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July
3, 2009 -
Leggett & Platt is leading
the charge in improving healthy
sleep and sleep product
performance with the continued
advance of the company’s
innovative innerspring coil
technology. For decades with the
exception of the Marshall or
pocketed coil and European
continuous coil construction,
most innerspring units were
either traditional simple
knotted Bonnell hour-glass steel
coils or an unknotted offset LFK
style coil. Consumers and the
retailers who sell mattresses
were offered basically the same
innersprings or coil type
mattresses regardless of the
brand. While coil count or
tensile strength, or even steel
gauge and density of the coils
varied, the basic designs and
engineering remained the same
for many years. However in the
past two years Leggett & Platt
has re-engineered the concept
and construction of innersprings
to address the issues of
comfort, response, conformance
and support. They have given
another whole life to the idea
of innerspring-based mattresses.
Leggett & Platt recently
introduced the latest in the
company’s line of innovative
innerspring products: the new
Softech coil sleep system. At
2.5 inches in height, the
Softech coil is a resilient,
plush innerspring designed to
bring comfort and performance to
the top layer of mattresses.
The product’s tough, low profile
comfortably cushions a sleeping
body, provide individualized
coil support and offers a
durability that prevents body
impressions that often form with
traditional foam or fiber
toppers.
Engineers at Leggett & Platt’s
IDEA (Innovation, Design,
Engineering, and Acceleration)
Center designed the 2.5-inch
Softech coil from a thin-gauge
wire made from recycled steel.
They discovered that the tiny,
pocketed innersprings react like
a pillow when constructed with
at a high coil count ; they
conform, support and respond to
a sleeper’s body. In addition,
the unique construction of the
small, individually-pocketed
Softech coils minimize
disturbances by reducing motion
transfer from partner to
partner.
“Softech takes advantage of the
comfort-inducing effects of
coiled steel as a compressible,
responsive element,” explained
Tom Wells, Jr., director of
engineering strategy and
technical support for Leggett &
Platt. “The coils have a smaller
diameter and a lighter gauge
than standard innerspring wires.
Using approximately 5.5 turns
per coil, we’re able to increase
material efficiency in a
vertical, flexible dimension.”
Durability and longevity in bed
toppers is an increasingly
important issue to mattress
shoppers. Some foam and
upholstery toppers compress or
lose their comfort layer within
a short span of time. By
contrast, the average lifespan
of a Softech topper provides
years of comfort without body
impressions.
Softech’s ergonomic efficacy is
also less costly than the
high-density cushioning of some
visco-elastic or latex foam
solutions. Because upholstery
comfort layers are so tightly
packed, they require
substantially more raw materials
to achieve the same result of an
innerspring comfort layer.
This new 2.5½inch Softech
topper-layer coil comes on the
heels of Leggett & Platt’s
Superlastic PRO, one of the
tallest coils used in modern
bedding manufacturing. Standing
at seven inches tall, PRO’s
three-turn, alternating
continuous coil system increased
mattress profile height at a
reduced cost to manufacturers
and retailers.
“We see an emerging trend of
customizing a sleep set’s
vertical profile by using a
variety of innerspring heights,”
said Wells. “Mattress shoppers
want it all; the plush look of a
pillow top, the comforting feel
of Active Support technology,
and all at an affordable price.
Softech offers each of these.”
Leggett & Platt is also
providing point-of-sale
materials for bedding
manufacturers and retailers to
use in their marketing efforts.
The program comes complete with
brochures, banners and posters,
a short video and a retail sales
associate (RSA) pocket reference
card. L&P has also developed a
small POP display to demonstrate
Softech’s active support
features.
“Leggett & Platt understands
that the end consumer wants
bedding that delivers a ‘Wow’
moment in the way of comfort,”
said Mark Quinn, group executive
vice president of marketing for
Leggett & Platt’s bedding
division. “We also realize that
many of those same consumers
don’t care for upholstered
pillow tops. The goal of our
bedding group is to offer
manufacturers and retailers
high-quality products and unique
selling stories that can deliver
healthier and more restful sleep
to their customers.”
Retailers and
manufacturers seeking more
information are invited to:
www.leggett.com 417-358-8131
About Leggett & Platt
Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) is a
FORTUNE 500 diversified
manufacturer that conceives,
designs and produces a broad
variety of engineered components
and products that can be found
in virtually every home, office,
retail store and automobile. The
company serves a broad suite of
customers that comprise a "Who's
Who" of U.S. manufacturers and
retailers. The 126-year-old
firm's continuing operations are
composed of 20 business units,
20,000 employee-partners, and
more than 160 manufacturing
facilities located in 18
countries.
Leggett & Platt is North
America's leading independent
manufacturer of: a) components
for residential furniture and
bedding; b) components for
office furniture; c) drawn steel
wire; d) automotive seat support
and lumbar systems; e) carpet
underlay; f) adjustable beds;
and g) bedding industry
machinery.
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