Cleaner Technologies Substitutes
Assessment Case Studies:
Mattress Manufacturing
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ASSOCIATION OF
WOODWORKING
fc FURNISHINGS
SUPPLIERS
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Bulletin Contents
Description of mattress
manufacturing industry
Case study on Jamison
Bedding in Nashville, TN
Case study on McKinney
Bedding Company in
Springfield, MO
Case study on Justice in
Lebanon, MO
Alternatives to Chlorinated
Solvent Adhesives in the
Mattress Manufacturing
Industry
The Institute for Research and Technical Assistance (IRTA), a
nonprofit organization located in Santa Monica, California, analyzed
the cost and performance of alternative adhesive technologies used by the
furniture and sleep products industries. This project was sponsored by
the U.S. EPA with a grant from the Design for the Environment (DfE)
Program. The Cleaner Technologies Substitutes Assessment (CTSA) is a
partnership with industry including the International Sleep Products
Association (ISPA), Southern California Edison (SCE) and the
Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® (AWFS®).
Industry Description
Flexible slabstock polyurethane foam is produced by 23 companies in
about 75 pouring plants in the United States. In 1997, approximately 830
million pounds of slabstock foam were produced. By 1998, slabstock
foam production doubled to about 1.6 billion pounds.
Flexible slabstock foam is fabricated (cut and shaped) into pieces to be
used in carpet underlay, furniture, bedding, packaging, transportation
CTSA: Mattress Manufacturing 1
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About IRTA
IRTA is a nonprofit
organization established
in 1989 to assist
companies in adopting
low- and non-solvent
technologies. IRTA
provides technical
assistance in general and
precision cleaning,
drycleaning, paint
stripping and coating,
adhesive and ink
operations.
seating, and other products where a durable and resilient
cushioning material is required.
Mattress manufacturers purchase foam from foam manufac-
turers or from foam fabricators and they use the foam to
manufacture their bedding. There are an estimated 1,270
mattress manufacturers in the United States. Ninety percent
of the mattresses are manufactured by 260 plants. Most
manufacturers have between one and 50 employees. Perhaps
200 mattress manufacturers make pillow top mattresses
which are generally considered a high-end bedding item. These mat-
tresses are manufactured by using adhesive to bond the mattress itself to
the pillow top.
Adhesive Alternatives
In the 1980s and early 1990s, most of the adhesive used by mattress man-
ufacturers was based on 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), a chlorinated sol-
vent. TCA was an effective carrier for the adhesive because it evaporates
rapidly leaving an instant bond, it is fairly low in toxicity, it does not have
a flash point and it is not classified as a Volatile Organic Compound
(VOC) that contributes to photochemical smog.
In the 1990s, TCA was designated as a class one ozone depleting sub-
stance and, in 1996, its production was banned for that reason. Although
TCA inventory was still available, the chemical had become very expen-
sive because of a Federal tax on ozone depleting substances. Virtually all
adhesive formulators stopped making TCA adhesives and began offering
adhesives based on methylene chloride (METH), also a chlorinated sol-
vent. Like TCA, METH evaporates quickly, does not have a flash point
and is not classified as a VOC. However, METH is a suspected carcino-
gen. In 1997, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) issued a regulation on METH that lowered the worker exposure
level from 500 ppm to 25 ppm measured as an 8-hour time weighted aver-
age. The regulation also set an action level at 12.5 ppm. Companies with
worker exposure above that level are required to institute monitoring and
medical surveillance.
Alternatives to TCA and METH for bonding pillow top mattresses
include hot melt adhesives, sewing and aerosol adhesives. Hot melt
adhesives are 100 percent solids. They are applied with special spray
2 GTSA: Mattress Manufacturing
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guns that heat the resins in the hot melt adhesives to 300 degrees F or
higher so they can flow. In some non-mattress applications where there
can be no bond line, hot melt adhesives are not a suitable alternative. In
this application, however, hot melt adhesives are especially suited
because workers are bonding two large thick items together.
Some mattress manufacturers join the mattress to the pillow top by sim-
ply sewing them together. Special equipment is required for the sewing.
Although the equipment is expensive, it does not require spray equip-
ment or the use of adhesives.
