 

Portugal, Russia, Singapore, 

South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, 

the United Arab Emirates, the 

United Kingdom, Uruguay and the 

United States, among others. 

Some of the industry heavyweights 

slated to appear include 

IMA (Germany), SCM (Italy), Leuco 

(Germany), Vollmer (Germany), 

Homag, Biesse (Italy), Duerkopp 

(Germany), Mammut (Germany), 

OKIN Refined (Germany), Repon 

(Taiwan), Titus (UK), FGV (Italy), 

American Softwoods, Kleiberit

112 

(Germany), Bostik (France), Jowat 

(Germany), Bekaert Deslee (Belgium), 

Boyteks Tekstil (Turkey), 

Kastamonu (Turkey), Rehau (Germany), 

Schattdecor (Germany). 

Regional market trends and 

innovations 

Besides being the platform of 

choice for procurement, interzum 

guangzhou is also the hotbed for 

industry product launches and announcements 

every year. In addition, 

concurrent seminars revolving 

around design, technology and 

materials at this edition also seek 

to engage and inform participants 

about emerging trends. 

Some of the activities include: 

• Global Color Trends Conference 

2016/2017 – by Renolit 

Group The group’s chief 

designer and director of the 

United State’s Color Marketing 

Group, Monika Fecht, will 

shed light on the up-and-coming 

colors of the year, providing 

crucial design elements 

and basis for furniture makers. 

• Swedish Wood - A Versatile, 

Modern Material – by Swedish 

Wood Expect a convergence 

of industry experts, 

designers and architects to 

discuss topics on the application 

and sustainable development 

of wood in architectural 

design alongside a display of 

outstanding wooden structure 

case studies 

• The International Situation 

and Future Development of 

Top Grade Melamine Material 

– by Kingdecor 

• “Close To You” Bekaert Deslee 

Promotion 

• No Screw Mounting Adjustable 

Table Product Introduction 

• “Not All Edge Bandings Are 

the Same” Tece Dekor Product 

Introduction

113 

Secrets behind furniture production 

A special display entitled “Unveiling 

– The Mysteries of Furniture 

Production” showcasing the various 

aspects of furniture production 

and exploring the drivers behind 

the development of the industry 

is poised to be one of the key 

highlights at the event. Products 

and technologies covered include 

furniture raw materials, accessories, 

hardware and upholstery for 

furniture manufacturing. Visitors 

can experience the products at the 

interactive area and gain a deeper 

understanding of the charm 

of the furniture industry, such as 

experience the technical principles 

behind heating sofas, new 

jacquard weaving techniques for 

mattress upholstery, and winning 

works from the Swedish wood 

design contest. 

Networking Happy Hour 

A two-hour interzum guangzhou 

Networking Happy Hour on the 

third day of the exhibition (March

114 

30) will also take place where 

fellow like-minded peers can share 

their experience and explore the 

development of the furniture industry 

over delicious snacks, great 

wine and relaxing music. 

PIAZZA lounge debuts at 

Machinery hall (Hall 12.1) 

Exhibitors and visitors alike at 

Hall 12.1 will be treated with 

complimentary Italian coffee, tea, 

fruit juice, red wine, champagne 

and desserts at the PIAZZA mini 

lounge this year, as an extension 

of the well-received PIAZZA lounge 

at Hall 14.1. 

A piece of interzum guangzhou 

Efforts by the organizers to ensure 

an informative, comfortable and 

memorable experience does not 

stop there as visitors will get to 

bring home an exclusive interzum 

guangzhou souvenir sponsored by 

Guangdong Tianan New Material 

Co., Ltd., after collecting one 

stamp each from any of the two 

international halls. 

The definitive one-stop platform 

for all vertical sectors 

As Asia’s leading event in the 

woodworking machinery, furniture 

production and interior design 

industry, CIFM / interzum guangzhou 

was first introduced into the 

China market in 2004. The event 

originated from interzum by Koelnmesse 

GmbH, one of the largest 

trade fair companies in the world 

with 90 years of professional 

experience. 

