How Spinks turned a microcoil into a global industry standard and a blueprint for growth
Spinks was founded in 2009 as the innovation arm of its sister company, luxury mattress manufacturer Harrison Spinks. Since that time, Spinks has become a leading producer of pocket coils and wire to the furniture and bedding industry. The company continually evolves its products, helping clients customize solu-tions across a range of options, including fabric. We sat down with COO Richard Essery and CCO Darren Marcangelo to hear how Spinks continues to lead the innovations it pioneered.
“We specialize in microcoils – advanced, miniature pocket springs – which we invented. These are now a main product category in the mattress industry,” Darren explains. “We developed a comfort layer with microcoil heights ranging between two and four centimeters, compared to traditional pocket coils, which are much taller and used as support coils. As well as the largest range of microcoils in the industry, we offer a selection of full height pocket coils with traditional gluing, as well as a glue-free version.”
Continuing its well-established tradition of innovation, Spinks has developed new product lines. Darren shares some of the details: “ECore is our glued coil that has been successfully launched in the UK. While most manufacturers offer something similar, Spinks’ version is sustainable. We provide a polypropylene fabric with polypropylene adhesive. This avoids contamination of the nonwoven material when it comes to recycling the coil at the end of its life. QuadCore and Quadrolution offer glueless pocket coil constructions and are very well received by our customers. ECore Air is in development and due to launch shortly. IndeCore, meanwhile, is progressing well, with promising early results as it reduces motion transfer.”
Having recently achieved the remarkable milestone of obtaining 100 patents for the company’s inventions, Richard elaborates on some of the latest advances: “As the inventors of the microcoil – the comfort layer in a mattress – we have further developed our unique offering with a new two-stage spring sheet named Microlution. This has been released internationally with some customers already launching mattresses with strong feedback from their customers. This patented innovation features a tall active spring, and a smaller fine wire second-stage spring. This pioneering product received the ‘Best of the Best’ award at last year’s Interzum show in Cologne. A second generation of Microlution is already in development. Spinks has also patented and built a glue-less pocket coil assembler, which manufactures QuadCore in the fastest way possible and will be more flexible, improving both changeover times and output. As a business we are driven by innovation, so we always strive to have at least two new machine or product releases every year.”
The company continues to invest in the digitization and improvement of its wire drawing process. This has enabled greater visibility into the process, revealing data that was previously unavailable. The net results are improved efficiency and product quality, plus significant improvements in consistency and consumable cost. Spinks’ plan is to further invest in digitization in spring technology, focusing on product quality and efficiency. It is also looking to invest in additional spring-related equipment, built in-house and sourced externally, enabling improved output from a smaller footprint.
Alongside the latest equipment, Darren reveals what else is required in the pursuit of continuous innovation: “People make the difference; without our people we wouldn’t have such a forward-thinking business. From our highly skilled engineers and electricians to our machine operators and expert wire drawers – our people are what set us apart. The management team and our sales personnel who travel the world helping mattress manufacturers understand how to integrate our technology into their mattress builds play an equally vital role in our success.”
Operations across five manufacturing sites – three in the UK and two in the US – are managed through a strong leadership structure. In the UK, each site focuses on a specific area, such as coil manufacturing, wire drawing, or machine builds and innovation, allowing for efficient and specialized production.
Hickory Springs
In the US, the two factories are run by joint venture partner Hickory Springs, using machinery designed and built in the UK. Best practices are shared across all locations to maintain consistency and productivity.
Together with its commitment to innovation, sustainability is central to all of Spinks’ operations. With rising energy costs adding further pressure, having the most efficient machinery, which is largely built in-house, gives the company the ability to minimize the equipment’s energy consumption. Waste is also a key factor in pursuing sustainability, which is why Spinks manufactures all of its machines, components, and products with end-of-life in mind. It’s also the first component supplier in the industry to offer a CO2/kg calculation for any product that leaves the facility.
Spinks’ commitments have paid off. At last year’s Interzum awards – the most prestigious in the industry – the company was recognized with three prizes. Darren reflects on the impact of such acknowledgment: “Receiving awards, especially the most coveted in our industry, is great not just for us, but for our custom-ers too, who know they are getting the best components and technology out there.”
With a host of achievements in 2025, Spinks’ vision for the rest of 2026 is no less ambitious. The business aims to grow sales of its ECore and QuadCore ranges, while also perfecting the manufacturing process, im-proving efficiencies in packaging, and increasing automation where possible.
Darren concludes with a vision of the next five years: “We aim to double the size of the company over the next five years – a tall order, but one the team believes is achievable given the opportunities ahead.” With a patent portfolio, award-winning products, and a pipeline of next-generation technologies already in de-velopment, Spinks is well positioned not just to grow, but to continue leading the industry.