Many smaller manufacturers use aerosol adhesives for bonding the pil-
low tops to the mattresses. These aerosol adhesives are often based on
acetone, a non-chlorinated solvent. Acetone is low in toxicity and like
TCA and METH, readily evaporates leaving a quick bond. It does have
a very low flash point, however, and measures must be taken to minimize
the chance of fire or explosion. The National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) has rated acetone as an NFPA 704 level 3 flammability hazard.
State building codes and fire codes are based on NFPA guidelines. These
codes vary according to location and local fire departments have regula-
tions that affect the amount of the flammable adhesive that can be stored
and require explosion proof motors and high air flow ventilation systems.
Most, if not all, of the aerosol adhesives based on acetone also contain
other chemicals like heptane, hexane and mineral spirits. The other
chemicals in these formulations are classified as VOCs and some are
toxic.
Mattress manufacturers that wish to continue using METH adhesives
have to purchase and install effective ventilation systems that reduce the
worker exposure to the legal OSHA limit. In some cases, if the use of
the acetone aerosols is very high, manufacturers might also have to
install ventilation systems to keep the concentration of the acetone below
the lower explosion limit.
electric util ity company.
of
or relocate to its service
territory.
About ISPA
ISPA, is committed to
promoting the mattress
industry through active
public policy, public
affairs and informational
initiatives. Working
together with
manufacturers and
suppliers, ISPA seeks to
enhance the growth,
profitability and stature of
the sleep products
industry throughout the
world.
GTSA: Mattress Manufacturing 3
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Characteristics of Alternatives
Toxicity Ozone Depleter Flash Point
Issues
Medium
Production banned
High
No
No
Heavily regulated
Some high
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AWFS® was incorporated
to fulfill a major need to
represent the interests of
companies and
individuals who supply
the home and
institutional furnishings
manufacturing industries.
Today, AWFS® has an
international membership
that includes
manufacturers and
distributers of machinery,
hardware, lumber,
upholstery materials,
bedding, wood products
and other supplies to
furniture and cabinet
manufacturers.
Low
'Nil""
No
NM
No High-temperature
application
4 GTSA: Mattress Manufacturing
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to Hot
"We are not interested in
using solvent-based adhe-
sives again...Even though
the hot melts are not ideal,
the workers like them bet-
ter. The hot melts are also
better for the environment."
Jamison Bedding has four plants in the
United States. The company makes a
mid- to high-end product and is the largest
private label mattresses manufacturer in the
country. The company sells their retail bed-
ding primarily east of the Mississippi.
Jamison is the fourth largest contract bedding
manufacturer and sells to hotels like the
Marriott chain and motels. In the past, the
company had their own spring machinery but
today they purchase the springs that are used
in the production process.
Jamison operates a plant near Nashville,
Tennessee which employs 75 people. About
50 of the employees work in the factory.
Approximately 95 percent of the workforce
has been with Jamison for many years. The
plant makes 300 to 400 mattresses each day
but only a few are of the same type. An aver-
age of 75 pillow top mattresses require glu-
ing per day. The pillow top market has blos-
somed and likely will continue to grow.
In the manufacture of the bedding, the com-
pany uses adhesive for two types of bond-
ing. First, glue is used to bond the inner
mattress to a non-woven material which
functions as an inner cover. Second, the
glue is used to bond the foam surface of the
mattresses to the non-woven quilted mater-
ial.
Historically Jamison used METH- and
TCA-based adhesives. A few years ago,
when TCA adhesives were used, Jamison
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Jamison Bedding believes the pillow top market has
blossomed and will continue to grow.
i
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decided to make a conversion to hot melt
adhesives. Today the company uses a pres-
sure sensitive hot melt glue but is not entire-
ly satisfied with the results. "The problem
we face in the manufacturing is to get a long
enough open time with the glue so the work-
ers can reposition the mattress components,"
says Clay Finney, the Manager of the
Nashville plant. "Another problem is that the
adhesive sometimes remains tacky and the
people that sleep on the mattresses will hear
a velcro sound when they lie down on them,"
he says.
The company purchased several spray guns
to apply the hot melt adhesives. Two of the
inexpensive guns have proved inadequate for
the process but the more expensive spray
equipment has worked well. The company
does not have to clean the application equip-
ment since they converted to hot melt glues.