CIFM / interzum guangzhou 2016 

have won nods and warm welcome 

from exhibitors with its 

numerous and very high quality 

visitors. CIFM / interzum guangzhou 

2016 is poised to be held over 

four days starting from 2016.

116 

Thindown, 

the future 

of comfort 

in bedding 

Thindown is the 

world’s first down 

fabric. Made in 

Italy. It is used in a 

broad area ranging 

from mattresses 

up to clothing and 

accessories.

117

118 

Imagine a down blanket surrounded 

in seamless warmth! 

Down is the world’s greatest 

insulation. Thindown magnifies 

all the natural advantages of 

down and simplifies its use. Real 

down is now available in rolls of 

easy to use, cuttable fabric. So, 

you can just cut by scissors, ultrasound, 

rotary or vertical knives 

and on a vacuum table and sew 

Thindown with any standard 

machine type including overlock. 

Sew it to shell or lining before 

joining. Thindown innovative 

technology allows for seamless 

and/or quilted designs.

119 

Thindown is a proprietary blend 

of down and fibers, 85% pure 

down, 13% polyester and 2% 

other fibers. The down supply is 

Downpass, RDS and Oeko-Tex 

certified, meeting US, EU and 

Japanese standards. To protect 

from torqueing during manufacturing, 

a 100% polyester scrim 

is applied to both sides of the 

Thindown. 

Thindown is superior traceable 

and socially responsible down 

certified by Downpass & RDS. 

The goose down quality is extra 

white, 93% down cluster or 90% 

down cluster while extra white 

duck down is 90% cluster. 

The fabric comes at 150 cm wide 

in weights 30, 45, 60, 80, 120 

gr/m2. The rolls are 20 m - 50 m. 

Minimum order quantity is one 

roll, 50m of 30g and 45g – 25m 

of 60g and 80g, 20 m of 120g. 

It has the maximum warmth 

available confirmed by CLO 

Rating. It is up to 400% warmer 

than branded polyfill, up to 

200% warmer than traditional 

down. Thindown is the warmest 

when compared with others. 

Multiple products now deliver 

Thindown beyond outerwear. 

Patented proprietary technology 

renders down channels optional. 

It offers less bulk and even distribution 

but maximum warmth. 

Thindown is a live material best 

stored where it can breathe humidity 

to gain loft and stability. 

It should be stored horizontally, 

maximum two rolls per shelf.

120 

“Invest in a good pillow 

and mattress” 

“Think ergonomically” 

Experts say that we don’t often think 

about our spines when we’re lying in bed. 

They emphasize that our sleep posture 

can determine our spine wellness – and 

whether or not we experience back pain. 

“American Academy of Spine Physicians” 

listed “30 Tips For Better Spine Health” 

Some of them are as follows: 

Invest in a good pillow and mattress: 

The average individual spends approximately 

one third of life sleeping, therefore; 

proper support of the spine and head 

during this period will strongly influence 

spine health. A good pillow and mattress 

will also facilitate more restorative sleep.

121 

In some instances an individual may 

benefit by the use of more the one 

pillow. There are different types of 

pillows. When you sleep you do not 

have conscious control over your body 

position. 

A good mattress will support the 

spine no matter how many times one 

moves during the night. 

Good sleep support: 

Sleeping on a supportive mattress. 

Do not sleep on your stomach. If you 

sleep on your side, place a pillow between 

your knees to reduce rotation 

of the low back. If you sleep on your 

side, try to keep your legs bent at 

the knees and at the hips, a position 

which reduces the stress on the low 

back. 

Invest in good chairs: 

Individuals spend the majority of 

their lives in a sitting position. Chairs 

greatly influence sitting posture. Poor 

chairs contribute to chronic spine 

problems; well- designed chairs promote 

spine health. 

