Palmetto Pedic Unveils Domestic Foam Line

Furniture World News Desk on 10/17/2021

Palmetto Pedic LLC, the two-year-old foam manufacturer owned by  global fabric and home fashions manufacturer Home Furnishing International, is unveiling a new line of conventional foam and memory foam for use in mattresses, foundations, upholstery and accessories during the Fall High Point Market running Oct. 16-20 in High Point, N.C.

Palmetto Pedic is targeting the line to major U.S. bedding producers and upholstered furniture manufacturers, and will be meeting with customers in the showroom of its sister company, American Decorative Fabrics, located at 312 S. Hamilton St., Second Floor, Suite 201-D, in High Point.

“We are offering leading U.S. bedding and furniture manufacturers a viable, low-cost alternative to imported foam and mattresses,” explains David Li, chairman and CEO of both Home Furnishing International and Palmetto Pedic. “The combination of global supply chain difficulties and the imposition of anti-dumping duties means that there is a huge demand for foam and foam bedding products here in the U.S. We are offering an expansive selection of made-in-America products that will give major U.S. bedding suppliers innovative and sustainable choices and at the same time, alleviate many of the supply chain difficulties that have plagued the bedding market in recent months.”

The bedding and furniture industry has faced numerous challenges over the past two years, including delays in shipments of both finished and raw materials caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic; weather-fueled shortages of the chemicals used to make foam; and aggressive anti-dumping duties imposed in May 2021 by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“Our goal when we formed Palmetto Pedic was to provide U.S. manufacturers with superior service, speed and consistency in foam and foam products,” Li comments. “There have been major changes taking place in the bedding industry over the past few years, and we have been strategically positioning Palmetto Pedic to become a leading supplier to the industry.”

In spite of the obstacles facing the industry at large over the past two years, Palmetto Pedic has pursued an aggressive expansion strategy and poured its first U.S.-made foam at its Gaffney, S.C. plant on Sept.17, 2021. The company currently has the capacity to produce 3,000 mattresses per day, and the recent purchase of a 350,000-square-foot plant in Blacksburg, S.C. will increase that capacity to 8,000 mattresses per day. The new Blacksburg plant is located just down the Interstate-85 highway corridor from the Gaffney plant, which will enable both plants to easily and efficiently collaborate on production runs.

Palmetto Pedic was formed in March 2019 as a joint venture between a group of private investors and Home Furnishing International, a privately held vertical fabric and home fashions supplier with annual sales estimated in excess of $200 million. “We are focusing on bringing truly innovative technologies in foam and fabric manufacturing to U.S. retailers and consumers,” Li points out, adding, “We are implementing state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies and foam formulations in order to position ourselves as a prominent low-cost supplier for the U.S. market.

“We are proud to say that our facilities now include one of the largest tank farms for chemical storage in the entire industry (see photo, above) which are capable of storing enough chemicals to support our capacity needs for three months, as well as cutting edge air filtration and purification systems that are among the best in the industry,” Li continues. “Our machinery and equipment are the latest, making our facilities more efficient and automated, and allowing us to offer our products at a more competitive cost.”

Palmetto Pedic is taking advantage of the strengths of its corporate parent, Home Furnishing International, which is one of the leaders in the global decorative fabrics market, to bolster its product development efforts. Home Furnishings International has developed a substantial reputation for its technological innovation, and Palmetto Pedic is using the parent company’s proprietary yarns in its mattress ticking fabrics.

“One of the revolutionary innovations we are offering the bedding industry is our Performatex® fabric, which offers superior performance characteristics as well as being extremely environmentally friendly,” Li explains. “We are placing a major emphasis on sustainability, and our proprietary Performatex® fabric is an important innovation that will be good for our customers as well as good for the planet!”

The pioneering Performatex® fabric offers a variety of eco-friendly features: the fabric is 100% recyclable; uses 90% fewer chemicals and wastes 80% less water than conventional fabrics; and uses 30% to 40% less energy in the manufacturing process, which translates to 30% less of a carbon footprint. The fabric also offers significant benefits to manufacturers and consumers: Performatex® fabrics are extremely durable, UV-safe, fade-resistant, stain-resistant, mold- and mildew-resistant, naturally-cooling, water-washable and bleach safe.

