Wolf Corporation
A Study In Durability and Comfort

Each company has its own unique character and the Wolf Corporation is no exception. Started by Paul Wolf in 1873 the company has been in the cotton, upholstery and bedding industries for all of that 124 years, a simple fact that is rare in any field. "We are perhaps the oldest cotton batting producer in the country," said Tony Wolf, now president of the family business. Wolf's great grandfather (Paul) began as an upholsterer making furniture and mattresses for his own retail store. "Those early years saw the company making its own chairs and sofas and creating its own padding material from corn husks and horse hair," says Wolf, who sprinkled commentary on significant historical events that took place in the Fort Wayne area all throughout our conversation.

Since then the company has grown substantially in two major areas, first as a supplier of fiber batts and pads for the mattress and furniture industries and as an independent manufacturer of innerspring bedding. "Being experts in these two areas," said Wolf, "allowed us to quickly jump the necessary hurdles and begin making our own futon mattresses. As a supplier of fiber products and a manufacturer of finished bedding we understood both facets of what this category was trying to do." Wolf's commitment to the futon furniture category is best exemplified in their exclusive Endura™ cotton/polyester blend, the company's benchmark futon batt. (More about that later.)&emdash; Editor

In 1976 Tony Wolf began his career in the family business after a couple of years of teaching. Wolf grew with the business, learning the ropes from his dad and his uncle, both of whom still work at the plant. Things continued to progress for both Wolf and his business, and in 1988 the company moved from its' original building in downtown Fort Wayne to its' present location, several miles outside of town. It wasn't until 1989 that Wolf made its' way into the futon mattress business as a raw materials supplier.

"We were supplying several people who were making them (futon mattresses) in their back rooms. We actually started by supplying companies from our cotton division," said Wolf. "I attended my first futon show in 1991, in Washington, DC. We had heard about the Montréal show but didn't make it to that one. We were there to see if we could sell more cotton to futon mattress manufacturers," he said. What they saw in DC were many people who were beginning to move towards futon furniture from a then seriously shrinking waterbed industry. "I was fascinated by the people who were at that DC show," said Wolf, "Lots of them were waterbed retailers who were sliding from 'waterbed only' to other retail variations like specialty sleep shops and lifestyle furniture stores. They were now selling futons and other types of bedding too." Wolf had been in the waterbed business, as a major supplier of covers and soft side components during the seventies and eighties, and he saw a similar transformation happening to his own company. "The following year (1992) in Houston we saw some of our customers writing orders that we couldn't believe. Things were really starting to heat up and that's when we began to consider doing more than just selling fiber," he said. It was the following year (1993) in San Diego that Wolf took his first futon mattress to market. "When we walked on the show floor in San Diego we knew things were looking up. By then the hints of transition in the waterbed industry that we had seen in DC were a reality, and with a growing sense that the furniture industry was beating a track to our door we went home from San Diego convinced that the category was about to come on and do big things," said Wolf. "We came back from that show and really got serious about it," he said. The following year saw a major futon mattress manufacturer end production with much of that business heading towards Wolf Corporation. "We went from nothing to futon mattresses being thirty percent of our business in eighteen months," he said. Wolf then relaxed a little and commented several times about long hours and the amazing volume of those intense months. "Let's face it, two very fortunate situations converged for us. We were blessed to be in an industry that was blasting off like a rocket ship and at the same time we had every necessary component to manufacture this product sitting on our factory floor. You've heard that old saying 'I've been good, I've been lucky, I'll take luck every time.' We were very lucky to be in the position we were in," he said. Unlike almost every other futon mattress manufacturer out there Wolf Corporation garnetts cotton batting in-house for the bedding and upholstered furniture industries, and has been doing so for over a century. "We were then, and still are now in the cotton garnetting business," said Wolf. "One of the top two or three producers in the country," he added. At least half of their 110,000 square foot plant is dedicated to this facet of the business. Wolf is very proud of his garnetting operation. "This whole plant is designed to do one thing. We can consistently produce any size or weight cotton or blended fiber batt year in and year out. Add to that our 100 years of experience in buying and blending technology and you get a know-how unsurpassed anywhere in the industry," he said.

Wolf Overcomes Independant Performance Testing

	The performance test uses a machine to put a unit through 100,000 use cycles, or ten years worth of abuse.
	"Our unit did not have a single failure. No tufts broke, there was no pocketing of foam or fiber into the spring unit, and not a single spring was even slightly damaged," Gary Cohen said.
	Here is a final look at what Wolf is achieving in performance testing.