Think ergonomically: 

Seek the optimum work environment. 

This requires an adjustable workstation 

to properly support the extremities 

and the spine. An efficient work 

environment will include proper phone 

equipment, an adjustable chair, an 

efficient keyboard and adjustable 

monitor. The work surface should 

have adjustable height. It will also 

require proper lighting. A footrest will 

contribute to reduced stress on the 

spine. Assume a relaxed yet supported 

posture. 

Use products that promote good 

posture and spine health: 

Utilize products which support the 

spine from the ground up. Use support-enhancing 

products that can be 

added to poorly designed furniture 

and seating. 

For furher information please visit: 

http://www.spinephysicians.org/

122 

Mattress Industry 

Terms 

Source: ISPA, International 

Sleep Products Association 

Adjustable base: An electro-mechanical 

or manual bed frame construction 

that permits the raising 

and lowering of the head and/or 

foot portions of the mattress. 

Airbed: An air mattress with a core 

that is an air-filled vinyl bladder. 

Better airbeds are multichambered, 

covered with cushioning, upholstered 

with ticking and sold with a 

foundation. 

Anti-microbial fiber and foam: 

Treatment that inhibits the growth 

of microbial contaminates. 

Backing: Any fabric or sheeting material 

that is used during quilting to 

anchor the stitches. 

Batting: See Cotton Felt. 

Bedding: Commonly used as a 

generic term for a mattress and 

foundation set, but may also apply 

to accessory items such as blankets, 

sheets, pillows, comforters, 

mattress pads, etc. 

Bedding ensemble: A complete 

sleep support system, consisting of 

a metal frame or a bed, a foundation 

and a mattress set. 

Bed frame: A metal or wood 

frame with legs used to support a 

mattress and foundation. Conventional 

height is 7-1/4 inches and 

the low-profile version is 5-3/4 

inches when measured from the 

floor to the bottom of the foundation. 

Generally a headboard 

can be attached. Metal frames 

are sometimes known as a “Hollywood” 

frame. 

Bedsprings: Open-spring or wire 

fabric box springs without uphol-

123 

stery materials or cover. 

Binding tape: Fabric tape used 

to bind and close the mattress or 

foundation where the vertical and 

horizontal panels of outer ticking 

come together, providing the edge 

trimming for the mattress or foundation. 

See Tape and Tape Edge. 

Body impressions: Indentations occurring 

on the surface of a mattress 

over time, due to the compression 

of materials by the human body. 

Bonnell: A knotted, round-top, 

hourglass-shaped steel wire coil. 

When laced together with crosswire 

helicals, these coils form the 

simplest innerspring unit, also 

referred to as a Bonnell. 

Border: The vertical side or edge 

of a mattress or foundation. Prebuilt 

borders are constructed by 

stitching together the ticking, foam 

or other filling materials and a 

backing material. Commonly quilted 

or vertical-stitched. 

Border rod: A heavy gauge wire 

rod attached to the perimeter of 

the innerspring unit (top and bottom) 

by means of a helical wire or 

metal clips. 

Boric acid: A chemical additive 

applied during the garnetting of 

cotton and/or other fibers to provide 

cigarette ignition resistance 

characteristics. 

Box spring: Also referred to as 

a “foundation.” A base for an 

innerspring mattress, consisting 

of coils or other forms of springs 

mounted on a wood or metal frame 

and secured with a wire-interlaced 

or welded-wire grid, topped with 

upholstery and insulating materials 

(felt, urethane or other resilient 

materials), and covered on the 

top and sides with ticking and on 

the bottom with a dust cover. It 

is an important part of a bed set 

since it serves as a shock absorber, 

distributes weight, and supports 

and interacts with the innerspring 

mattress to properly support the 

body. 

Box-top mattress: A mattress 

featuring a raised surface finishing 

treatment where a separate, sided 

and rectangular encasement of 

soft materials–usually with a tape 

edge–is attached via a welt to the 

entire surface on top of existing 

cover and upholstery. 

