HIGH POINT, North Carolina – Sales of Culp Inc.’s high-performance fabrics introduced in 2016 are running 40% ahead of the company’s similar categories, says Liam Waters, Culp’s Vice President, Marketing. ‘Live Smart,’ Culp’s performance brand is supplanting the company’s previous success with bonded leather. Officials of Culp, Inc., possibly the United States’ largest marketer of fabrics imported from China and a major supplier to many upholstered furniture and bedding manufacturers, say they have developed an economical process of producing stain-resistant, liquid-repellant fabrics previously available only to consumers with high-end furnishings budgets. “Performance fabrics have been very successful at the top end of the market,” Waters says.  “We felt it was time to offer a similar performance story at mid-market price points. Culp entered the high-performance arena at the October International Home Furnishings Market, where it introduced its product called “Live Smart.” “Now it’s relatively inexpensive to protect the sofa for the first time.  People have hardwood floors with finishing to protect them from stains and spills.  They have case goods that also are finished for the same reason. “So why not upholstery?  The most vulnerable piece of furniture in the home has no protection.  It makes no sense.” Live Smart fabrics result from a two-step process, Waters says.  The first step is as old as polyester itself, which can be dyed only by subjecting it to temperatures exceeding 300 degree Fahrenheit.  The intense heat causes fibers to develop minute cracks that would require a 100x microscopic lens to view.  The dye is mixed with the heated polyester and settles into the cracks, where it is trapped as the fabric cools. “Polyester is extremely tough to dye,” Waters explains.  “Likewise, it’s extremely tough to stain.”  Although Live Smart carries a three-year limited warranty, Waters says “stain resistance will last as long as the yarn itself.” Making the fabric liquid-repellant is where the second step of this manufacturing process comes into play, Waters says.  Polyester is a breathable material; spills can permeate the fabric and be absorbed by interior cushioning where, until it dries, can wick back up through the fabric if someone were to sit upon the area that absorbed the spill.  Likewise, it the liquid was not odor free, its aroma often becomes a long-lasting if not permanent characteristic of the furniture. Live Smart fabrics are treated with a relatively inexpensive, environmentally friendly agent known as a “C6” chemical, as opposed to a “C8” chemical that has been proven hazardous to the environment and has caused some now defunct high-performance products and processes to be taken off the market. “Live Smart is fully encapsulated in a solution that creates full and complete moisture repellency to 80 grade,” Waters said, which prevents moisture penetration from reaching the back of the fabric as well as the interior cushioning. Waters said that Culp keeps manufacturing costs at a minimum because only a light application of the C6 chemical is required to ensure repellency.  ““Live Smart is offered as a separate collection from the rest of our line because the Live Smart product must pass a tough series of tests, which includes 15 commercial washings,” Waters says.  “It is the fastest growing segment of our product line. “Live Smart is available in a variety of product textures as well as prints, jacquards (woven prints) and velvets. Culp achieved its seventh consecutive year of overall sales growth in 2016, according to figures listed in the company’s current annual report showing sales totaling $312.9 million. Although the current increase shows a slight margin over 2015’s sales of $310.2 million, total sales reportedly have increased 51.6 per cent since 2010. Culp’s total sales consist of 60 per cent in mattress fabrics, 37 per cent in upholstery fabrics imported from China and 3 per cent in U.S. produced fabrics. Culp is one of the world’s largest marketers of mattress fabrics for bedding and upholstery fabrics for furniture.  The company markets a variety of fabrics to its global customer base of mattress makers and furniture companies, including fabrics produced at Culp’s manufacturing facilities and fabrics sourced from other suppliers.  The company has operations located in the United States, Canada and China. It finishes its own lines of upholstery fabrics in its own plant in Shanghai. Shares in Culp, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CFI.