Harlee's Steve Leichter Running For FAI Board

Steve Leichter, President of Harlee International, has accepted a nomination to run for the Board of Directors of the Futon Association. Leichter is interested in the direction of the futon industry and believes he is well equipped to be on the Board. "I have been involved with several boards in the past and as a member of the California Bar, I believe I can lend some experience and sound legal advice to this growing Association," he said.

The Association's annual meeting, where the Board election will take place, will be at this year's Futon EXPO in Phoenix in May. Leichter will be joined by several other nominees who will run for three or four available Board seats.

Big Tree/Big Sleep Moving On Up!

Big Tree/Big Sleep's permanent showroom at High Point, located in the Radio Building, will be moving from the 3rd floor up to the 7th for the upcoming April High Point Show. This larger showroom is located on the corner of Main and Commerce Streets in the Radio Building. Big Tree also announced that it will be showing its new, solid plantation teak futon frames at the upcoming show in April. "All we can say is they're gorgeous!" says Bob Pecoraro, "A must see."

Foreign Accents Announces New Vice President

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Foreign Accents is proud to announce that Monica Whitaker was recently promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Ms. Whitaker started with FOREIGN ACCENTS in 1993 as Marketing Manager and became Director of Marketing and Embassy Programs in 1995.

"Over the past three years, Ms. Whitaker has been very successful in working with our professional team of sales reps to significantly increase sales," notes Foreign Accents President Wolfgang Rempen. "Also, our level of customer service and satisfaction has increased since she came on board." In her new capacity as vice president, Ms. Whitaker will act as company liaison with established corporate accounts, and continue to oversee all aspects of marketing, sales, publicity and customer service.

CPSC, Primo International Announce Futon Mattress Recall

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Primo International of Montreal, Quebec, is recalling about 1,600 futon mattresses distributed in the United States. The futon mattresses, which fail to meet U.S. federal mandatory standards for mattress flammability, could ignite and smolder, presenting a serious risk of burn injuries or death from smoke inhalation in violation of the federal Flammable Fabrics Act.

CPSC and Primo International are not aware of any injuries involving these futon mattresses. This recall is being conducted to prevent the possibility of injury. The futon mattresses measure 48 inches wide by 72 inches long (full size). The mattresses are marketed under the following styles and are manufactured with a mattress cover available in the following colors and patterns. Style; Description Chesa Cape or Peak; Light green plaid top and side panels, and natural other side Sconce Stone; Black with a marbleized mixture of silver, lilac, violet and brown on top and sides and solid black on other side FB1000fr6a; Natural beige. Furniture stores nationwide, including Rhodes Furniture, Olum's, Beiters, Raymour & Flannagan, Taft, and Furniture King, sold the futon mattresses as part of sofa sets from January 1994 through August 1996 for about $350 to $400.

Consumers should immediately stop using these futon mattresses and return them to the store where purchased for a free replacement futon mattress.

Ten Cotton Batting Manufacturers Selected To NCBI Honor Roll

MEMPHIS. Ten cotton batting manufacturers have earned recognition on the 1997 National Cotton Batting Institute Honor Roll for their participation in the industry association's Quality Assurance Program for smolder resistant/fire retardant cotton batting. The voluntary program was launched in the fall of 1993 as a way for cotton batting manufacturers to do the best job possible in producing a consistent and quality product for end-users. Participating members voluntarily send in monthly reports to the NCBI office in Memphis, showing that they have a satisfactory program for their smolder resistant/fire retardant cotton-based batting products. Those monthly reports show the number of tests that are run on that company's cotton batting production system and the number of times the product passed or failed the test.

The Honor Roll is published annually to futon industry trade magazines and other outlets to publicize the participants' efforts. NCBI worked with the Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC) in developing the program, which specifically deals with the proper application of boric acid to cotton batting during the manufacturing process.

"These companies have shown great loyalty and consistency in their participation in this program," said NCBI President Greg Windsperger, Airtex Consumer Products, Cokato, MN. "It gives me great pleasure in honoring them for their continued support of the Quality Assurance program. Our industry is dedicated to producing a quality futon mattress product for our customers. We hope this program demonstrates to everyone in the cotton batting industry that we are serious in that commitment."

Some of the procedures that cotton batting manufacturers had to follow in the Quality Assurance Program included:

• Having a cotton-based fiber feeder system that disperses a constant and uniform fiber supply.
• Installation and use of a reliable chemical application system that applies a constant and uniformly distributed amount of chemical on the fibers in the batting.
• Use of a dry or liquid chemical percent add-on that is more than just adequate to consistently pass the performance standards in the procedure.
• A minimum of three tests run per day in triplicate per line, using the prescribed test method.
• Performing the tests described on a frequency sufficient to assure consistent, day-to-day uniformity in passing the tests.
• Sending properly identified test samples of randomly selected batting to the UFAC compliance laboratory in Burlington, NC, for the filling and padding test.

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