Ingeo spreads out at Heimtextil
By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 1/12/2004
FRANKFURT — An expanded array of home textiles products using Cargill Dow's Ingeo fiber will be presented at Heimtextil here this week.
The first window coverings prototype will be featured, as well as expanded colors and finishes in blankets, said John Ohman, manager of global development/implementation for home with Cargill Dow.
Expanded products for the contract market from Interface also will be highlighted.
Cargill Dow, which makes the corn chip, also will feature Ingeo fiberfill with feathers, "which has greater resilience than just a down/feather combination," Ohman explained. Pacific Coast Feather and Molina of Italy are the key players in the fiberfill segment, he said.
Mattress ticking and upholstery fabrics, two important segments, are still fairly far down the road, Ohman reported. Mattress-ticking development in the United States "has been virtually frozen because of the pending flammability regulations. Printing, dyeing and wear-resistance factors still are to be finalized for upholstery fabrics."
In Europe, he added, there is a great deal of interest both in the batting and ticking products, with market-ready products due at retail in the second quarter.
Overall, Ohman noted, "Europe is more responsive to product development. It's more cutting edge in design and experimentation in various product categories."
Ingeo uses fermented plant sugars from corn to create a proprietary polymer fiber that is produced under license to Taiwan-based Far Eastern Textiles, Japan-based Toray Industries, and Italy-based Radici Group.
