Aconic unveils ‘fiber foam’
Fiber that can be substituted for foam in home furnishings applications
David Perry -- Furniture Today, June 10, 2005
SHENZHEN, China -- A fiber company based here has developed a “fiber foam” that it says is made of fiber but can be substituted for foam in home furnishings applications.
Steve Kuo, director of sales and marketing for the Aconic High-Tech Fiber Co., said his company developed the “revolutionary” product and has begun showing it to U.S. bedding and upholstery producers.
He released details about the product during a recent visit to the United States, during which he called on bedding manufacturers. Kuo said Aconic’s product is a “cellular fiber foam” made using newly invented technology, fibers and equipment.
“We are currently the first one in the world manufacturing this kind of product. (It has) a high resilience and a supple touch almost like a high-density polyurethane foam, but it is much more environmentally friendly,” he said.
The foam uses a patented synthetic fiber produced in Japan. Aconic has an exclusive sales arrangement with that factory and uses its own technology to produce the fiber foam. The production process does not create emissions, according to Kuo.
He said the patent-pending product is washable, durable, and has a high degree of permeability, resilience and recovery.
The fiber foam is currently 30% to 40% more expensive than polyurethane foam, but Aconic is working to bring the cost down, Kuo said. Current applications in the bedding and upholstery industries would be in high-end products, he said.
Aconic, established in 2001, currently is a supplier of fire-resistant materials to the U.S. bedding industry. The company recently introduced a second-generation nonwoven FR barrier that features vertically lapped fibers and offers more comfort and support, Kuo said.
He can be contacted at stevekuo@softhome.net.