Bunk bed: A two-tiered wood or 

metal frame designed to accommodate 

two mattresses, typically 

twin-size, one above the other. 

Some models allow the upper and 

lower units to be detached and 

used as separate beds. 

Bunkie: A mattress, usually twinsize, 

and platform base used on 

bunk beds. 

Cal 117: Refers to California Technical 

Bulletin 117, which specifies a 

vertical flame testing procedure for 

bedding and furniture component 

materials. Foam referred to as “Cal 

117 foam” has passed this test. 

Carbon: The principal hardening 

element in steel. The higher the 

carbon content, the harder the metal 

and the more temper it will take, 

thus giving longer “memory.” 

Cellulose acetate pad: Woody fiber 

compacted into a pad and used 

as an insulator. May be glued or

124 

sandwiched between plastic netting 

to help hold it together. 

Coil count: The number of coils in 

an innerspring unit. Though the 

count can effect weight distribution, 

it is not the determining factor 

for firmness. The count is usually 

based on the number of coils in a 

full-size unit. 

Coils: The individual wire springs 

that form an innerspring unit. See 

Hourglass, Continuous and Offset 

Coils. 

Coir pad: An insulator pad made 

from coconut husk fiber, garnetted, 

needled, bonded and pre-cut to 

size. 

Comfort system: Refers to the 

upholstery layers of the mattress, 

generally consisting of a combination 

of materials (cover, cushioning, 

topper pad, insulators, etc.). 

Conjugate polyester fiber: Spirally 

crimped fiber that is crimped chemically 

rather than thermally. Is very 

durable and resilient. 

Continuous coils: An innerspring 

configuration in which the rows of 

coils are formed from a single piece 

of wire. 

Conventional bedding products: 

Mattresses and foundations in the 

conventional adult sizes of twin, 

twin extra long, full, full extra long, 

queen and king. 

Convertible sofa: A sofa with a 

bed folded beneath the seating 

surface, generally consisting of a 

mattress resting on a metal mechanism. 

Also called “sleep sofa” or 

“sofa sleeper.” 

Convoluted foam: Better known as 

“egg-crate” foam that is specially 

cut to produce hills and valleys, 

giving gentle softness and more 

surface comfort. Foam surface 

treatment is available in multiple 

patterns. 

Cornell test: Devised by Cornell 

University School of Hotel/Motel 

Administration. Designed to test 

cosmetic performance of bedding 

sets, such as body impression or 

support firmness. Two round surfaces 

are pounded into the finished 

product 100,000 times and checked 

periodically for failure or changes. 

Corner guards: Molded plastic or 

metal, (sometimes upholstered) fittings 

secured to foundation corners 

to prevent material damage from 

the bed frame. 

Cotton felt: Produced by a garnett 

machine which combs cotton and 

other fiber binders into a continuous 

web or layer. Several such 

layers combined are called cotton 

“batt”. For compressed cotton felt, 

thick layers of garnetted cotton 

fiber are mechanically compressed 

to reduce body impressions. 

Cotton linters: The short fibers 

adhering to the seed after the long 

staple fiber has been removed in 

the ginning process. Used in making 

cotton felt. 

Cotton pickers: “Fall out” from ginning 

or garnetting. These shorter 

staple cotton fibers are blended 

with linters to produce cotton felt. 

Crown: A convex surface on a mattress. 

Mattresses with a half-inch 

crown are a half-inch thicker at the 

center than at the edges. 

Cushioning: Materials that lie 

above the insulator and below the 

fabric covering in an innerspring 

mattress. These materials are typically 

combinations of polyurethane 

foam, cotton felt, and/or mademade 

fibers. 

Damask: Woven ticking produced 

on a loom that has yarns running 

at 90-degree angles to each other, 

the warp and the weft. The damask 

design is woven into the fabric 

rather than printed on the surface. 

