Wooden Coils: What Will They Make Springs from Next?

By Wesley Vaughn

Vitalwood catalogue_cover-s

What are innerspring coils made of? “Steel,” we say. Other options are: Stainless steel, titanium steel, titanium alloy, or some other metal alloy. That is it! Or it was—until now. Among the new mattress companies at the Winter Las Vegas Market in January 2014 is VitalWOOD USA, the U.S. distributor for VitalWOOD, a division of Hungarian manufacturer Bio-Textima.

This family-owned firm developed the wooden coil as an alternative to metal springs, releasing it in 2011. VitalWOOD touts their “metal-free mattress” as not contributing to electromagnetic pollution, because the wood does not resonate with electromagnetic radiation (otherwise known as radio waves). I remember the stories of old-style steel beds and springs acting as AM radio receivers, so there must be something to this claim.

Besides being free of electromagnetic pollution, VitalWOOD’s wooden springs are also made from a sustainable, renewable resource. There is also less environmental impact processing wood than in the making of steel (even recycled steel).

When I first read about springs made of wood, my question was, “How do they do that?” VitalWOOD has a video on their site showing how this is done. Knowing a little about woodworking, it did not surprise me. First of all, if someone doubts that wood can be a spring, point them to wood archery bows. Then in the mattress industry, European wood slat foundations work like box springs, because the carefully selected and crafted wooden slats are resilient. So the real question is, “How do they make the wood into coils?” Heat and moisture make the wood pliable enough to wind into coils. Watch the video, and see for yourself.

If selling mattresses and box springs with wooden coils is successful in the United States, especially if it cuts deeply into the mattress market, look for other manufacturers to develop their own alternative material coils. One or more domestic manufacturers will develop their own wood coil manufacturing process (or license it from VitalWOOD).

I have one more question: “What Will They Make Springs from Next?” If wooden innerspring coils prove a successful alternative to metal, expect other non-metal coils for mattresses to be developed. Already, spring coils for very light applications are being made of synthetic materials, such as nylon.


Resources:

VitalWOOD – www.vitalwood.com
“This is how wooden-spring is made” – http://vitalwood.com/download/this-is-how-wooden-spring-is-made-vitalwood.avi

Bio-Textima – http://www.bio-textima.hu/en/

“Bio-Textima , the only mattresses in a metal-free design,” Sleep Tech Magazine, May 8, 2013 – http://www.sleeptechmagazine.com/bio-textima-the-only-mattresses-in-a-metal-free-design/

Bedroom Retailershttp://bedroomretailers.com/mattress-update/bio-textima-brings-its-vitalwood-wooden-coil-spring-system-to-the-us/6885

Perry, David, “Prana, Juel, SensorPedic lead Vegas newcomer list,” Furniture Today, Jan 24, 2014 – http://www.furnituretoday.com/blog/Bedding_Today/43878-Prana_Juel_SensorPedic_lead_Vegas_newcomer_list.php

“New Exhibitors At Specialty Sleep Association Las Vegas Market Showroom,” Furniture World, December 26, 2013 – http://new.furninfo.com/Furniture%20Industry%20News/2602


  • facebookBlog
  • twitterBlog
  • linkdinkBlog

This entry was posted on Monday, February 17th, 2014 at 9:00 PM and is filed under bedrooms, beds, coils, furniture, innerspring, mattresses, springs, wood . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 thoughts on “Wooden Coils: What Will They Make Springs from Next?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

code

Subscribe For News Letter

Get New Post Notification via Email: