INDUSTRY UPDATES

August Lotz Announces New Dealer Program

August Lotz Inc., recently announced an all new dealer program for their solid red oak futon frames. “In our 100 plus years of business, nothing has been more important to us than a strong dealer commitment,” said August Lotz president Mark Schlichter. “With the proven success of our new red oak futon frames, we are now able to offer frame styles at nearly half the price than our old domestic frames, all without sacrificing quality or any of our patented features that set us apart from our competition. We are so excited about our frame program we are offering dealers special flooring and/or pricing options when they floor the new product. We have the styles, we have the quality, and we have the price; now dealers can have the most successful frame and mattress program in the industry.”

“The reason for such outstanding success is simple. When you, as a consumer, find that the August Lotz frame has to offer: consistent quality; dovetail construction; thicker dimension lumber; that it can be reclined while in the sitting position; is a front loader; has a lifetime warranty backed by a company which has been in business since 1897; has the lowest warranty rate; and is in the same price range as other futon frames without those features, it only makes sense to choose an August Lotz product,” Schlichter said.

Not surprisingly, the Convertible replica styles are leading the pack. Schlichter stated, “We duplicated the arm styles of our most popular frames, the Convertibles. With the Boston, San Juan, Marlowe, and August Lotz styles now available at nearly half the price of our former domestic frame line, we can hardly keep them on our shelves.”

All of August Lotz’s solid oak frames are offered in a medium walnut finish, with some of those styles also being offered in English Oak. “English Oak is a darker, richer color, which looks very rich on our frames,” stated Schlichter.

For more information about these or any other August Lotz products, please call 800-826-7326.

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Omni Softgoods Joins Night & Day Furniture And Otis Bed In San Francisco And Philadelphia in 2004

Night & Day Furniture, Otis Bed and Omni Softgoods, three major players in the futon sofa sleeper industry, will be showing together at the San Francisco show January 28–31, Mart 2, Space 701, and March 21–23 at the FAI show in Philadelphia in 2004. Marcia Nachreiner, General Manager of Omni Softgoods, shares, “We are really looking forward to our first shows with Mike Gallawa, John Roma and Karen Day. Displaying our products with these two co-leaders in the industry is a great way to start a new year.”

Omni provides “High Profile” covers that fit, Otis provides “High Performance” mattresses that fit like a glove and both are shown on “High Quality” frames from Night & Day. This trifecta provides the perfect mix of quality, style and versatility.

“We are very excited about our new web site too,” said Nachreiner, “Having the opportunity to provide our retail customers and consumers accurate information, assistance and choices, via the web, gives Omni one more avenue in its promise to provide excellent customer service.” Stop in and pay us a visit at: www.omnisoftgoods.net.

For more information contact Omni Softgoods at 800-283-8037.

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Bourne’ International Completes the Package

With the recent release of two additional beds in their teak product line, Bourne’ now offers coordinated bedroom groupings with all their futon arm designs. This includes the newly released Prairie Mission and Panel beds. Also the Macintosh and Mission beds with case goods. These correspond with Bourne’s Craftsman, Prairie, Macintosh and Olympic arm designs for their futon sofa sleeper frames. To further fill their collections, Bourne’ also has available occasional tables, room screens, rocking chairs and other accessory pieces, in both natural teak and cherry finished teak.

In addition, both the bedroom and futons in the Urban Mission and Lodge pole collections are offered with correlated case goods and accessories.

This allows Bourne’ dealers to diversify their presentation to a larger consumer audience for greater potential sales.

Bourne’ also announced that ninety percent of their futon sofa sleeper frame designs now incorporate their “Friendly Front Operated” system for the consumer. This system allows their futon sleepers to be converted from the bed position to couch position, from the front easily. It uses a front “sleep lock” position that virtually prevents consumer breakage. The easy conversion method, combined with their furniture cleat construction, mortise and tenon joinery, support reinforcements, heavy neoprene rollers and glides, and brass conversion plates, makes Bourne’s frames among the strongest in the industry.

