Alexandria, Virginia - The US International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) has announced that Rick Anderson, president of Tempur-Pedic North America, is resigning as chairman with immediate effect.
Anderson said that Tempur-Pedic will remain an active member of the association and he will remain an ISPA trustee. Anderson will be replaced by ISPA vice chair, Don Wright of Wright of Thomasville Inc.
Anderson's decision follows the move by a number of foam and mattress companies to leave the association, following a lawsuit TempurPedict filed against a large group of competitors. "I am disappointed by the decisions of a few companies, who are competitors of Tempur, to withdraw from ISPA in reaction to Tempur's assertion of its intellectual property rights," Anderson said. "However, I do not want my position within the ISPA to create an ongoing distraction for the association to continue with its important work on behalf of the full industry," he added.
Tempur-Pedic's lawsuit of 10 June against various mattress makers claims they infringed its patent on mattress construction using viscoelastic polyurethane foam.
The companies named in the suit are Anatomic Global Inc., Bragada Inc., Carpenter Co., Classic Sleep Products Inc., Englander Sleep Products llc, Essentia U.S.A. llc, IR Specialty Foam llc, Jeffco Fibres Inc., Sealy Corp., Serta Inc., Serta Restokraft Mattress Co., Sleep Products Inc., Simmons Bedding Co., Spirit Sleep Products llc, The Simmons Manufacturing Co. llc, WCW Inc., and World Sleep Products Inc.
New chairman Don Wright called for a frank discussion from ISPA members and non-members to address the industry's needs. (RD)
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