Guardian Responds to Scotchgard Market Pullback

Furniture World Magazine

In the wake of 3M's widely publicized announcement that they will halt production of the widely used ScotchGard products, Guardian Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer of chemical protection products and warranty programs for retail home and office furnishings, confirmed today that the company's products will remain on the market and that the company will move ahead with aggressive growth plans. 3M made the decision regarding ScotchGard because the formula contains perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a compound which can persist in both the human blood system and the environment. Guardian products are made with an environmentally friendly, telomerization process that produces highly effective furniture protection products for upholstery, leather, wood and mattress pads -- without PFOS. "Our telomerization process has been thoroughly tested and exceeds the most stringent standards for environmental safety," said Jack Castella, president of Guardian Products, Inc. "Guardian Products have been on the market for almost a quarter of a century, and we have a proven track record in both safety and performance." Guardian Products, Inc. manufacturers and sells its own line of furniture and mattress pad protection products and warranties distributed throughout the U.S. and such international markets as Canada, China, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. Guardian is the sole U.S.-based authorized distributor and warranty services agent for DuPont's Teflon AP's aqueous-based fabric protector. Acquired in early 2000 by RPM, Inc., a $2 billion provider of industrial coatings, Guardian is the newest addition to RPM's Wood Finishes Group - joining Mohawk Finishing Products, Star Chemical, Chemical Coatings Incorporated, The Flecto Company and Westfield Coatings Corporation. For more information e-mail: mlayman@sunwestpr.com