Carpenter Adopts Cargill's BiOH Polyols for New Foam Product Line

Furniture World Magazine

Carpenter Co., the largest manufacturer of comfort cushioning in the world, has formally introduced the Renew™ brand of foam cushioning made with Cargill’s soy-based BiOH® polyols (www.BiOH.com). Renew products are fully recyclable and available in a wide assortment of firmness and densities, including the first biobased high resiliency (HR) foam. “We are already selling Renew foam to major names in the furniture industry such as the La-Z-Boy® brand, and we are beginning to work with bedding manufacturers as well,” said President Stan Yukevich. “We chose Cargill’s BiOH polyols for their unique and proprietary soybean oil technology, which allows us to produce consistent quality without sacrificing consumer comfort and without the need for our customers to reengineer their processes. It’s no surprise that it’s already proving to be a popular option.” Derived from natural vegetable oils such as soybean oil, BiOH polyols help flexible polyurethane foam manufacturers reduce their environmental footprint and market their choice to downstream customers. Manufacturers are currently applying the technology to make new products for bedding, furniture and automotive uses. Customers include some of the biggest names in those industries. “We’re thrilled to team up with Carpenter to bring technologically superior biobased cushioning to the global market in a big way,” said Yusuf Wazirzada, Business Unit Leader of Cargill Biobased Polyurethanes. “This is a major milestone in a journey that started for us as a research project only four years ago and is quickly expanding to global manufacturing and distribution.” Cargill has demonstrated its continued commitment to BiOH polyols technology through two significant investments over the last 18 months. In 2007, the company announced the opening of a $5.5 million polyols R&D facility. More recently, Cargill announced that it was scaling up its manufacturing capabilities with construction of a $22 million BiOH polyol plant in Chicago to meet growing demand. Though not expected to be fully operational until November, initial production batches were made in early September. The new production facility is the first world-scale biobased polyols plant. Cargill is an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. With 160,000 employees in 67 countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed. For more information, visit www.cargill.com.