SOY-BASED SEATING FOAM SCORES A SIXTH AWARD

Say “soy foam” to some people and they might get a craving for a low-fat heart-healthy decaf cappuccino. If they make their morning “coffee run” in a 2008-or-later Ford Motor Company vehicle, there is an excellent chance they’ll be sitting on a type of soy-based foam already. That’s because Ford leads the industry in the use of this renewable bio-material, with the seat backs and cushions in eight of its vehicle platforms already containing soy foam.

Ford’s innovative use of environmentally friendly, soy-based foam has earned six prestigious awards to date, including the 2009 R&D 100 Award, R&D Magazine announced today. The award honors the latest technology developments across numerous industries that are designed to meet societal, scientific, or business challenges. Ford shares the honor with supplier Lear Corp.

Use of Soy Foam Expanding

Ford has a rich history in incorporating soy- based materials into its products. Ford was the first automaker in the world to demonstrate that soy-based polyols could be used at high percentage levels to make foam capable of meeting or exceeding automotive requirements. In 2004 Ford and Lear formed a partnership to commercialize soy-foam applications.

In August 2007 Ford introduced soy- foam seats on the 2008 Ford Mustang, and has since placed soy- foam seats in the Ford Expedition, F-150, Escape and Focus, as well as Mercury Mariner, Lincoln Navigator, Lincoln MKS and Mazda Tribute. By the end of the 2009 model year, more than 1 million Ford Motor Company vehicles will contain soy foam seats.

Ford continues to pursue new applications for soy foam including seats on additional Ford vehicle platforms in the near future, and soy-based padding in vehicle headliners. In addition, Ford scientists also are working on ways to use other parts of the versatile legume – such as soy flour and soy meal – in various automotive plastics for such parts as floor mats, door seals and underbody shields. The United Soybean Board sponsors some of the research for both soy foam and soy fillers in plastics.

Soy Supports Energy Independence

With soy foam in seats on one 1 million vehicles, Ford expects to decrease its use of petroleum oil by one 1 million pounds and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by five 5 million pounds annually. Use of soy foam in seats also delivers superior product performance, and supports American farmers.

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, soy-based products have only one-quarter of the level of total environmental impact of petroleum-based products. Most automakers today use 100 percent petroleum-based polyol foam. Each vehicle contains an average of 30 pounds of petroleum-based foam in its seat backs, seat cushions, armrests, instrument panels and headliners.

QUOTES

“We’re honored that our work to develop soy foam is being recognized outside of the automotive industry. R&D Magazine is placing Ford in the company of innovators who touch virtually every area of our lives – from computing and communications to medicine and microscopy. ”
– Cynthia Flanigan, Ph.D., Ford plastics technical expert

“As Ford continues to increase its use of soy-based foam seats across many vehicle platforms, we’re reducing our environmental footprint by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, decreasing dependence on oil and moving toward sustainability.”
– Jerry Brown, Ford seat systems chief engineer

“Lear Corporation is grateful to R&D Magazine for this recognition and validation that our commitment to environmental stewardship is on target and helps our customers exceed consumer expectations. We accepted the challenge to be the leader of automotive interiors environmental innovation years ago and continue our focus on having meaningful impact with fast-to-market solutions such as soy-based seating foam enabled by collaborative research efforts with suppliers and customers.”
– Ash Galbreath, Lear Corp. director of advanced material

With fuel efficient hybrid cars on the road and plans in place for battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, you might say the Blue Oval has turned ‘green’. But Ford Motor Company’s sustainability efforts aren’t limited to high mileage vehicles – the automaker also is reducing the amount of energy it uses to make its vehicles.

Ford Motor Company’s actions to conserve energy used at its U.S. operations have earned it the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s coveted 2009 ENERGY STAR Award for the fourth consecutive year. The Award for Sustained Excellence recognizes Ford’s continued leadership and commitment to protecting the environment through energy efficiency.

Powerful Improvements
In 2008, Ford improved energy efficiency in the U.S. by 5 percent resulting in savings of approximately $16 million. Actual savings due to plant shutdowns were higher, but Ford measures energy efficiency as energy consumed per vehicle. Since 2000, Ford’s U.S. facilities have improved energy efficiency by nearly 35 percent. That’s equivalent to the annual energy consumed by more than 150,000 homes.

A number of actions taken by Ford since 2000 have contributed to its overall energy efficiency improvement, including:

• Updated heating systems at many manufacturing facilities by replacing out-moded steam powerhouses with digitally controlled direct-fired natural gas air handlers;
• Updated facility lighting systems by replacing inefficient high intensity discharge fixtures with up-to-date fluorescent lights and control systems;
• Upgraded paint process systems including booth air handling and improved emission controls;
• Continued development of Ford’s “Paint Shop of the Future” processes, including Fumes-to-Fuel that turns paint fumes into electricity, the 3-Wet painting process that significantly reduces the footprint and energy use of paint booths, and zirconium oxide pretreatment that uses less energy to inhibit surface corrosion;
• Installed advanced computer controls on all North American plant air compressors for paint shop applications and pneumatic tools;
• Aggressively curtailing energy use during extended production shutdown periods;
• Using flexible tooling to assemble multiple vehicles on the same production line, which requires less manufacturing floor space and optimizes plant utilization;
• Leveraging the Energy Star program through employee energy awareness communications and events, development of energy modeling and analysis tools, and replication of industry best practices.

QUOTES

“Ford Motor Company is committed to the responsible use of resources. Energy efficiency is critical to running a strong and successful business delivering both financial and environmental benefits.” – said George Andraos, director, Energy and Manufacturing Site Management

“EPA is delighted to recognize Ford Motor Company with the 2009 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence award. Ford’s leadership on energy efficiency has yielded impressive results for their bottom line and our global environment, showing us all what can be accomplished through sustained commitment and action.” – said Kathleen Hogan, director, Climate Protection Partnerships Division at the U.S. EPA