“No other supplier has the vertical capacity that HFI has in the fabric market, and HFI is recognized as a world leader in the fabric industry, producing more than 300 million yards of fabric every year,” Li says. “We have been focusing on sustainability in our research and development, because we care about the environment as much as our customers and consumers. Studies have shown that 20% of the world’s pollution is caused by traditional textile dyeing processes. Our innovative solution-dyeing process eliminates virtually all of the chemicals and all of the water used in traditional dyeing, and uses substantially less energy, which makes it a much better product for the environment. Plus, the fabrics are 100% recyclable.”

“We are well-known for developing proprietary yarns that offer superior performance characteristics as well as being environmentally friendly,” he continues.  “We will be working closely with our U.S. customers to develop specialized fabrics for the mattress market in order to take that business to the next level.” In addition to its U.S. manufacturing and distribution plants, HFI currently operates more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing facilities in Rugao, China, encompassing weaving, dyeing, printing and finishing, as well as finished product production.

Palmetto Pedic also benefits from the fact that its ownership includes investors representing five large vertical foam manufacturers in China. “The foam industry is a very capital- and technology-intensive industry,” Li notes. “But we aren’t starting from scratch; we are starting with proven ‘winners.’ Our investors already own and operate state-of-the-art vertical research and design operations, materials manufacturing factories, and finished product manufacturing plants, as well as marketing, sales and distribution facilities in China. These plants have established relationships with leading customers, and supply, directly or indirectly, specialized foam products to many top-tier customers worldwide. This enables us to offer our customers foam formulations and finished products that already have demonstrated a successful track record in the global marketplace.”

Li points out that he is very grateful to the company’s partners in China. “The pandemic has caused a lot of delays and disruptions in the market,” he explains. “Without the support of our partners in China, we would not be where we are today.”

The buying power of both Home Furnishings International and its private investors also benefits Palmetto Pedic when it comes to negotiating for chemicals and other raw materials. “It is no secret that there have been major shortages of the chemicals used to make foam, which has led to delays and shortages in the mattress manufacturing sector,” Li states. “We are able to leverage the strong relationships that Home Furnishings International and our investors have with raw materials suppliers in order to ensure that we have a steady supply of the chemicals and other resources that we need for Palmetto Pedic.”

Palmetto Pedic is focusing on a selection of core foam formulations and mattress fabrications that currently represent about 80 percent of the bedding market, according to Li. “We are not trying to be everything to everyone,” he asserts. “We are keeping it very simple and focusing on the products that represent the bulk of the business. This will allow us to position Palmetto Pedic as a world-class player in this very competitive business.”

About Home Furnishing International

Home Furnishing International entered the U.S. home furnishings market in 1995 with the formation of American Decorative Fabrics (ADF), a major decorative fabrics supplier. The Home Fashions International (HFI) division debuted in 2001, providing home fashions and window treatments to leading retailers in virtually every major channel of distribution, including mass merchants, national chains, department stores, specialty retailers and catalogs. HFI added a decorative accessories division in 2005, expanding into decorative pillows, table linens and pet beds. ADF-HFI unified its corporate identity under the Westgate brand in 2006, and added freestanding window treatments and bath fashions in 2007. The company expanded into the outdoor market in 2015, developing an extensive line of performance fabrics, cushions, decorative pillows and accessories. Home Furnishing International and private investors formed a new joint venture, Palmetto Pedic, LLC, in March 2019 to provide conventional foam and memory foam, mattresses, toppers, pillows, foundations, adjustable bases and accessories to the U.S. bedding, upholstered furniture and automotive industries.

The company supports its U.S. business with manufacturing and distribution facilities totaling more than 625,000-square-foot in South Carolina, as well as a major showroom in New York City, a dedicated fabric showroom in High Point, N.C., and more than 200 U.S. employees. The Chinese division manufactures more than 300 million yards of fabrics annually and employs more than 1,000 people. Home Furnishing International also owns its own distribution company in Brazil; and the company currently exports decorative fabrics, apparel fabrics and finished home fashions to more than 80 countries around the world.