Promoting sleeping habits devoid of sleep apnea, snoring and spine and back problems, a Shelton-based mattress and pillow maker prides itself as a leader in healthy bedding.
When David Fisher assumed his role as CEO of Latex Foam International Holdings Inc. four years ago, he thought about renaming the rubber mattress manufacturing business for a number of reasons.
- Talalay Global make its mattresses and pillows using latex foam rubber.
“When I first started working here, people thought we were a condom company,” Fisher said. “I thought we should change the name and make it more reflective of who we are and what we manufacture.”
Fisher recently renamed the company Talalay Global, referring to the Talalay method of shaping liquid latex rubber by putting it through extreme heat and cold and a waffle-iron-like mold. The liquid base is introduced to a closed mold that has been vacuumed of air. The mold is then frozen to stabilize the cell structure. Then as carbon dioxide gas is introduced, the mold is heated ”” or vulcanized ”” to cure the rubber. The end result is the creation of foam with uniform bubble distribution.
Talalay Global, which bills itself as the world”™s largest manufacturer of latex mattresses and pillows, says the Talalay process uses a healthier alternative of base components than companies that make foam beds using petrochemical products, which reportedly emit volatile organic compounds as they age.
The company, founded in 1975, manufactures 22,000 mattresses and 1 million pillows a year. The mattresses are supplied to 300 different companies nationwide.
- David Fisher
On average, retail stores sell these mattresses for $3,000 to $7,000. The company has distribution sites throughout the U.S. and customers from Europe, Asia and Australia. Its two manufacturing sites for the Talalay products are in Connecticut and Texas.
As a supporter of healthy sleep, the company offers mattresses that support and even weight distribution and says its products keep the spine aligned and fully relaxed, preventing back pain and relieving tension in critical points throughout the body. The mattresses are guaranteed to last 10 to 20 years, depending on the model, and the pillows to last three years, Fisher said.
The company envisions expanding its line of products beyond bedding and into the living room space.
“We”™ve looked at companies that produce furniture, and generally speaking, most of what we produce is relatively expensive,” Fisher said. “But we do have a customer based in Norway that produces high end furniture, and each month, we ship about two containers that are 40-feet-long to them.”
The name change also serves as a clean slate for a company recovering from hardship. Latex International filed for bankruptcy protection in May and sustained a fire in its principal dryer in June. The company announced in December that it reached an agreement with the committee representing its unsecured creditors and filed a joint reorganization plan in its bankruptcy case. A company spokesperson said Latex International was no longer for sale.
