Nassimi Launches Supreen™ An Innovative New Performance Textile

Images courtesy of Nassimi

Starting as a distributor of European textiles and vinyls to over 70 countries around the world, Nassimi established its permanent U.S. presence in 1978, and since that time, the company has focused on developing high quality textiles and upholstery vinyl. But if you are not in textile product development you may not have heard of Nassimi. That’s because Nassimi goes to market primarily as an OEM supplier to  manufacturers and to well-known contract textile brands.

In an email response to officeinsight, Nassimi executive vice president, Iwan Nassimi explained, “Initially we sold vinyl to distributors as well as manufacturers. The distributors included several decorative jobbers, many of whom are still our customers today. Manufacturers were in the furniture business, as well as in producing a variety of other products, such as bags, accessories and various industrial applications. Many of the non-furniture products are no longer produced domestically. We started working with the leading contract upholstery distributors in the late 1990’s.”

“One of our first contract vinyl products was called Esprit. We still offer this product – in 75 colors,” he continued. “The only difference is that for reasons of environmental stewardship Esprit is now free of phthalates as well as added flame-retardant chemicals.”

Nassimi is a family-owned business with several family members, including Iwan Nassimi, actively involved in the management of the company. Mr. Nassimi continued, “Nassimi’s business is built on two core philosophies: Firstly, we consider ourselves to be partners with our key customers. We have much more than a supplier-customer relationship. We foster open communication, and that enables us to develop products that are wanted and needed by the end user. Secondly, we take tremendous pride in the products we produce. We believe in elevating both design and function, and are not afraid to go back to the drawing board countless times until we can offer a product that we believe is thoughtfully designed and meets a specific need in the marketplace.”

With deep roots in innovation, the company was the first to introduce realistic faux leather to the market. Symphony was a breakthrough (still marketed today as Classic), it was the first product of its kind, and through an innovative technology of vacuum embossing, it achieved a soft, supple, and leather-like hand, while maintaining durability and reliability. When it was introduced, many companies didn’t know whether to include it with their vinyl/fabric offering or with their leathers.

The company remains a leader in high-performance faux leather for the hospitality, healthcare, contract, education, and general upholstery markets. In addition, Nassimi vinyls are used in marine, automotive, and RV applications.

In our industry, Nassimi sells its faux leather and vinyl to select manufacturers as well as a network of exclusively authorized distributors. The company maintains two full-service distribution centers in Bayonne, New Jersey and Compton, California, where it maintains very high levels of inventory of all products in order to meet its promise of same or next day shipping.

Liquids just bead up on Supreen™

In addition to offering an extensive in-stock product line, Nassimi works closely with its customers to provide new solutions to their vinyl and coated fabric needs. Offering its technical expertise and innovative thinking, Nassimi takes a proactive approach in creating cost-effective, application-specific products to suit its various customers’ needs.

And on that note, we come to its latest innovation, Supreen™. The trademarked name Supreen is a portmanteau, a made-up word coined from a combination of the words “supple” and “preen.” Based on the Supreen™ sample I am holding, I can attest to its hand. It’s really surprising that it performs as it does, yet feels so soft and supple.

The “preen” half of the name comes from nature – a duck preens to straighten and clean its feathers with its beak, and in so doing, it activates a preen gland that releases an oily substance that the duck spreads to all its feathers using its beak. This oil acts as an insulator and something that can keep it warm and mostly waterproof! Other waterfowl preen too, but Nassimi has chosen the duck as the logo for Supreen™.

The Duck logo made real. If you’re lucky you might get one.

Supreen™ delivers this supple impermeability because it is a multilayered fabric. The construction of Supreen does not include vinyl. Rather, it is a multilayered product that includes a polyester fabric with silicone embedded into the polyester fiber on one surface, and a performance polyurethane permanently bonded to the other. Many people use vinyl and polyurethane interchangeably, but they are chemically and environmentally very different.

Supreen™ is currently available four patterns with many colorways each.

Breaking new ground, the composite material achieves impermeability via its proprietary silicone blend that reactively repels liquids to prevent future stains – no matter the length of time from the original spill. Supreen™ simply won’t allow liquids to soak through and compromise the furniture.

On the other hand, Supreen™ is very breathable. That combination of breathability and impermeability gives Supreen™ a great range of upholstery applications, where stiffer, more traditional performance fabrics may not be desirable.

The two faces of Supreen™ Silicone treated polyester fabric and performance polyurethane.

Quoting a Nassimi launch announcement, “Thoughtfully crafted, Supreen™ utilizes a multi-step production method. After the polyester fabric is woven to the highest performance specifications and dyed to the desired hue, it is then purified in a proprietary, patented process that ionically removes over 99% of all contaminants. The fabric is then immersed in a novel silicone solution that permanently embeds a thin layer into the fibers without altering appearance or texture, thanks to the patented purification process. Lastly, a performance polyurethane backing is thermo-bonded to the fabric, sans adhesives or solvents, creating a new composite material, and completing the process. This material innovation ensures that Supreen™ surpasses contract-grade upholstery standards and is suitable for endless design options. True to Nassimi’s signature of proactive and future-thinking design solutions, Supreen™ is both environmentally friendly and bleach cleanable. Free of fluorocarbons, Supreen™ prioritizes environmental and personal health, as its silicone composition is PFC- and PFOA-free.  Supreen™ is also HHI and Prop 65 compliant. The inaugural launch of Supreen™ will include three new textile offerings boasting performance capabilities and a rich, sweeping color palette of deep jewel tones and classic neutrals. The Supreen™ Winter 2021 Collection includes a textural weave with subtle dimension, a soft, delicately heathered design, and a small-scale geometric pattern with dynamic texture. More innovative patterns will be added to the collection in the coming months.”

I don’t profess to be an expert in the field of vinyl or textiles, but in my opinion Supreen™ is a great addition to the choices available to designers as we return to the office, where bleach cleanability is likely to be a thing for the foreseeable future.