Bed-in-a-Box Launch – Spinks Springs

Spinks Springs has recently launched an exciting new mattress brand herdy®sleep, in collaboration with Lake District born brand – herdy®, to deliver a natural bed-in-a-box.

herdy®sleep is the only rollable mattress that’s traditionally tufted and hand-finished.

We’ve combined over 6,000 of our specially developed herdy®sleep pocket springs into each king-size mattress along with Herdwick fleece from the local farms in the Lake District; providing a superior level of comfort.

The product is available to be conveniently delivered direct to a customer’s home, rolled up in a compact box measuring only 100 x 50 x 50cm and is available to trial at home for 100 nights.

Different from the other bed-in-a-box brands on the market, there is at least one Herdwick fleece in every herdy®sleep mattress, offering a natural sleeping surface. Wool’s naturally soft and springy fibres make it the ideal choice for a natural mattress filling.

For herdy®sleep, we have developed a revolutionary fire retardant material that is derived from plants. This material, woven in-house on our state of the art weaving looms, provides a chemical free sleep surface. Combined with traditional hand-tufting and tape-edging construction techniques, a herdy®sleep mattress is the ultimate bed-in-a-box.

To find out more about the new bed-in-a-box brand please visit herdysleep.com

Brand New Pro-Touch Trainers Launched

We are pleased to announce that 10,000 pairs of our new trainers have successfully launched into stores across Europe. The first set entered France in mid-February and in March they launched into the UK and other countries.

The P1.0 Pro Touch trainers are available exclusively at InterSport. They contain our unique micro springs in the midsoles of the footwear and provide extra comfort and lower shock levels than regular trainers.

You can read more about them here: http://www.protouch.eu/technology/footwear/e-spring-technology

Well-Sprung Sofas Spark Change

Are you sitting comfortably? Simon Spinks thinks not, which is why he has invented a new range of seating.

His wife refers to him as a “spring geek” and Simon Spinks is happy to admit that the description suits him perfectly.

His obsession with coils, bounce and comfort has helped his Leeds-based mattress and bed company, Harrison Spinks, become a world leader. Now his latest invention look set to revolutionise the sofa and easy chair industry.

He has teamed up with upholstery expert Jo Moore to launch a new Yorkshire brand, Spink and Edgar. Their ambition is to floor the competition with a combination of Spinks’ patented HD pocket spring technology, eco-friendly filling and robust, elegant design.

While most manufacturers use foam and other man-made materials in the frame and seat cushions, Spink and Edgar has removed between 60 and 80 per cent of it and replaced it with Simon’s award-winning springs and natural fibres, which makes the furniture more sustainable and enables it to keep its shape long-term.

The seating is all manufactured in Yorkshire by craftsmen using FSC certified timber for the frames, hemp and wool fibres from the Harrison Spinks farm in Bolton Percy and springs from its Leeds factory.

Simon says: “We began with spring innovation in the 1990s’ and our beds have been very successful but I really wanted to have a go at making sofas and chairs more comfortable and more environmentally friendly.

“Before the 1960s, when foam became available, seating was made from springs and natural materials, which stood the test of time. Now landfill is full of foam furniture.”

Part of the challenge was to use springs all over the products.

“We have put pocket springs everywhere, including tiny ones in the arms of the sofas and chairs. We’ve also got them in the core of the feather-filled cushions, so when you stand up the cushion immediately recovers its shape. We use as much natural filling as possible and we hope that one day, we can remove 100 per cent of the foam. At the moment, fire regulations are an issue,” says Simon.

Prices start at £1,300 for a chair and £2,700 for a medium-size sofa, but the products comes with the guarantee of longevity.

“We wanted to push the boundaries and go where no other furniture manufacturer has gone before,” says Jo Moore. “We are so confident in the quality of our furniture that we are offering customers a lifetime guarantee on the frame and springs.”