Please visit Bourne’ at their Showroom in San Francisco Market Space #282 Mart 1 or call 1-360-816-1054.

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SIS Offers Down Comforters

SIS Covers is improving and adding to their custom bedding line. “With today’s super thick, premium mattresses, customers are looking for oversized duvet covers, throws, and bedspreads,” said company spokesperson John Christiansen. SIS is meeting this demand and now offers three new sizes, a 92” x 98” size, a 98” x 98” square, and a super size 112” x 116” as well.

“Down comforters in all these sizes are also in stock,” said Christiansen. “And they are reasonably priced, and ready to ship.” Consider getting all your top-of-the-bed needs from one source. With over 300 fabrics to choose from the possibilities are endless!

For more information contact SIS Covers at 800-989-5435.

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Lifestyle Solutions Opens New West Coast Distribution Center, Complete With New Corporate Offices

Lifestyle Solutions of San Jose, CA is moving to a new office and warehouse facility in Milpitas, CA. a northern suburb of San Jose. The spacious facility will feature new offices and an expanded warehouse operation. The new warehouse is about 30% larger than the current San Jose facility.

“ Our move into conventional bedroom furniture and expanded case goods demand has created the need for more space,” says JC Gholston (Corporate Sales Manager). “We have been waiting for the right place and the right time for expansion.”

“Being located in the world famous Silicon Valley has made it difficult to find cost effective warehouse and office space so when we found the right site we had to make our move on it,” he said.

The new facility will house the core line of futon sofa-bed convertibles, Siesta futon mattresses, platform and conventional beds, along with case goods, and the LS Kids line up.
This marks the first time in several years that the corporate office will be housed within their West Coast distribution center. Gholston added, “This move will enable us to provide better and more responsive service to our customers throughout the region. We have started moving and wiring for the change and will be complete by year end.”

For more information regarding the move contact Lifestyle Solutions office staff at 1-877-693-8866.

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Wolf To Show Ultra Premium Line At Philly Futon EXPO

Wolf Corporation is introducing two new Ultra Premium futon models at the upcoming Futon & Specialty Sleep EXPO in Philadelphia. These models were displayed as prototypes at the recent High Point Market and the reception was terrific.

The “Legacy” has the ultimate in natural cushioning for comfort, which includes silk/cashmere blend, memory foam, and latex finger foam as well as the company’s heralded Aerolife cotton blend. This combination results in a unique product which can neither be found nor equalled on the market today. “The comfort must be felt to be understood and the crisp tailored look is beautiful and befitting of the quality within. This is truly an ultra-premium product with the comfort characteristics of beds and sofas costing thousands more,” said Tony Wolf, company President.

The “Platinum” utilizes a high-density memory foam core laminated to a high-density polyurethane foam core specifically engineered for a bifold futon frame and provides luxurious, visco-elastic comfort. A true premium product for both seating and sleeping, the Platinum lives up to its name, providing nothing short of the finest comfort on the market. For those in search of the molded, body conforming fit of the latest technology, Wolf has brought this product to market to meet the need.

Wolf continues to expand comfort options through our research and development center. These are but the latest products that fulfill consumer comfort desires and at the same time enhance quality and durability. Our vertical integration and focus on proven quality gives Wolf the value edge that our brand is known for in the marketplace.

For more information contact Wolf Corporation at 1-800-642-9653.

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Sofa Buddy Makes PractiCal Solution

If you’re into futons and sofa beds, it’s because they’re practical. And now, intriguingly, there’s a brand new product, designed to work with them, that’s actually called the “PractiCal”.

Built by California’s Sofa Buddy, Inc., this newly patented product is described as “the world’s very first made-for-watching-TV table”. It’s 48 inches long by 24 inches wide and 24 inches high. It’s constructed with tempered glass for safety, a solid steel frame for strength and durability and twin-caster wheels for easy mobility. It sells for $199.00.

