Hickory, North Carolina-As a bubble shortage persists, North Carolina-based parts supplier Hickory Springs Manufacturing (HSM) is promoting alternatives to the bubble.

"Since the beginning of the crisis, our R&D team has been committed to adopting new methods to integrate more easily available coil and fiber solutions to help our customers find alternative ways to maintain production while providing their customers with the same level of performance. We have identified many good solutions that can be implemented relatively quickly to help our customers," said Tim Witherell, vice president of HSM's bedding business. "The shortage of foam is still an obstacle, but our products can help our customers reduce their reliance on this material."

For interior decorating manufacturers, HSM has a variety of fiber and bag coil solutions that can be used as foam substitutes in cushions, armrests and backrests of upholstered furniture. These include pairing polyester fibers with individually wrapped coils-replacing some of the foam used in seat cushions-or using bagged coils as an alternative to the foam traditionally used in the center of the seat cushion. In addition, the company's polyester fiber solution can be used in the decorative part of upholstered furniture to replace the foam used to fill the arms and back.

It also has many alternatives to mattresses. See more here.

The bubble shortage began in mid-February, when a winter storm hit the Gulf Coast, forcing many companies producing foam chemicals to close and be frustrated. Most of these companies are located in Texas and Louisiana.

"Foam is made from a variety of chemicals, but the main two are polyols and toluene diisocyanate (TDI), industrial chemical manufacturer EverChem Specialty Chemicals wrote. "It takes approximately two parts polyol and one part TDI to make foam. Foam factories purchase these raw materials and transport them by rail car or tanker truck. A typical foam factory will have storage tanks large enough to unload several rail cars (180,000 pounds each) or tank cars (45,000 pounds each). They do not have a large inventory of these raw materials, but rely on a stable and timely supply of rail cars and trucks to produce foam for their customers.

"When the pandemic broke out in March last year, there were many uncertainties in future demand. The entire furniture-foam-polyol-PO production chain slowed to crawl.

"No one predicts that when people are in lockdown, the demand for bedding and furniture will increase. The industry returns in June, hoping to make up for the production loss within the April time frame in May. The industry is trying to make up for 120% To make up for the lost two months, the PO factory can only run at 100%, so it’s not enough to meet everyone’s needs. The PO production problem in the fall further reduced the production of polyols to arrange distribution for their customers .No one can get everything they need.

"Then the winter storm hit the Gulf Coast in mid-February. When a hurricane is expected, the petrochemical industry is prepared to shut down operations early, weather the storm, and then resume safe operations in a relatively short period of time. The storm caught everyone off guard, and many factories went out of power while they were still running. During this unexpected shutdown, no major accidents occurred. It is a tribute to the industry and all factory engineers and employees. The lines in the factory are frozen. Electricity is frozen. , Steam, nitrogen and hydrogen supplies were interrupted. All propylene oxide plants were closed. It was almost like an accidental Category 5 hurricane that hit the entire state of Texas in the middle of the night.

Some furniture manufacturers, including Wesley Hall, predict that the shortage will be short-lived. 

The bubble shortage seems to be easing, but it still exists.

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Robert Dalheim is the editor of Woodworking Network. In addition to publishing online news articles, he also writes feature stories for FDMC print publications. You can contact him at robert.dalheim@woodworkingnetwork.com.

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