Density: A measure of weight per 

cubic volume, usually expressed 

in pounds per cubic foot. Often 

referred to when discussing foam. 

Double tempering: Heating of wire 

components, usually in an oven, after 

they have been given shape or 

form and have been electronically 

stress-relieved. Refers to tempering 

coils as well as border rods and 

helicals in a complete spring unit. 

Dual-purpose: A broad term used 

to include all sleep pieces, which 

can be converted to other uses, 

including: convertible sofas, 

high-risers, daybeds, futons, etc. 

See Convertible Sofa. 

Dust cover: A woven or non-woven 

fabric attached to the underside of 

a foundation to prevent the collection 

of dust inside. May also be 

known as “sheeting” or “cambric.” 

Edge guard: Generally an extra 

component added to the edge of a 

mattress and/or box spring to give 

support on the sides. 

Engineered edge support: A special 

design where the coils on the 

outer edge of an innerspring unit 

are actually positioned under the 

border rod. Most units have the 

coils recessed from the edge, which 

can contribute to a “roll out of bed” 

feeling. 

Euro-top mattress: A mattress featuring 

a raised, squared-off surface 

finishing treatment filled with soft 

comfort layers and attached to the 

mattress upholstery at the tapeedge. 

Fabric cover: Cloth or textile material 

woven, knitted or felted of 

any fiber or mixture of fibers. Often 

referred to as “ticking” or mattress 

fabric.

125 

Fales pad: Compressed cotton felt 

that is stitched together to better 

retain compression. 

Fiber pad: Usually refers to manmade 

or natural fibers (wool, silk, 

etc.) that are garnetted, needled, 

carded and/or bonded together. 

Often used in quilting panels for 

mattress tops. 

Filler cloth: Refers to a plain fabric 

used on the top of a foundation 

instead of ticking. Commonly offers 

non-skid characteristics. 

Flanging: The process whereby a 

strip of fabric is sewn to the edge 

of the mattress cover and, in the 

assembly process, secured to the 

perimeter of the innerspring unit to 

prevent the cover and filling materials 

from shifting. 

Foam foundation: Consists of a 

built-up wood slat frame covered 

with a sheet of cardboard or similar 

material, topped with at least 2” of 

foam and covered with ticking. 

Foundation: Any base or support 

for a mattress, sometimes used as 

a generic term for box spring. A 

foundation may be made entirely 

of wood or a combination of wood 

and steel or steel springs. See Box 

Spring and Foam Foundation. 

Futon: A Japanese-style mattress 

construction, consisting of a cover 

and filling material, which is typically 

cotton but can be innerspring 

and/or foam. 

Garnetting: A mechanical process 

whereby short cotton fibers and/ 

or other fibers are combed into a 

specific orientation and formed into 

a thin web, which are then layered 

to create a batting used as an upholstery 

material. See Cotton Felt. 

Gauge, coil: A measurement of the 

diameter of the steel wire used in 

coil construction. Wire gauge for 

innerspring coils range from 12.5 

to 17. The higher the gauge, the 

thinner the wire. 

Gel foam: Generally a visco-elastic 

foam that is infused with beads or 

swirls of gel during the foam pouring 

process. 

Hair pads: Horse tail or mane, cattle 

tail or hog hair, which has been 

processed and curled for use as a 

mattress or upholstery filler. 

Hammocking: An undesirable characteristic 

sometimes associated 

with worn out or low-end mattresses. 

When weight is placed in the 

center, the corners tend to rise and 

bow in response to deep compression 

much like a hammock. Terms 

“dish” and “sagging” also used to 

describe this phenomenon. 

Hand: Term used to describe the 

touch or feel of fabrics (e.g., soft, 

smooth, etc.). 

Hand-tied: The process of 

hand-lacing the coils in a box 

spring together with twine. Seldom 

used, this process has been 

replaced with modern technology 

and new designs.

