The Urethane Blog

Everchem Updates

VOLUME XXI

September 14, 2023

Everchem’s Closers Only Club

Everchem’s exclusive Closers Only Club is reserved for only the highest caliber brass-baller salesmen in the chemical industry. Watch the hype video and be introduced to the top of the league: — read more

December 11, 2019

Small Business Optimism

US small-business sentiment jumps most in 18 months

Carmen Reinicke

Dec. 10, 2019, 09:15 AM

 

  • US small-business sentiment rose 2.3 points to 104.7, the biggest jump since May 2018, according to the November optimism survey from the National Federation of Independent Business. 
  • It shows a reversal from “previous months of clatter” about a looming recession, the report noted. Positive earnings and expectations that business conditions will get better drove the results, according to the survey. 
  • “Owners are aggressively moving forward with their business plans, proving that when they’re given relief from the government, they put their money where their mouth is, and they invest, hire, and increase wages,” said William Dunkelberg, the chief economist at NFIB.
  • Read more on Business Insider.

Small businesses are showing signs of high optimism, seemingly thwarting any fear that a recession will hit before the end of the year, according to the November National Federation of Independent Business sentiment survey released Tuesday.

Small-business optimism spiked 2.3 points to 104.7 in November, the biggest jump since May 2018, survey results showed. Positive earnings, owners who want to continue to expand business, and those expecting business conditions to improve drove the second straight monthly gain for the index.

The report comes after Friday’s blockbuster jobs numbers showed that the US economy continues to gain at a steady clip. The “historic run may defy the expectations of many, but it comes as no surprise to small business owners,” wrote William Dunkelberg, the chief economist at NFIB, in a press release.

National Federation of Independent Business

That’s because small business owners “understand what a supportive tax and regulatory environment can do for their companies,” Dunkelberg wrote. Small businesses have benefited from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, he said, and are using savings from the tax break to expand their businesses.

The positive November report is a stark contrast from the “previous months of clatter” about a possible recession, Dunkelberg wrote. In addition, it looks like impeachment proceedings have had little impact on small business sentiment, the report showed.

“Owners are aggressively moving forward with their business plans, proving that when they’re given relief from the government, they put their money where their mouth is, and they invest, hire, and increase wages,” said Dunkelberg.

Here are other highlights from the report: 

  • Earnings, or the frequency that owners report positive profit trends, rose 10 points. It’s now one point below the May 2018 record.
  • Net 12% of all owners (seasonally adjusted) reported higher nominal sales in the past three months. That’s the highest level since May 2018.
  • Job creation jumped to the highest level since May. And, a net 30% of small business owners reported raising compensation, while 26% plan to do so in the coming months – the highest level since December 1989.
  • Stronger profits negated some cost pressure, especially labor. That limited the need to raise prices.
  • Sixty percent of small-business owners reported making capital outlays, up from October.
  • Three percent said that their borrowing needs were not being met, near a record low.
  • Inflationary pressures are weak – the net percent of owners raising average selling prices rose to 12%, up 2 percentage points, seasonally adjusted. Price hikes were the highest in retail trade and construction.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/us-small-business-sentiment-jumps-the-most-18-months-november-2019-12-1028751482

December 10, 2019

Simmons Reinvented

SSB relaunches Simmons brand, targets Gen Z and Millennials

David Perry // Executive Editor, Furniture Today • December 9, 2019

ATLANTA – Serta Simmons Bedding is relaunching its legacy Simmons brand as a playful, value-priced ‘first mattress’ line aimed at Gen Z and Millennials. The move is part of an overall brand refresh and innovation push that began in 2018, when SSB merged with direct-to-consumer brand Tuft & Needle, the company said.

SSB is promising to “disrupt the disruptors” with the new Simmons line. The company will continue to market its higher-priced beds under its Beautyrest banner.

Two beds in the new Simmons line, retailing at $299 for a memory foam mattress in queen and $349 for a hybrid in queen, will launch in early December at key retailers like Wayfair.com and Walmart.com, officials said. The beds will debut at Costco in January.

The collection will expand to additional models in 2020 that will be sold both online and with key brick-and-mortar dealers, the company said.

SSB officials said the new line represents a “radical relaunch” of the 150-year-old Simmons brand, which has been “reimagined for a world where beds come in boxes, quick-ship is demanded and life stages rule consumer mattress purchasing decisions.”

Read more here:  https://www.furnituretoday.com/bedding-manufacturers/ssb-relaunches-simmons-brand-targets-gen-z-and-millennials/

December 10, 2019

Simmons Reinvented

SSB relaunches Simmons brand, targets Gen Z and Millennials

David Perry // Executive Editor, Furniture Today • December 9, 2019

ATLANTA – Serta Simmons Bedding is relaunching its legacy Simmons brand as a playful, value-priced ‘first mattress’ line aimed at Gen Z and Millennials. The move is part of an overall brand refresh and innovation push that began in 2018, when SSB merged with direct-to-consumer brand Tuft & Needle, the company said.

SSB is promising to “disrupt the disruptors” with the new Simmons line. The company will continue to market its higher-priced beds under its Beautyrest banner.

Two beds in the new Simmons line, retailing at $299 for a memory foam mattress in queen and $349 for a hybrid in queen, will launch in early December at key retailers like Wayfair.com and Walmart.com, officials said. The beds will debut at Costco in January.

The collection will expand to additional models in 2020 that will be sold both online and with key brick-and-mortar dealers, the company said.

SSB officials said the new line represents a “radical relaunch” of the 150-year-old Simmons brand, which has been “reimagined for a world where beds come in boxes, quick-ship is demanded and life stages rule consumer mattress purchasing decisions.”

Read more here:  https://www.furnituretoday.com/bedding-manufacturers/ssb-relaunches-simmons-brand-targets-gen-z-and-millennials/

December 9, 2019

They Will Be Missed

Delk, Robitaille Honored With Lifetime Achievement Awards

At the Fall meeting, PFA honored two long-time veterans of the flexible polyurethane foam industry with Lifetime Achievement Awards. Van Delk of Dow Chemical and Tom Robitaille of Lonza were recognized posthumously, with colleagues and family accepting the awards on their behalf.

Delk spent more than 33 years at Dow, working as a Technical Service Manager. He was widely recognized among Dow customers for his technical expertise, and as a teacher and a mentor within the company. He died in May, shortly after his retirement.

Robitaille’s 36-year career in the flexible polyurethane foam industry included numerous technical achievements, including patents in the application of lasers and for novel uses of antimicrobial compounds for commercial and industrial use. Many of his applications can be found in common household items and footwear.

www.PFA.org

December 9, 2019

They Will Be Missed

Delk, Robitaille Honored With Lifetime Achievement Awards

At the Fall meeting, PFA honored two long-time veterans of the flexible polyurethane foam industry with Lifetime Achievement Awards. Van Delk of Dow Chemical and Tom Robitaille of Lonza were recognized posthumously, with colleagues and family accepting the awards on their behalf.

Delk spent more than 33 years at Dow, working as a Technical Service Manager. He was widely recognized among Dow customers for his technical expertise, and as a teacher and a mentor within the company. He died in May, shortly after his retirement.

Robitaille’s 36-year career in the flexible polyurethane foam industry included numerous technical achievements, including patents in the application of lasers and for novel uses of antimicrobial compounds for commercial and industrial use. Many of his applications can be found in common household items and footwear.

www.PFA.org