Says inventor and Sofa Buddy CEO, Robert Daniel, “It’s a combination coffee table, dining table, work table and a desk. We designed it to bring the TV viewing experience into the 21st century.”

So, how does it work?

“Well,” says Daniel, who’s seated on a sofa, “as you can see, at the moment, it’s a coffee table. But now, watch this…” He leans forward, grabs the PractiCal, and pulls it, gently, on its smoothly gliding wheels, up against the sofa. “Now it’s a dining table,” he says, tapping it, as if rewarding a pet. And sure enough, the PractiCal relates to Daniel’s body as a dining table would.

“The side facing towards me is designed for two people,” he says. “My wife and I eat every evening with the TV news. And the lower shelf, down here, between us, is great for remote controls – I reach down, push a button, and we’re instantly on a new channel. But now, watch this…”

Daniel turns the table, on its wheels, 180 degrees; then sitting in the center position, he opens up his laptop on the PractiCal’s large, open work surface. “Now it’s a desk. And I have these lower shelves on both sides, within easy reach. One I use for my briefcase and the other shelf I replace temporarily with a filing tray I brought from the office. I like to watch Monday Night Football this way–kill two birds with one stone.”

Daniel, clearly animated by his product, continues: “We were intrigued by why it wasn’t out there–maybe folks knew something we didn’t, so we went in search of answers. The question, though, quickly mutated. It wasn’t ‘Why isn’t our product out there?’–it’s ‘Why are traditional coffee tables still being used in modern, active dens and family rooms?’ At 18 inches high, on average, there’s not much you can do with a coffee table. I mean, can you pull a coffee table up over your knees and use it? We asked scores of folks in the furniture trade. To our surprise, the only answers we got were: ‘Don’t know, never thought about it.’ Or, even scarier: ‘So you can put your feet on it?’

Only one person had the answer: It’s all wrapped up in one word–tradition. You go buy a sofa, you buy a coffee table. You don’t ask why, you do it-it’s traditional. We’re programmed.”

“Reinvent the wheel,” says Daniel, “and folks still know it’s a wheel. If they need a wheel, they might buy yours. But invent something totally new and they may not realize they have a need for your product. That, to start with, is the trick–making them realize they have that need.”

That’s why Sofa Buddy is actively engaged in the futon and sofa bed market. “It’s market based, not on tradition, but on functional needs, so folks are more likely to recognize a need they have for a product like ours. After all, the person who sits on a futon, then folds it down to sleep on, is unlikely to pass up the opportunity to use that futon as a dining chair, or a desk chair, or a crafts’ chair. In other words, the PractiCal brings all that added value to a product they already own–their futon or sofa bed. It’s practical by nature–PractiCal by name.”

For more information, contact Robert Daniel at Sofa Buddy, Inc. (323) 874-1500.

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Ludlow Textiles Celebrates 135 Years of Continuous Operation

Ludlow, MA—Ludlow Textiles Company, Inc., a leading manufacturer of twines, threads, cords, tapes, and yarns, is celebrating 135 years of “total product support” this year. Ludlow has been in continuous operation since 1868 and was the first industrial thread manufacturer in the United States to achieve ISO9001 registration for its full process.

The company manufactures specialty twine for 8-way hand tying of springs, jute welt cord, nylon button tufting twines, futon mattress braid and webbing. Products are sold through distributors for the upholstered furniture market.

“Ludlow’s ability to prosper for so many years is a tribute to generations of employees and management dedicated to partnering with customers and suppliers to produce the best value-added product for a specific application,” says chairman and CEO Martin A. Lower.

“Our long-standing philosophy of total product support has made Ludlow the preferred supplier of twines, threads, cords, tapes, and yarns to nearly 1,000 customers worldwide,” says Joseph J. John, Jr., executive vice president. “Our engineers often partner with our customers in research and development, and they really appreciate our willingness to go the extra mile,” he adds.

