Silver News

Silver in Mats and Mattresses

Stearns & Foster has begun selling a line of mattresses that incorporates silver into the fabric.

The silver-imbedded mattress is part of the company’s higher end line of mattresses that are in the $3,000 to $5,000 range. The new mattresses were introduced in January and have been well received, according to Jim Ross, vice president of marketing for Sealy, Inc. in Trinity, North Carolina, which sells under the Stearns & Foster brand.

“These mattresses have been used in Europe for some time, but are new to the United States,” says Ross. Silver is ideal in killing odors caused by bacteria, and he adds: “It helps prevent static electricity, too.”   Silver also is being used in rubber kitchen mats that not only help fatigue but keep bacteria at bay. Milliken-Kex, a unit of U.K-based Milliken & Company, is selling a line of rubber mats that feature antimicrobial silver-based UltraSan and anti-fatigue properties from Elastoguard rubber. Company officials say that the anti-fatigue and anti-bacterial mats are becoming popular in commercial kitchens, food processing plants, grocery stores and other places where workers spend a lot time on their feet in bacteria-prone environments.

The mats have suction cups that keep them secured to the floor and less likely to slide if water is spilled.

“We studied this market for a long time and responded with a material that meets several needs at once. It's very rare that a product achieves such success after only being on the market for such a short time, but everything we hear from our customers is extremely positive,” said Scott McDowell, business development manager for Milliken Chemical's Coated Products and Elastomers Business.

Silver News - Second Quarter 2004