Contract Textile International

Fire Reterdant Fabrics by Bekaert Textiles

Volume 2 / May-August 2010

In fire protection process Bekaert works on 2 levels: preventing the fire from starting and, whenever started, preventing or retarding the spread of the flames.
In a full blaze, the company aims at postponing the flashover point (fire needs 14%  oxygen but when the temperature of gasses in a closed room reaches   650 °C - 700°C, they explode and ignite all flammable materials in a split second. It is important that firefighters are present BEFORE the flashover point has been reached.    

A mattress ticking, filling materials and consequently a mattress can be made Fire Retardant.
Most formal Fire Retardancy standards prescribe the use of composite tests: a 100 % identical product replica must be tested in a destructive test procedure.
The Bekaert Textiles lab has years of experience in FR testing.  

BASIC FR-STANDARDS FOR MATTRESSES

- EN 597/1 (cigarette test):
Aim: a mattress should not start burning when a cigarette is falling down on a mattress (usually because the smoker is falling asleep)
Bekaert solution: all fabrics can be treated FR to pass the cigarette test level with a chemical finish

- EN 597/2 (match flame test)
Aim: a mattress should not start burning when a match flame (or gas flame), by accident, touches a mattress
Bekaert solution: most of the fabrics can be treated FR to pass the flame level with a chemical finish

- CRIB 5 & CRIB 7
Aim: when a full flame is put on a mattress, it may not spread the fire (result in a bigger fire) and should extinguish. Difference between CRIB 5 and CRIB 7 is the source of the flame (CRIB 7 is a stronger source than CRIB 5)
Bekaert solution: some of the Bekaert fabrics (with cellulosic composition like cotton or viscose) can be made FR to pass CRIB 5 level by using a chemical finish.

Bekaert has a collection of fabrics that are inherent FR (without chemical treatment, using FR yarns). Quality 98344 can be washed at 60 °C without loosing FR characteristics.

In the UK, mattresses for private use (considered to be low hazard) must comply with EN 597/1 and EN597/2. Mattresses for the contract market (hotel, hospital, prison,..) are medium to high hazard and must comply with BS6807 crib 5 or crib 7.

M1 (French standard)
Aim: a fabric should not catch fire or burn. This is a fabric standard and not a mattress standard! M1 is no guarantee for the mattress FR-behavior
Bekaert solutions :
 - TREVIRA CS with 100% original TREVIRA yarn

BEKAERT TEXTILES FUTURE DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE

* New era marked by establishment of innovation centre at Belgian headquarters in addition to expansion of Bekaert business units worldwide. As an expert in flame retardant fabrics the company also expanded its recently established factory in Turkey

Bekaert Textiles, a global market leader in mattress and bedcover fabrics, plans a number of expansions in several locations. In addition to the future design and technology center at the head office site in Waregem, Belgium, structural changes are also being made to the international establishments as a result of growing business. Additional machinery is being installed in North Carolina, Mexico, Australia and Turkey. At the same time, the Argentinean production of woven and knitted mattress fabrics is being moved to a larger site.
High Tech Innovation Centre for Belgian Head Office The Belgian Bekaert Textiles infrastructure is being tailored to the innovative course the company has been pursuing since 2006. Extra investments will be made worldwide in the field of Research & Development. The international R&D team already successfully develops new product and process innovations, based on results provided by the Bekaert Academy, a competence centre performing scientific sleep research in cooperation with different universities. As of 2011, R&D achievements will continue in a specially adapted high tech location at the Waregem headquarters, featuring the most recent equipment.
“We are placing all our bets on the R&D card because of earlier achievements, including the awards we have won for innovations such as Purotex, Cambric and Meditiss. By providing a specially adapted location for our R&D Department at headquarters, we want to stay ahead of the latest trends and evolutions in the field of sleep innovations, sharing them with our local R&D teams worldwide so each can implement the knowhow in its own market,” says Paul De Meulemeester, CEO and President of the Bekaert Textiles Group.
Bekaert Textiles’ Growth Worldwide
Bekaert Textiles was founded as a family business in 1892 by the West Flanders entrepreneur, Ivo Bekaert. After subsequent takeovers by the US-based W.R. Grace in 1970 and the Dutch Gamma Holding in 1992, the company developed into a global market leader with production units in 7 countries: Turkey, the Czech Republic, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, China and Australia, allowing Bekaert Textiles to quickly and adequately meet local market demand. The group’s headquarters are still located in Waregem, Belgium.
Almost 120 years after its foundation, the Belgian textile company supplies woven and knitted mattress fabrics to mattress producers across the globe, with Europe as its key market and the main growth markets being “the Americas”, where BT owns establishments in North Carolina, Mexico and Argentina. In 2004, the Argentinean Textiles & Diseños, a new and growing company located near Buenos Aires, was taken over and converted into a production and distribution centre of woven and knitted mattress covers for the South-American market. There is now a pressing need to enlarge the Argentinean factory. Business is booming, making it necessary to enhance the current organization. As a result, the Argentinean plant will move to a larger site, allowing a significant expansion in capacity.
BT is also doing well in other markets: extra machinery is being added to the plants in the US, Mexico and Australia. The recently established Turkish factory is also being expanded.
Bekaert offers a complete range of innovative products with new functionalities on all targeted markets, using the latest technology and creative designs. All these innovations are the result of the worldwide blend of technologies and ideas inside the Bekaert Textiles innovation network, enabling Bekaert to offer the same quality and service throughout the world, fully tuned to local preferences and expectations.
The Bekaert Group currently employs almost 1000 people.

- Mr. Paul De Meulemeester, CEO and President of Bekaert Textiles Group
- Bekaert headquarters in Belgium