126 

Headboard: An upright unit of 

wood, metal, plastic, or upholstered 

material, to be attached at 

the head of a bed, usually with the 

bed frame. 

Helical: A tightly-coiled, elongated 

wire used in the manufacture of 

innerspring units to join individual 

coils to each other and to the 

border rod. 

High-contour mattress: Measures 

9” – 13” thick. A mattress under 9” 

thick is considered “standard”; over 

13” thick is considered “custom.” 

High riser: Usually a frame or sofa 

with two mattresses of equal size 

without a backrest. The frame 

slides out with the lower bed and 

rises to form a full bed or two 

single beds. 

Hog ring: Metal ring used to 

secure the insulator and flange material 

to the innerspring unit. Takes 

its name from its similarity to the 

metal ring in a hog’s nose. 

Hourglass coils: Coils that taper 

inward from top to middle and outward 

from middle to bottom, thus 

resembling an hourglass in shape. 

Employed in bonnell and offset coil 

designs. 

Hybrid: Commonly used industry 

term for a mattress that combines 

an innerspring unit with specialty 

foams such as visco-elastic or latex. 

Ideal weight distribution: Equalization 

of support in such a way 

as to eliminate pressure points 

that cause discomfort resulting in 

tossing and turning. Best achieved 

with coil on coil construction and 

properly designed insulation and 

cushioning material. 

Innerspring unit construction (for 

mattresses): The spring construction 

used as the main support system 

inside an innerspring mattress. 

Some common types are: pocketed 

(see Marshall) and all metal (i.e., 

bonnell, offset and continuous 

wire). 

Insulator: Any material used on top 

and bottom of an innerspring unit 

to prevent the upholstery layers 

from cupping down into the coils. 

Some common types are: a fiber 

pad, non-woven fabric, netting, 

wire mesh or foam pad. 

Knit: A basic polyester or nylon 

ticking fabric produced through a 

knitting process (tricot) rather than 

weaving. Designs are printed onto 

the surface. 

Lacing wire: Finer gauges of wire 

used to form helicals. 

Latex: A flexible foam created from 

a water dispersion of rubber, either 

from the rubber tree (natural latex) 

or a man-made, petroleum-based 

product (synthetic latex). Most 

latex used in mattresses today is a 

combination of natural and synthetic 

latex rubber. 

LFK: An unknotted offset coil with a 

cylindrical or columnar shape. 

Link fabric: A wire foundation for 

bedsprings, cots, studio couches, 

sofabed mechanisms and gliders. 

So called because the fabric is a 

succession of metal links. 

Marshall: A type of innerspring 

construction in which thin gauge, 

barrel-shaped, knotless coils are 

encased in fabric pockets. Also 

known as “pocketed coils.” 

Mattress: A manufactured product 

to sleep on, consisting of various 

resilient materials covered with an 

outer ticking. Comes from the Arabic 

term “matrah” meaning to throw

127 

down. Early Arabs traveled with 

their bedding and threw it down on 

the ground or floor at night. 

Memory: The ability of tempered 

steel, foam or some fabrics to 

return to their original state after 

being compressed or stretched. 

Mesh: Plastic netting generally 

stretched across the face of an 

innerspring unit as an insulator. 

Microcoils: A low-profile metal 

spring unit, typically with individually 

wrapped coils, used in the top 

comfort layers of a mattress. 

Molded foam core (for mattresses): 

A core made of flexible foam 

is made in molds and used as the 

main support system in a foam 

mattress. 

Mounting: Attachment of a box 

spring unit to a wood or metal 

frame. 

Needlepunched fabric: A manufacturing 

process for which high 

strength, lightweight, non-woven 

construction fabrics are produced. 

These fabrics are produced by 

garnetting fibers, entangling or 

inner-locking these fibers together 

by a series of needles and then 

mechanically bonding or fusing 

them together via heat to produce 

a fabric without glue or binders. 

