Minnesota-based Cargill Inc. has expanded its portfolio of biopolyols with the acquisition of assets including Agrol vegetable-based polyols from BioBased Technologies.
Both companies manufacture polyols from soybeans to replace polyols from petroleum sources. Cargill's industrial specialties business already offers BiOH bio-based polyols for flexible foam applications in the bedding, furniture and automotive seat markets. Rogers, Ark.-based BioBased specializes in natural polyols for industrial applications, notably foams.
The acquisition will combine BioBased's processing model with Cargill's global manufacturing capabilities. Cargill believes that it will enable the company to offer customers products that incorporate higher levels of natural polyols without sacrificing performance.
In the future, it also hopes to offer the sustainability advantages of biopolyols to non-foam applications. These include elastomers, sealants, coatings, binders and adhesives.
Amy Sorrell, who was chief executive at BioBased and is now commercial manager at Cargill Industrial Specialties, believes the combination of the two businesses will allow substantial advances in renewable chemistry to be made in the coming years. "There are tremendous opportunities in sustainable polyurethane applications for our customers and the markets we serve," she says.