Latex International building plant in Malaysia

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 6/21/2010 4:36:17 PM

Shelton, Conn. - Latex International, a producer of Talalay latex mattresses and pillows, has broken ground on a 251,000-square-foot latex plant in Malaysia to support its growth in the Asian and European markets.  

The new facility, Dunlop Latex Foam (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, will be a subsidiary of Latex International. 

It will be operational in the summer of 2011, and will be the only facility by a major latex supplier to produce both Talalay and Dunlop process latex foams, the company said.

"This is a major step in our company's expansion," said Latex International CEO Kevin Coleman. "We are building a worldwide infrastructure to support the growth we are experiencing. 

"With the North American market headwinds that we have seen over the past two years, the company has focused on new opportunities internationally," Coleman said. "We have established sales and service organizations in South America, Europe and Asia during this time period and our sales to markets outside the U.S. have grown to over 25% of our total revenue. This plant is necessary to better serve the needs of these customers both from a latex production perspective but also from a delivery perspective."

The new Malaysian facility will feature an eco-friendly design, including a waste water treatment plant that will recycle water for use in the production process, a power management system, and high-efficiency production equipment.

By David Perry from HTT sister publication Furniture Today