Sound sleep solutions BekaertDeslee

sound sleep solutions

Smart technology and environmental commitment are driving success for mattress fabric specialist BekaertDeslee

In 2018 BekaertDeslee, the world’s leading specialist in mattress fabrics and mattress covers, completed the construction of a new Innovation & Design Center (IDC) in Waregem, Belgium. The new, 3,575 m² building is located at Groenbek, a business area across the street from BekaertDeslee’s headquarters. The BekaertDeslee IDC is the “home” for the creative and technological heart of the group: the pilot plant, R&D, Engineering, Design, and Marketing & Communication.

“600 million people sleep on our fabrics every night. We spend years on research and development to improve their sleep quality,” said the company. “With the new IDC we are putting a bigger focus on innovation than ever before in order to transform the way we serve our clients, develop our people, and lead our industry.

“Through BekaertDeslee IDC, our nine business units are connected across the globe as one virtual network to scan the world for new trends in sleeping technology. This worldwide radar allows us to translate upcoming technologies into innovative products fit for the bed environment.”

BekaertDeslee IDC’s facilities include full production size machines, to enable the development of the latest technology in weaving, knitting and finishing. This fully integrated approach ensures all the company’s units worldwide get rapidly geared up for full production.

BekaertDeslee IDC is also home to BekaertDeslee Academy, a platform for open innovation, where suppliers, customers, scientists, universities and research institutes are able to engage with the company in the co-creation of unique products and services.

merger of equals

BekaertDeslee was established in 2016 through the merger of two Belgium based textile companies, Bekaert Textiles and DesleeClama, creating the worldwide leader in mattress fabrics.

The new company brought together 19 production facilities worldwide and about 2,600 employees. Both companies have a long history in the Belgian textile industry. Bekhaert Textiles was founded in 1892 and Deslee Textiles in 1928. The global expansion of both companies accelerated in the 21st century with Deslee Clama opening new factories in Brazil, Romania, China and Estonia and Bekaert expanding its operations to China, Argentina, Mexico and Turkey.

“The Bekaert Textiles - DesleeClama deal fits both companies’ growth strategies and creates important new market opportunities, in particular the increased awareness surrounding the importance of sleep and the increased growth in the worldwide mattress market”, said a company spokesperson in 2016.

Smart solutions

BeekaertDeslee declares that change and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything it does, driving innovation in design, technology, services, communication and manufacturing.

Its goal is to bring relevant innovation to the market, close to the customer, to meet the worldwide awareness that sleep is crucially important for health, mental wellbeing and performance.

BekaertDeslee ‘Solutions’ offers on trend “sleep solutions” for the consumer who is increasingly aware that quality time in bed is important. With cut & sew manufacturing units in the US, Mexico and Romania, the company produces ready-made mattress covers fitting customers’ exact and unique requests.

SmartSleeve®, for example, is a revolutionary mattress protector that optimises sleeping comfort, health and the hygiene of the mattress. SmartSleeve® combines three top technologies that offer the optimal conditions for a good night’s sleep. The fabric is knitted in a special 3D-structure (CAIRFULL) that permanently ventilates the mattress and reduces the pressure of the body on the mattress. SmartSleeve® also regulates the moisture level and temperature of the sleep environment while a probiotic biotechnology in the fabric keeps the mattress clean in a 100 per cent natural way.

BekaertDeslee also develops ‘smart’ textile solutions for healthcare markets through its Meditiss division. Here the main focus is on the welfare of young and old people who need to spend a lot of time in bed, either at home or in the hospital. The Meditiss products provide an answer to the most common causes of bad sleep such as dust mites and allergies, incontinence and heat and perspiration.

Supporting ocean cleanup

BekaertDeslee has recently announced that it is taking part in a massive ocean cleanup initiative – Seaqual.

Every year, 8 million tonnes of garbage reach the seas. 75 per cent lies underneath the ocean’s surface, forming an immediate threat to marine life. Governments, businesses and consumers share the responsibility to preserve the oceans for future generations.

The Seaqual™ organisation pays fishermen from the Spanish coasts of the Mediterranean Sea to collect garbage and bring it ashore. For this initiative, additional garbage harvesting platforms will be built in the Americas and in Asia. Each material, including aluminium, metal, glass or plastic, goes to its own unique recycling chain. Textile technology enables BekaertDeslee to take the plastics found in the ocean and upcycle them into new yarns that are used to produce its high-quality mattress textiles and mattress covers.

Awarding excellence

BekaertDeslee has been named ‘National Winner’ in the 2019 European Business Awards, one of the world’s largest business competitions. BekaertDeslee was chosen from 2,753 businesses named as Ones to Watch in a list of business excellence published in July and selected as a National Winner by a panel of independent judges including business leaders, politicians and academics. It is the best business in Belgium in the category Social Responsibility and Environmental Awareness and will now go on to represent Belgium in the final stage of the competition.

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards said: “This is a significant achievement and BekaertDeslee is an outstanding leader in its field. To be chosen as a National Winner means you show great innovation, ethics and success. It also means you are one of the best businesses in Europe. We wish BekaertDeslee the best of luck in the final round.” n