Some of the sofas, corner seating and chairs are in the holiday cottages at the Harrison Spinks farm, Hornington Manor, which is also acting as a showroom by appointment.

“Leeds used to be an important centre for upholstery, along with High Wycombe and Nottingham,” says Simon. “We hope that it will be again and that we become synonymous with building sofas that stand the test of time.”

Spinks Springs Supplies The Footwear Industry With Unique Micro Pocket Springs

Award winning Yorkshire pocket spring manufacturer, SPINKS SPRINGS has been working over the last 18 months with new footwear company SPRINGURU, to create an exciting new casual shoe concept.

The shoes feature innovative micro spring technology, which is only 10mm high and is embedded into the sole of the shoes. These conical springs are precision placed and pre-compressed in their fabric pockets by an ultrasonic welding process. Each pair of SPRINGURUs contains 34 micro pocket springs.

SPRINGURU is launching with one distinctive unisex design for both men and women.  The lace-less upper is made of a stretch ballistic nylon which is tough and breathable and custom conforms for a perfect fit.  The shoes look as ‘springy’ and ‘comfy’ as they feel and the outsole design is a nod to the mattress heritage of the pocket spring component. “This is such an exciting project for Spinks Springs, we have been testing and developing our springs for some time now, so it’s great to see them in the finished shoe.” noted Darren Marcangelo, Spinks Springs commercial director. “Not only do the shoes look great, but they feel absolutely superb, unlike any other shoes.”

The micro spring concept in footwear has been extensively tested at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) through a government funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). Other shoes provide a cushioning or ‘damping’ effect by using EVA in the midsole. However SPRINGURUs midsole construction deploys a ‘spring and damper’ arrangement, much like you would find in a car suspension system.  Jim Richards, Professor of Biomechanics at University of Central Lancashire, says, “This is a much more efficient arrangement and can lead to reduced impact forces and improved loading rates”.

The concept is being launched on the crowd-funding site, Kickstarter. Backers can pre-order a first edition pair to be amongst the first people in the world to experience SPRINGURU’s unique ‘spring in your step’ sensation.

About Spinks Springs

SPINKS SPRINGS is part of the Harrison Spinks Group, which encompasses three quality UK bed brands — Harrison, Somnus and Spink & Edgar — as well as the SPINKS SPRINGS component brand, the trading name for Harrison Spinks Components. With high-end bed and mattress manufacturer Harrison Spinks, the company makes and designs high- quality comfort microcoil pocket springs for sale worldwide through its components business. Harrison Spinks employs nearly 400 people, operates five factories in Leeds,along with a 300-acre farm, where it grows natural, non-woven materials, such as hemp, flax and wool for mattresses.

For additional information please visit www.harrisonspinks.com

About Springuru

SPRINGURU is a new casual shoe that has micro pocket springs built into an EVA midsole.  Along with great cushioning, support and comfort, the shoe provides a distinctive springy sensation underfoot. SPRINGURU is being launched on the crowd-funding site, Kickstarter.  Backers can pre-order a first edition pair to be amongst the first people in the world to experience SPRINGURU’s unique ‘spring in your step’ sensation. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1868606687/springuru-the-pocket-sprung-shoe # # #

Related Links:

Spinks Springs:  www.spinks-springs.com  Springuru:  www.springuru.com

For further information please contact:          Darren Marcangelo +44 7748631919               dmarcangelo@spinks-springs.com

Johnson Controls teams up with mattress manufacturer Harrison Spinks Ltd to create the ‘ComfortThin’ automotive seat concept

Johnson Controls, a global leader in automotive seating, overhead systems, door and instrument panels, and interior electronics, announced that it has formed a development relationship with luxury mattress manufacturer Harrison Spinks to integrate pocketed coil spring mattress technology into an automotive seat concept called ComfortThin. The thin profile seats replace conventional urethane foam pads with a 100 percent recyclable alternative, and provide a five to 20 percent weight reduction. This technology will be available for 2015 model year vehicles.