Needlepunched pad: A manufacturing 

process used to produce 

insulator pads and non-woven 

fabrics whereby loose, garnetted 

fibers are inner-locked by a series 

of “needles.” This process usually 

requires additional bonding to 

keep the fibers in place. 

Offset coils: An hourglass type coil 

on which portions of the top and 

bottom convolutions have been 

flattened. In assembling the innerspring 

unit, these flat segments 

of wire are hinged together with 

helicals. 

Orthopedic: Generalized term to 

imply set gives proper postural 

alignment and support. Should not 

necessarily mean hard or board 

feeling. Proper support with a 

degree of comfort to contour to the 

body is best. 

Panel: The part of the ticking that 

constitutes the top sleep surface of 

a mattress, as well as the bottom 

of a mattress on a two-sided bed. 

Pedestal-type metal or wood bed 

frame: A low-profile bed frame 

with a solid pedestal base underneath 

each side of the frame, 

instead of legs. 

Pillow-top mattress: A mattress 

featuring a surface finishing treatment 

where a separate encasement 

of soft materials is attached 

to the entire surface on top of 

existing cover and upholstery. 

Plus 4 edge: Two border rods 

engineered with one inside of the 

other and designed so that they 

make the edge 4% firmer than 

the balance of the sleep surface 

to eliminate that “roll out of bed” 

feeling and edge sag.

128 

Pocketed coil: See Marshall. 

Polyurethane foam: See Urethane 

Foam. 

Print: A ticking fabric, which can be 

a woven or non-woven sheeting, 

commonly of synthetic fiber composition, 

on which a design has been 

printed. 

Quilting: The surface treatment in 

which the cover, foam and/or other 

fibers are sewn together, using 

various stitch patterns on quilting 

machinery, including scroll or 

panel quilters (single needle) and 

multi-needle quilters. 

Resilience: Surface liveliness and 

spring-back ability. 

Rollator test: An approximately 

230 lb., six-sided roller is passed 

across a sleep set to determine the 

structural strengths or weaknesses 

of the set and components (i.e., 

foam or quilt failure, breaking of 

helicals and coils). The industry 

standard to duplicate the life of a 

mattress is 100,000 passes. 

Rollaway bed/cot: A portable metal 

bed/cot with a frame that folds 

in half with the mattress when not 

in use so it can be rolled away into 

a closet (or elsewhere) for compact 

storage. 

Sheeting: a woven or non-woven 

fabric other than knits that have a 

degree of sizing and are somewhat 

stiff. 

Side rail: A metal or wood rail, 

which hooks into the outside edges 

of a headboard and footboard 

to provide the support base for a 

foundation and mattress. 

Sisal: A product of the henequen 

plant formed into a pad and used 

as an insulator. Named after the. 

small port of Sisal in Yucatan. 

Slats: Narrow strips of wood used 

to support the coils in the box 

spring frame. Also used in a bedstead 

to support the box spring. 

Sleep Products Safety Council 

hangtag: Used voluntarily by 

bedding producers since 1987, the 

safety hangtag program provides 

critical consumer information about 

the safe use of sleep products. 

Manufacturers certify that they use 

the tag only on mattresses that 

meet the Federal Standard for the 

Flammability of Mattresses and 

Mattress Pads.The tag is available 

in a hangtag or permanent label. 

Smooth top: A plain surfaced 

mattress, neither tufted nor quilted. 

Also called button-free. 

Spring wire: Wire made from high 

carbon steel, characterized by 

toughness, strength and ductility. 

Typically furnished in 8 to 18 gauge 

for bedding industry applications. 

Steel unit construction (for box 

springs): The spring construction 

used as the main support system 

inside a box spring. 

Stitch bonded pad: See Fales Pad. 

Straightline deflection: Pertains to 

mattress innerspring construction 

and refers to the constant ratio 

between stress and strain, weight 

and movement. The benefit is 

that constant support is provided 

regardless of the weight applied. 

