Cargill recently announced it has purchased BioBased Technologies' vegetable-based polyol product line and other assets. Cargill's Industrial Specialties business and BioBased Technologies develop soybean-based polyols that replace petroleum-based polyols, reportedly enabling manufacturers to create more sustainable products for their consumers

"Combining assets and expertise of BioBased Technologies and Cargill will allow us to bring new innovations to our customers, while also expanding our offerings to serve new customers and other markets," said Eric Kuckhoff, general manager for Cargill Industrial Specialties in North America.

The acquisition pairs BioBased Technologies' processing model with Cargill's global manufacturing capabilities and reportedly leverages the sustainable chemistry expertise of the two companies. Going forward, Cargill plans to offer customers products that incorporate higher levels of natural polyols. Further, the acquisition will reportedly allow Cargill to expand into applications beyond the foam market, such as elastomers, sealants, coatings, binders and adhesives enabling increased sustainability efforts across those industries.

"When you combine Cargill's size and resources with BioBased Technologies' expertise, we are going to make substantial advances in the renewable chemistry sector in the years and decades ahead," said Amy Sorrell, former chief executive officer of BioBased Technologies, and now commercial manager for Cargill Industrial Specialties.

For more information, visit http://agrolinside.com or www.cargill.com.