Yorkshire bed-maker grows global business – and its own sheep

SHEEP, trees and pioneering springs are turning a Yorkshire bed-maker into a world leader – and now they have won the company a prestigious award.

Harrison Spinks of Leeds has picked up the Yorkshire Post Innovation of the Year Award in recognition of its relentless quest to develop and innovate.

The company’s innovative mattress springs are used around the world – and are now finding a new global market in environmentally-friendly car seating.

Business development manager Richard Naylor says the company’s ingenuity sets it apart – and is driving its success.

“A lot of the bed industry could be said to be in the land of the dinosaurs as far as development is concerned – and we are determined to set ourselves apart from that,” he said.

“If you sit still in a market that’s declining, you’re going to decline with it.”

Instead, Harrison Spinks is defying convention in a largely traditional industry to deliver growth amid challenging markets. It sells £25m of beds each year – and aims to quadruple that by 2016.

“In our plans to move ahead, innovation is absolutely everything,” said Richard.

The judges in the Yorkshire Post awards agreed with the strategy, and said Harrison Spinks can “really go places”.

Rather than buying components from overseas suppliers, Harrison Spinks owns or controls much of its supply chain, and increasingly makes or grows its components.

The firm’s innovation in springs gathered momentum 15 years ago when the Revolution ®pocket spring devised by managing director Simon Spinks proved a huge hit, and the firm made a substantial sum selling the global rights.

The company now uses computer design to develop its constantly-evolving technology, and about eight of its 300 staff work solely on innovation and new patents.

Five years ago the company developed a low-height pocket spring that can be layered within mattresses, and will be appearing in car seats from 2015 thanks to a tie-up with automotive upholstery giant Johnson Controls.

“We believe this manufacturing advance will appeal to increasingly environmentally-aware consumers, allowing foam cushioning to be replaced with springs,” said Simon.

“Our spring allows Johnson Controls to make a thinner, more comfortable car seat back, which is also lighter in weight.”

In a further innovation, Harrison Spinks has expanded into natural fibres for its mattresses, and is even growing the timber for its bed frames in a forest near York.

Department store chain John Lewis prompted the firm to begin making its own mattress fillings.

“They wanted us to go all natural, and we thought we could do even better and grow some of the fibre locally,” said Simon.

“We now rear sheep and grow hemp and flax on our 300-acre farm in North Yorkshire. The Texel, Leicester and Swaledale sheep yield thicker, stronger and more resilient wool, ideal for mattresses.”

Six generations of the Spinks family have been involved in the bed industry since the firm was founded in 1840.

The company produces 57,000 mattresses a year, with sales of £25m, and owns the Harrison, Somnus and Spink & Edgar brands.

“Our growth forecast predicts we will have trebled or quadrupled turnover by 2016,” said Simon. “We will be an £80m-£100m business – and we can put a lot of that down to our relentless innovation.”

‘Car seat maker eyes new mattress spring’ – FT

An inventor from Yorkshire has made a breakthrough in a 500-year-old technology that one of the world’s biggest automotive components makers thinks could lead to “greener” motoring by significantly cutting the weight and carbon dioxide emissions of cars.

Simon Spinks, managing director and part owner of Harrison Spinks, a Leeds-based mattress maker, has teamed up with US-based Johnson Controls, the world’s biggest producer of car seats, which is evaluating his invention: a new kind of miniature coiled spring. Johnson Controls, which is also among the top 10 makers of car parts by sales, believes the new spring could revolutionise the production of car seats, construction of which has barely changed for half a century.

Not only could the springs cut the weight of cars and lead to lower carbon dioxide emissions by reducing fuel consumption but they could also make car seats easier to recycle by replacing the large amounts of polyurethane foam currently used in the products. Springs are made from lengths of steel wire, which is relatively easy to recycle.

Click here to read more on the article published in The Financial Times.