More foam from India’s Flexipol

 

Bhiwadi, Rajasthan — Flexipol Foams is increasing its foaming and mattress capacity in Rajasthan. It has also launched a new range of bed-in-a-box foams.

The company set up a second unit to cut foam and make mattresses in September 2020. ‘Currently, the capacity of the second unit is 4000 mattresses per month and in six months it will be further raised to 10,000 mattresses,’ said Flexipol’s chairman, Arun Jaluka.

The second unit features a CNC foam-cutting line from Baumer. A second line from the German company is likely to be installed by the end of 2021, Jaluka said.

In 2020, Flexipol increased capacity at the site by 20%, with a 1kT/year increase to 6kT/year in site 1, he said.

The investments come in the wake of positive developments in the Indian polyurethane and mattress sectors, Jaluka said. The coronavirus pandemic stopped imports of bed-in- a-box mattresses and shoe soles from China.

‘The pandemic and the ongoing container crises impacted imports from China and the Far East, and led domestic manufacturers to build capacities for products,’ he said.

To tap the booming market for bed-in-box compressed mattresses, Flexipol has

introduced compressed foam mattresses with an extended shelf-life. Earlier mattress were rolled and compressed and could be stored for 3–4 weeks. Flexipol claims it now has a range that can be unrolled after up to 6 months and will perform like a regular mattress.

‘We are also working on expanding the time to 12 months in the next few years,’ Jaluka said.