No bottoming out of soft spots. 

Basically it means that two people 

of unequal weight, sleeping on the 

same mattress, receive the same 

support. 

Stretch knit: A heavy-weight mattress 

ticking consisting of a top layer, 

bottom layer and filling material 

knitted together and intermittently 

stitched to keep the filling yarns 

stable. 

Super zoned box spring frame: A 

support, generally wood, attached 

longitudinally to the underside of 

a foundation for added support 

where the main body weight rests. 

Another important structural point 

is that the vertical slats are turned 

on edge for added strength. This 

is extremely important on queen 

sizes and for 4-poster beds where 

typically no center support is 

provided. Also known as a “center 

rail.” 

Tape: Fabric material that closes 

over the rough-sewn edge where 

the top and bottom panels are 

joined to the border of a mattress 

or box spring. 

Tape edge: A specified type of 

sewing machine designed to stitch 

binding tape around the top and 

bottom edges of the mattress, 

joining the panels with the border 

and closing the mattress. 

Tempering: Heat treatment of 

wire to reduce brittleness. Accomplished 

by electric charge, 

oven heat or both. Also known as 

“stress relieved”. 

Ticking: Fabrics for covering mattresses 

and foundations. Common

types include: stretch knits, woven 

damasks, knits and nonwovens. 

Torsion bars: A type of spring system 

used in box springs characterized 

by square-shaped wire forms. 

Trundle bed: A low bed that is 

rolled under a larger bed. In 

some constructions, the lower bed 

springs up to form a full bed or two 

single beds as in a high riser. 

Tufting: Consists of passing twine, 

cords or tape vertically through 

the mattress from top to bottom, 

knotting and securing the loops 

thus formed with tufts, buttons, or 

lacing. The purpose is to hold the 

mattress filling in place. 

Uniflex grid: A steel wire grid used 

to bridge the “mouth” of the coils 

on an innerspring unit to prevent 

“pocketing” of insulation down into 

the coil and to eliminate “coil feel.” 

Also helps to distribute the body 

weight of a person. 

Urethane foam: Synthetic (chemically 

foamed) flexible urethane 

used for mattress cores and as a 

cushioning material. As a core, it’s 

the main support system. Generic 

term covering both polyester and 

polyether foams. 

Ventilator: Metal or plastic screens 

attached to the sides and sometimes 

the ends of mattresses to 

permit the passage of air. Unnecessary 

with normal high quality 

materials used today, except for 

hospital type mattresses with wetproof 

covers. 

Visco-elastic foam: Also known 

as “memory foam.” Slow recovery 

urethane foams that are temperature 

sensitive. They conform to 

the body and distribute pressure 

according to body heat and dynamics. 

Waterbed: A sleep system 

employing a water-filled vinyl 

bladder as its primary support 

system. Original models relied on 

rigid framing to contain the vinyl 

components and were known as a 

“hardside”. Newer styles consist 

of vinyl components (bladder and 

liner) typically encased in foam and 

129 

made to look like a conventional 

mattress, usually paired with a 

regular upholstered foundation. 

Also called a “softside” waterbed. 

All versions are sometimes referred 

to as “flotation beds.” 

Welded grid top: Basic wire 

welded into a lattice to which box 

spring coils, formed wire or modules 

are fastened. Offers even 

weight distribution, yet allows 

some flex and give. 

Wood bed: A bed with a headboard 

and footboard made of 

wood, having side rails of wood or 

metal that support the foundation 

and mattress. 

Wood frame (for box springs): The 

wood frame in a box spring on 

which the spring construction is 

mounted. 

Woven stripe: A once ubiquitous 

woven ticking with colored stripes. 

The style was referred to as “ACA”, 

the traditional designation for 

the 8 oz. blue- and white-striped 

ticking that has mostly fallen out of 

favor and is seldom produced.

SleepTech Magazine / March – April 2017

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