The machinery in the plant consists of three garnetting units. Two older lines and a new state-of-the-art unit that went into operation only last year to produce Wolf's own proprietary futon batt called Endura™ cotton. Without getting too technical a garnett machine allows its operator to produce batting of various cotton and synthetic blends, and also various lengths, widths and weights. It all starts with blending. "This new unit is completely computerized," said Wolf. Four large bins are filled with various fibers. Wolf explains Endura cotton's mix of fibers which includes a blend of two recycled polyester fibers, a natural brown staple cotton and two other cotton fibers. "We take our experience at buying fibers and then translate that experience into consistency through technology," he said. The churning of the blending units ends with them dropping a very specific amount (by weight) of fiber onto a moving conveyor belt. We are standing in front of a well protected computer monitor as Wolf points to the numbers on the screen. Over the din he explains. "Each of these four hoppers is programmed to release a very specific amount of fiber on to the conveyor. The computer remembers if each one is a little over or a little under and compensates for it on the next drop. By doing this we get a uniformity of product that is unsurpassed in the garnetting business." The conveyer then moves through a cleaner to remove field trash (cotton plant pieces) and then on to the flame retardance process. Wolf uses a method known as tumble blending. This method sprays a fine mist of oil on the fibers and then applies 10% boric acid to the fibers. "This method holds the boric to the batt no matter how much of a beating it takes," said Wolf. As Wolf began to produce futon mattresses he also realized that softness was a real issue. "We discovered that the major complaint about futon mattresses, made primarily of cotton, is that they are too hard for many people," said Wolf, "With Endura we have solved that problem, without eliminating the cotton." So, unlike the all polyester or polyester wrap product out there, Wolf has blended the polyester into the batt to provide softness and resiliency, with the cotton there doing its job of providing the substance and body. Gary Cohen, National Sales Manager for Wolf, was quick to point to an independent lab test conducted recently by the company to prove its theory true. "We put an innerspring futon mattress through its paces and we passed with flying colors," said Cohen. Cohen supplied us with pictures which appear in a side bar elsewhere in this article. The performance test uses a machine to put a unit through 100,000 use cycles, or ten years worth of abuse. "Our unit did not have a single failure. No tufts broke, there was no pocketing of foam or fiber into the spring unit, and not a single spring was even slightly damaged," he said. Cohen was visibly excited with the condition of the Endura fiber itself. "This successful test gives us a great platform to work from," said Cohen, "We have a product that works when people are looking for true sitting and sleeping comfort and also a product that has the component fibers every futon specialty store wants and every furniture and bedding store understands." Cohen also shared his desire to provide retailers with some excellent POP and signage. "We have developed a hang tag program for retailers that will help them sell and will also educate consumers who are trying to sort out what to buy. They will outline the features and benefits of all our products, including the thirteen different styles that use Endura™," he said.

Obviously, Wolf and Cohen are very interested in helping retailers sell this category successfully. Our conversation eventually turned to the following question, "How do you sell this product and where does it go on the sales floor?" My question to Wolf was what separates the successful retailers from the marginal ones. His response centered around a commitment to the category at every level of the sale. "Retailers need to gain an understanding of what this product can do," said Wolf. He related a story about the typical, obligatory dialogue between the salesman and the customer. The salesman says "Can I help you?" and the customer says, "No I'm just looking." Both have done their job but nothing has been accomplished. "The retailers we see succeeding with this category are the ones who are making the commitment to understand it, give it the proper amount of floor space and sales train their staff." Wolf related a story about on of the company's rather diligent sales rep who happened to be checking out a mass merchant. The rep was in a store and watched as a couple looked at a futon and frame on the floor. As they discussed their options the rep stepped in and asked them if they had any questions. He showed them the product's features and benefits and they decided to buy. This event caused the rep to see if his salesmanship had made the difference. While he was there two other shoppers listened to his story and took product to the register. As he stood by and refrained from talking to anyone they invariably walked away without making a purchase. "This should encourage specialty retailers to work hard at selling and also tell more traditional retailers what they have to do to see this product move," he said.

Wolf also warned about short sightedness when we discussed the issue of the industry protecting its long term viability and growing at the same time. "This industry needs to face up to its own difficulties and work through them, and not try to hide them under a bushel. We must not try to "fake out" our customers into buying a product that provides a short term profit for the dealer and a long term liability for the consumer. Steering clear of this is the answer to both protecting our industry and providing for its growth," he said. Wolf added that the industry doesn't need more variety as much as it needs products that are made better. Better products that transcend the "price only" issue, products that provide what people want, real comfort and real value. "This industry needs to look outward towards the consumer and provide great products that don't focus on price. If we do this we will grow. On the other hand if we look inward, at each other, and decide to see if we can make it five dollars cheaper than the other guy, then we will lose sight of what the consumer came to us for in the first place," said Wolf. Wolf and Cohen are convinced that real comfort and real value are integral to the long term viability of the category, and they are committed to delivering just that.

Wolf Committed to Performance and Testing

	Wolf Corporation operates a fully operational testing facility at their Fort Wayne Plant. The facility is set up to do mattress quality testing and flammability testing for the FR 1642 Federal Regulations.
	FR Cigarette Test: This prototype test is mandated by the CPSC for all types of mattresses. Wolf's tumble method of applying FR stable Boric Acid is the best way to produce a batt that passes the test. Compression Testing Machine: This machine is used to make thousands of impressions in a few days that equals ten years of actual use.
	This Garnetting unit processes all of Wolf's exclusive Endura™ Cotton.

Tony Wolf is also next in line to take over the helm at ISPA, the International Sleep products Association. As President his duties include carrying the torch for one year beginning at this year's Interzum Show (Europe's largest furniture show, which takes place in May) in Cologne, Germany, and ending next year in San Antonio at the Bedding Show, ISPA's semi-annual trade show. With that as a starting point we dove into a few questions about the Futon Association and Wolf's thoughts about its future and its purpose. "FAI needs to synergize with larger trade associations, like ISPA, to represent its members in Washington. Right now the Association is just not as well funded as it could be," said Wolf. Wolf also made it clear that he believed the basic function of a trade association is to provide a base from which a large and very diverse group of businesses can gather industry statistics and current market information, a job FAI has struggled to perform, not due to lack of effort but due to a lack of cooperation from some industry participants.

After one hundred and twenty four years of success, and a history that includes surviving the great depression of the 1930's and two world wars you might think Tony Wolf would have a complex paradigm to explain his company's survival. He doesn't. "Its simple," he says, when asked about past and future plans to keep his ship on course, "If you wouldn't buy it yourself then don't sell it." We couldn't agree more.