RUNNERS could soon have sports shoes to dream of, thanks to a Yorkshire bed manufacturer that’s literally putting a new spring in their step.

Leeds-based Harrison Spinks has won a major award for using its patented mattress technology to create the next-generation running shoe.

Managing director Simon Spinks was voted Ernst & Northern Entrepreneur of the Year for Technology Commercialisation for his work to integrate Harrison Spinks’ unique springs into shoe soles.

Simon said: “The technology works by embedding our micro pocket springs into the mid-sole of the shoe to provide suspension instead of using the traditional foam base to reduce impact on the runner’s legs.”

“They were originally designed to be layered within mattresses, achieving comfort without a lot of height,” he said.

“But the technology has many other applications that we are exploring.

“For instance, we have a tie-up with the global car seating giant Johnson Controls, which should see our low-height springs installed in car seats from 2015 to replace foam cushioning.”

Simon is one of 40 outstanding individuals from some of the country’s most successful businesses that were recognised in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

He is working on the running project with University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) biomechanics experts, who are using state-of-the-art movement analysis to assess whether the modified shoe reduces impact on the foot.

They are also examining the pocket-sprung sole’s potential to reduce sports injuries and improve performance.

“By working with UCLan, we’ve received independent scientific data needed to move to the next stage of development,” said Simon.

Harrison Spinks recently also won the Yorkshire Post’s Innovation of the Year Award.

“We have a relentless drive to innovate, and it’s the secret of our huge success,” said Simon. “In today’s challenging market, standing still is not an option.”

CAR drivers all over the world could soon be sitting more comfortably, thanks to a Yorkshire innovation that’s just won a top automotive industry award.

Leeds-based bed manufacturer Harrison Spinks has adapted its pioneering mattress technology to help create super-slim environmentally-friendly car seating, working with global automotive interiors giant Johnson Controls.

And the two companies have picked up the prize for Concept Vehicle Interior Innovation of the Year at the Automotive Interiors Expo Awards.

The awards honour the world’s finest designers, innovations and products in the automotive interiors arena.

Harrison Spinks’ managing director Simon Spinks said: “The judges that make up the Automotive Interiors Expo Awards panel are some of the world’s leading journalists, which means winning this award is quite an achievement.”

The accolade was awarded for ComfortThin seat technology – an innovative concept that integrates a pocketed coil-spring mattress technology into an automotive seat.

The thin-profile seats can replace conventional urethane foam pads with a 100 per cent recyclable alternative and create extra leg-room for passengers – up to 1.4in (35mm).

Simon said: “The ComfortThin seat also provides a dramatically thinner, tailored seat back.

“The active seating surface adapts to occupants of all sizes. Each pocket spring unit is able to react independently, further improving seating life while giving occupants the right amount of support when and where it’s needed.”

The technology can provide a weight reduction of up to 20 per cent, meaning cars use less fuel and emit less CO2, and will be available for 2015 vehicles.

The ComfortThin seats have also won Johnson Controls a prestigious OkoGlobe international mobility industry environment award.

Beda Bolzenius, president of Johnson Controls Automotive Seating, said: “We are breaking new ground with this environmentally-friendly technology.”

Simon Spinks said his company is thrilled that its innovative thinking is making such a difference in a new market.

“We are delighted to be recognised for our input into automotive interiors – and we’re proud that a UK luxury mattress manufacturer can assist a world-class industry,” he said.

For further information, please contact Helen Weaver, Marketing Manager. hweaver@harrisonspinks.co.uk

Harrison Spinks has formed a development relationship with Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) – a global leader in automotive seating. As part of this relationship, Johnson Controls will integrate Harrison Spinks unique pocket spring technology into an automotive seat concept called ComfortThin. The very thin profile seats replace conventional urethane foam pads with a 100 percent recyclable alternative, and provide a five to 20 percent mass reduction. This technology would be available for 2015 model year vehicles and will incorporate both Posturfil & HD.

For further information please click here to download the full press release.

On the fringes of the Harrison Spinks mattress factory in Leeds is a small workshop that Simon Spinks says is out of bounds to most visitors.

“We call this the toy shed,” confides Mr Spinks, the company’s managing director and a member of the family that has owned the 290-employee business since 1840.

Inside the workshop are several rows of novel machines for turning out new kinds of springs – including helical springs shaped like coils of DNA and even “endless” springs where hundreds of small springs laid next to each other are formed from one extremely long piece of steel wire.

It is in the toy shed where Mr Spinks, 42, who has worked for the company since the late 1980s, devised with the help of a small team of technical experts a new “Spinks spring” that is much smaller than the conventional pocket type that goes to form many mattresses.

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