Client Overview

The Vita Group is a leading global provider of value-added and differentiated flexible polyurethane (PU) foam products. Headquartered in Middleton, Vita Group develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of flexible polyurethane foam, Talalay latex, and flooring products. Their solutions serve a diverse range of industries, including:

Furniture – Supplying foam for sofas and mattresses.

Automotive – Providing foam for transport applications.

Healthcare – Offering specialized materials for medical applications.

Flooring – Delivering high-performance underlays and comfort solutions.

With a pan-European operating base, Vita Group is strategically positioned to serve local, regional, and multinational customers across Europe and in specialized high-tech applications globally.

Challenge

Vita Group faced a challenge with the compression and recovery of foam mattresses—particularly those sold online and shipped in a sealed, compressed format. The typical process involves:

sealing Compressing the mattress into a highly compact state and then sealing.

Folding the mattress lengthwise.

Rolling it into a box for shipping.

Key Issues:

Inconsistent Recovery: While the standard recovery time for foam mattresses is 24 hours, customers are often advised to wait up to 48 hours for full recovery. In some cases, the foam fails to fully recover even after this period.

Packaging Size: Mattress suppliers are looking to reduce packaging size to improve shipping efficiency and minimize costs.

Environmental Impact: Smaller packaging could reduce the carbon footprint by lowering transportation volume and weight.

To address these challenges, Vita Group sought to improve the physical performance of their foam products during compression and recovery without compromising comfort or quality.

Solution

Vita Group partnered with CPI (Centre for Process Innovation) to deepen their understanding of the materials science behind polyurethane foam compression and recovery. The goal was to identify the physical mechanisms that affect the foam’s ability to recover after compression.

**Research Focus Analysing the chemical structure and open-cell properties of polyurethane foam to determine how they influence recovery.

Processing Conditions: Studying the effects of temperature, pressure, and storage duration on the foam's ability to regain its original shape.

Cell Structure Behaviour: Understanding how the foam’s open-cell network deforms under compression and how this impacts elasticity and recovery. speed.

Packaging Optimization: Exploring ways to further compress the foam while maintaining recovery performance.

Implementation:

CPI conducted a series of laboratory tests and material simulations to understand the behaviour of foam under different compression and recovery scenarios.

Data from these tests provided insights into the material formulations and processing techniques important for enhanced recovery and resilience.

Results

CPI provided understanding of the link between the chemistry of mattress foam production, the microstructure of the polymer walls and edges, and the larger-scale structure of the foam cells.

Conclusion

By working with CPI to deepen their understanding of foam compression and recovery mechanisms, The Vita Group gained insight into routes for enhanced product performance while optimizing packaging and reducing environmental impact. This strategic innovation strengthened Vita Group’s position as a leader in the global polyurethane foam market.

"Through a better understanding of material science and product behaviour, Vita Group has positioned itself to deliver enhanced customer value while improving sustainability and operational efficiency."