A comprehensive range of technical foams can be cut from a block, sheet and moulded foam to create all manner of shapes. Open and closed cell foams in a vast range of colours are available to meet all your specification and requirement needs.

Acoustic foams – Furniture foams – Reflex foam – Slow recovery reflection (visco-elastic) foam, Melamine and impregnated foams – Reticulated filter foams – Reconstituted foams – Neoprene, EPDM and SBR blended expanded foams – Polyethene and EVA Foams.

Acoustic Foams

We offer a broad range of acoustic foam products with excellent noise and sound absorption properties. Our foams meet flame retardant
standards – FMVSS 302, UL94 HF1 and Class O.

Our acoustic foam sheets are available either with or without self-adhesive backings and as laminates. Sheets come in a range of sizes or can be customised to suit requirements. We have a varied selection of facing ranging from laminate to profiled facing for various indoor/outdoor/heat/noise applications.

Furniture Foams

Our range of furniture grade foam includes both the domestic and contract markets. This can be supplied in block, sheets, cut shapes, kits, CNC profiled and moulded parts.

We have CMRB & CMHR foam supplied in grades from 21 to 65 density in a range of colours and hardness and are suitable for padding, seating and high-quality contract seating. Our reflex range of furniture foam gives a soft feel for domestic cushioning while our reconstituted foam is used in standard range foams. Reflex Foam (Visco-elastic).

Visco-elastic foam or memory foam was first developed in 1966 by NASA to improve the safety of aircraft cushions. High-density memory foam softens when in close contact with body heat which allows foam to mould to a warm body in minutes. Lower density memory foam is more sensitive to pressure, so it moulds quickly to the body shape due to pressure as opposed to heat.

Melamine Foam

An open cell foam exhibits a very high resistance to both heat and chemicals with a high degree of sound absorption and excellent thermal insulation characteristics. Low-Density Melamine foam makes it suitable for applications where weight is an issue such as aircraft and tail industries.

Impregnated Foams

Our open cell impregnated polyurethane foam is treated with a mineral compound to give a nil burn rate and is suited for a high degree of fire risk applications. The foam is fire resistant and does not support combustion and also has excellent sound absorption in engine rooms, generator canopies, heavy vehicles and industrial applications.

Reticulated Filter Foams

We produce high-quality products from over 200 types of foam and within this range of technical and comfort polyurethane we have a filtration section. Reticulated foams are also known as filter foams and skeleton foams due to the openness of the manufacturing technique.

Our polyurethane filter foams are made from both polyester and polyether resin.

Our range of filter foams has 10 to 80 PPI cells (pores per inch). The filter foam process of reticulation gives the product an open structure of low restriction the more open the cells are (low PPI provides high flow with less restriction and high PPI less flow with better restriction).

Reconstituted Foams

During the process of foam conversion small off cuts and block, trimmings are produced which although prime material cannot be immediately utilised to make finished components. The material is collected, granulated, coated with a binder and re-bonded in a mould at high pressure. High-density blocks are then produced.

The height and density are dependent on the pressure used in the manufacturing process. The density of reconstituted foam is typically measured in lbs. Per cubic foot. The lightest/softest is 4lg, and the heaviest is 121 lb. Blocks are converted in the same way as polyurethane foam to sheets or other shapes.

Neoprene

Neoprene is known as polychloroprene, a synthetic rubber composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms. This synthetic rubber exhibits excellent chemical stability and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range. It is used in a wide variety of applications such as laptop sleeves, orthopaedic braces, electrical insulation, liquid and sheet applied elastomeric membranes or flashings and automotive fan belts.

EPDM & SBR Blended Expanded Foams

EPDM is a terpolymer of ethylene, propylene and diene. The primary structure is saturated, but some sections are unsaturated that are commonly cured with sulphur; this makes it easier to work chemically with EPDM because it will be more willing to interact with other substances. Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) is one of the most versatile copolymer rubber compounds. It consists of the organic compound styrene and the chemical butadiene with the amount of butadiene usually being about three times more than the amount of styrene. SBR is a stable synthetic that is resistant to abrasion.

Polyethylene

Polyethene is a type of polymer that is thermoplastic meaning that it can be melted to a liquid and remoulded as it returns to a solid state. It is chemically synthesised from ethylene, a compound that’s usually made from petroleum or natural gas.

The characteristics of plastic can be adjusted by combining it with various plasticisers, which are substances added to plastics to make them more durable, flexible and transparent. Adding chromium/silica makes high-density polyethene (HDPE), which is used to create sturdy products like garbage containers. Combining it with organic olefin compounds makes a type of low-density PE (LDPE) that is used for plastic grocery or shopping bags. Other common forms of polyethene are ultra-high molecular weight (UHMWPE), which is used in bulletproof vests and knee joint replacements; and medium density PE (MDPE) which is crack resistant for applications in gas pipe pressure fittings.

EVA Foams

Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) is the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. The weight percent vinyl acetate usually varies from 10 to 40% with the remainder being ethylene.

It is a polymer that approaches elastomeric materials in softness and flexibility, yet can be processed like other thermoplastics. The material has excellent clarity and gloss, low-temperature toughness, stress-crack resistance, hot melt adhesive waterproof properties and resistance to UV radiation.

Visco-elastic foam

Visco elastic foam or memory foam as it is more commonly known is a polyurethane with added chemicals to increase its viscosity and density.

High-density memory foam softens when in close contact with body heat which allows the foam to mould to a warm body in minutes. Lower density memory foam is more sensitive to pressure, so moulds quickly to the body shape due to pressure as opposed to heat.

First developed in 1966 by NASA to improve the safety of aircraft cushions. Memory foam went on to be released to the general public in the early 1980’s in conjunction with Fagerdale World Foams, who made the first Tempur mattresses.

The foam works by conforming to the natural heat and weight of the body. It adjusts itself to accommodate the various pressure points such as the shoulder and hips which are body areas that press hardest into the bed.

Another benefit of the structure and properties of the memory foam is that it’s unlikely to harbour dust mites which are found in environments of high humidity and dead skin cells compared to spring mattresses.

Memory foam is made up of open cells which pass air to adjacent cells when pressed down. It feels firm at first but then moulds around the shape. Initially memory foam was very expensive, but over time and with further development it has become cheaper and more frequently manufactured for the domestic markets for mattresses, pillows and blankets.

Aside from bedding, the foam is used for medical purposes for seating or bed pillows for people with mobility or burn problems. This material has become the standard household furniture, office and vehicle seating.