Spinks, a components supplier to the mattress and furniture industries, has secured an Innovate UK grant to introduce the use of its spring technology to automotive seating.
The grant will be used to assist the funding of a £450,000 spring technology project.
Moving the automotive industry away from the use of foam within its seating, the project aims to provide comfort, stability and circularity, using a range of spring technologies that can be easily recycled at the end of their lives.
Collaborating with AHD Design, a specialist in transportation seating, Spinks sees the potential for integrating its innovative spring technology into various vehicle applications.
Darren Marcangelo, Spinks' MD (pictured), comments: “We’re extremely grateful to have secured a grant from Innovate UK and to be working with AHD Design on this project. The grant funding will go a long way in helping us create new spring technologies as well as helping the automotive industry reach its sustainable goals for the future.
“Being extremely passionate about sustainability, we will create products which help to reduce the need for some or all of the foam currently used, and ensure that its components within an automotive seating application can be recycled at the end of its life.
“The transportation sector is an incredibly exciting space for us, and we are already working with some of the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturers. There’s a huge amount of potential for our spring technology, and we hope to investigate wider sectors including aviation, buses and trains in the future.”
To ensure optimum safety testing, the project will have a three-phased testing system before a final prototype will be created for external testing.
