In support of growing consumer demand, mattress expert Purple Innovation, Inc. has signed a lease for an additional 520,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on the East Coast. Before the end of 2020, Purple will create hundreds of new jobs by opening a new plant in Henry County, Georgia. The decision to open Purple's third manufacturing plant – and first outside of Utah – in Henry County came after an extensive search process to find the right location and state partner in this new venture, the company said.

Volkswagen AG and the automotive supplier Brose are planning to create a joint venture devoted to complete seats, seat structures and seat components. The Volkswagen subsidiary Sitech will become part of the JV. Brose will hold a 50 % stake in the company. Volkswagen AG and the Brose Group will each own half of the company.

Altair has announced the acquisition of S&Wise Co., Ltd., a Seoul-based provider of polyurethane foaming simulation. Altair said that the acquisition will allow to offer customers the most advanced solution for PU foam processing on the market. S&Wise simulates the injection, foaming, and gelling processes, accounting for the important effects of chemical reactions during the process. An enhanced version of S&Wise’s solver will be released within Altair Inspire PolyFoam.

Stepan Company announced that, through subsidiaries in Mexico, it has entered into an agreement with Clariant (Mexico) S.A. de C.V. to acquire Clariant's anionic surfactant business and associated sulfation equipment located in Santa Clara, Mexico. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2020, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of certain other requirements.

Lubrizol Engineered Polymers announced that it has launched a plasticiser-free Pearlbond 920 TPU for hot melt adhesives that require a UV and colour-stable material in outdoor applications. The material is said to offer superior weatherability, very good hydrolysis resistance and can be applied in sportswear, edge banding in furniture, interlinings, reflective tapes, automotive interiors and awnings.

Applicazioni Plastiche Industriali S.p.A (API), the footwear arm of material solutions provider Trinseo, announced that it has recently received Global Recycled Standard (GRS) accreditation for three of its thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). These materials – all branded Apilon 52 Eco – are part of the company’s sustainable solutions portfolio and contain varying amounts of recycled content.

According to benchmark research conducted through an independent, nationally recognised SurveyGizmo consumer panel for the CertiPUR-US programme, nine out of ten recent or upcoming mattress buyers were more likely to purchase a mattress that contains CertiPUR-US-certified flexible polyurethane foam. CertiPUR-US is a certification programme for flexible polyurethane foam used in bedding and upholstered furniture that is administered by the Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam (AFPF), a not-for-profit organisation incorporated in 2008.

The trade fair organiser P. E. Schall GmbH & Co. KG announced in a special press release issued on 23 July 2020 that it has decided – in cooperation with the exhibitor advisory board for Fakuma 2020 – to "postpone" the 27th Fakuma to the year 2021. The international trade fair for plastics processing will now take place from 12 – 16 October 2021 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. In this regard, the "postponement" of the trade fair is de facto equivalent to a cancellation, because the next Fakuma was already planned for 2021 anyway.

Megafarma, an Azelis company, announced that it has been authorised by Celanese  to distribute its emulsion polymers in Mexico. The non-exclusive distribution agreement includes the following Celanese products: Resyn, Tufcor, Vinac, Dur-O-Set, Avicor, Celvolit, EcoVAE, and Flexbond.