When the company used solvent-based adhe-
sives, the maintenance time was substantial.
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Jamison is
the exclusive
manufacturer for
Marriot, Hyatt, Hilton,
and Holiday Inn
and resorts.
Jamison is investigating non-pressure sensi-
tive hot melt glues as well as water-based
adhesives to try to improve their process
further. "We are not interested in using sol-
vent-based adhesives again," says Clay
Finney. "The workers did not like the sol-
vent products. They complained about the
smell. Even though the hot melts are not
ideal, the workers like them better. The hot
melts are also better for the environment."
Jamison's costs for using the hot melt glues
and the TCA-based adhesives are compara-
ble. The table below shows the costs of
both processes.
for
Capital cost
Adhesive cost
Labor cost
Maintenance cost
Electrical cost
Total cost
TCA-Based
$4,780
$61,200
$1,320
$67,300
Hot
$2,690
$2,535
$61,200
$2,350
$68,775
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Hot and
HMIHG CI,
"We know the
work for our applications,"
McKinney Bedding Company is located
in Springfield, Missouri. The compa-
ny makes high-, medium- and low-end bed-
ding. About 80 percent of the mattresses are
sold under the trade name Restonic and 20
percent under the trade name Futurama.
McKinney makes 100 different styles of con-
tract bedding and produces between 250 and
500 pieces per day. Pillow top mattresses
represent about five percent of their total pro-
duction.
McKinney uses hot melt adhesives on their
lower end line. The hot melts are used to
bond foam to fabric, foam to insulator pads
and foam to quilted material.
McKinney is currently using a methylene
chloride-based adhesive for bonding the pil-
low top mat-
tresses and for
bonding the soft
side water beds.
The solvent
adhesives used
by the company
come in a 26
pound pressur-
ized container.
Spray guns are
for
Capital cost
Adhesive cost
Labor cost
Total cost
Chloride
Adhesive
$489
$2,762
$1,200
$4,451
Acetone Aerosol
Adhesive
—
$4,397
$1,200
$5,597
attached to the pressurized container and the
adhesive is sprayed on the bedding.
The company has compared the cost of con-
tinuing to use the methylene chloride-based
adhesive in pressurized containers with the
cost of using acetone aerosol adhesives.
Because of the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) regulation
on methylene chloride, the company would
have to make an investment in a spray booth
to reduce the worker exposure to the chemi-
cal. Even with this capital investment, the
cost of using acetone aerosol adhesives is
higher because aerosol packaging is an
expensive product.
"We're looking at the costs of all the options
right now," says Lloyd McKinney, owner of
McKinney Bedding. "We know the aerosol
cans work for
our applica-
tions and we
are considering
converting to
them even with
the higher
cost," he says.
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About the Design for the Environment (DfE) Program
The Design for the Environment (DfE) Program is a cooperative effort
between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), industries,
research institutions, environmental/public interest groups, and other
government agencies. Working with these partners, the DfE program
identifies cost-effective alternatives to existing products and processes
that reduce risks to workers and the environment while maintaining or
improving performance and product quality. Through the DfE program,
EPA encourages businesses to incorporate environmental considera-
tions into their products, processes, and technical and management sys-
tems. To help industry implement some of the ideas and technologies
identified, the DfE program has published a number of case studies of
companies which have found that environmental improvements can
also lead to economic benefits. The case studies encourage other ven-
dors, as well as other businesses, to learn from these environmental suc-
cesses and adapt the techniques to their own processes.
For More Information
To obtain additional copies of this or other case studies, or for
more information contact:
Institute for Research and Technical Assistance (IRTA)
2800 Olympic Blvd., Ste. 101
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Telephone: (310)453-0450
Fax: (310)453-2660
E-Mail: irta@earthlink.net
IRTA website: http://home.earthlink.net/~irta
individuals who have
participated in the
preparation of this
publication.
Check Out DfE's
Adhesives Web Site:
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/
dfe/adhesive/adhesive.html
Check IRTA's Web Site:
http://home.earthlink.net/
-irta
GTSA: Mattress Manufacturing 9
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