Mattress Manufacturer Converts to Hot Melt Adhesive

J amison Bedding has four plants in the United States. The company makes a mid- to high-end product and is the largest private label mattresses manufacturer in the country. The company sells their retail bedding primarily east of the Mississippi. Jamison is the fourth largest contract bedding manufacturer and sells to hotels like the Marriott chain and motels. In the past, the company had their own spring machinery but today they purchase the springs that are used in the production process.

Jamison operates a plant near Nashville, Tennessee which employs 75 people. About 50 of the employees work in the factory. Approximately 95 percent of the workforce has been with Jamison for many years. The plant makes 300 to 400 mattresses each day but only a few are of the same type. An average of 75 pillow top mattresses require gluing per day. The pillow top market has blos somed and likely will continue to grow. In the manufacture of the bedding, the company uses adhesive for two types of bonding. First, glue is used to bond the inner mattress to a non-woven material which functions as an inner cover. Second, the glue is used to bond the foam surface of the mattresses to the non-woven quilted material.

Historically Jamison used METH- and TCA-based adhesives. A few years ago, when TCA adhesives were used, Jamison decided to make a conversion to hot melt adhesives. Today the company uses a pressure sensitive hot melt glue but is not entirely satisfied with the results. "The problem we face in the manufacturing is to get a long enough open time with the glue so the workers can reposition the mattress components," says Clay Finney, the Manager of the Nashville plant. "Another problem is that the adhesive sometimes remains tacky and the people that sleep on the mattresses will hear a velcro sound when they lie down on them," he says.

The company purchased several spray guns to apply the hot melt adhesives. Two of the inexpensive guns have proved inadequate for the process but the more expensive spray equipment has worked well. The company does not have to clean the application equipment since they converted to hot melt glues. When the company used solvent-based adhesives, the maintenance time was substantial.

Jamison is investigating non-pressure sensitive hot melt glues as well as water-based adhesives to try to improve their process further. "We are not interested in using solvent-based adhesives again," says Clay Finney. "The workers did not like the solvent products. They complained about the smell. Even though the hot melts are not ideal, the workers like them better. The hot melts are also better for the environment." Jamison's costs for using the hot melt glues and the TCA-based adhesives are comparable. The table below shows the costs of both processes.