In the 1880’s, the company was known as Ludlow Manufacturing Associates and operated the “largest jute mill in the world.” Prior to World War II, Ludlow concentrated on the production and sale of jute gunnysacks, grain bags, cotton baling, webbing, yarns and twine, and expanded into linen threads. The company was purchased in 1983 by its current ownership. Today, Ludlow Textiles Company, Inc., operates a state-of-the-industry facility in one of the original, historic factory buildings along the Chicopee River. The company has an extensive research department committed to continuous improvements and product development.

“We’re thankful for our success and are looking forward to serving our customers for another 135 years,” says Lower.

For more information, please contact Ludlow Textiles Company at (800) 628-9048 or visit www.ludlowtextiles.com.

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Leggett & Platt’s Consumer Products Unit Promotes Ralston and Ehle

Terry Bowen, President of Leggett’s Consumer Products Unit, announced the promotion of Dick Ralston to the position of Vice President-Business Development of its Consumer Products Unit, headquartered in Carthage, Missouri. Dick most recently was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Fashion Bed Group, which is based in Chicago, Illinois. Bowen said, “Dick has worked for Leggett for over 30 years and is the logical choice to assist me in the future growth of our business, given the recently announced departure of Joe Blazar. I have directly worked with Dick since 1984, when we started Leggett’s Consumer Products activities from scratch. I have always appreciated his willingness to do whatever task was at hand, to get the job done. I anticipate that Dick will be a terrific resource, to assist our divisions in many regards, as we continue to expand our Consumer Product activities in all paths of distribution and geographies.”

Kevin Ehle will assume Ralston’s former responsibilities as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Fashion Bed Group. He will report directly to Ron Ainsworth, President of the Fashion Bed Group, and will be responsible for all domestic sales and marketing activities in the United States. Said Ainsworth, “Kevin has eleven solid years of experience as Vice President of Sales for the former Ornamental Bed Division of the Consumer Products Unit. As we continue to complete the integration of our Bedding Support and Ornamental Bed product lines, Kevin’s intimate knowledge of the marketplace, and strategic thinking abilities, will continue to be of tremendous value.”

Leggett’s Consumer Products Unit supplies ornamental beds and bedding support products through its Fashion Bed Group; adjustable beds through its Adjustable Bed Division; and coated fabrics through its Coated Fabrics Division, which includes Vantage Industries and Rug Hold. For confirmation, or additional information, contact Terry Bowden (417-237-6230) or Ron Ainsworth (708-924-7500).

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Burlington Futon Company Hits Grand Slam

The Boulder Collection, rugged 100 percent cotton and as comfortable as your favorite jeans. Boulder is available in the soft earthtones of loden, khaki, paprika, celery, curry, maize and vintage blue. These will make a strong statement in your showroom as well as provide the perfect coordinating accessory for other covers in natural fibers. Best of all, it is affordable and washable.

Also making its debut is a collection of indoor/outdoor fabrics from Vermont designer Susan Sargent. Bright, bold and colorful characterize the eight new fabrics in this line, five of which are weather-resistant and just right for your porch, patio or sunroom. All eight feature distinctive signature designs and will be best sellers for the cheerful ambience they create. Use them year-round, or as three-season favorites in the northern regions.

Based on the success of its line of washable microfibers, Burlington Futon Company announces an expansion of this collection with three additional florals: two with a right antique velvet look and a traditional parlor design. Made with the same ultra soft, durable and machine washable fibers as the Belle and Aries collections, these are sure to be very popular.

Supporting these collections are other stand alone patterns. Look for a Burlington’s exclusive, an old world rug pattern in a mesmerizing brick chenille; several earthtone geometrics and the tropicals; and April and Claudine, both contemporary floral prints making a beautiful and colorful presentation and perfect for spring. Claudine is also an exclusive for Burlington Futon Company and is featured on this issue’s Hot Covers page.

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