LITTLE ROCK, ARK.; By the end of the year, 100 percent of Ford Motor Company's vehicle line-up in North America will feature bio-based polyurethane foam in seat cushions, headrests and/or headliners, a move that has been applauded by Arkansas soybean farmers and the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board.

Todd Allen, Arkansas soybean farmer and chairman of the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, said, "The use of soy foam in automotive applications supports Arkansas and American farmers. Allen called Ford's innovative use of soy foam a "huge success." Allen is a former chair of the United Soybean Board's New Uses Committee, which oversees the crop-related investments of all U.S. soybean farmers and works closely with companies throughout the industry, including Ford, in an effort to get soy-based technology commercialized.

Arkansas a Soybean Leader
The Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board was established to improve the profitability of soybean production in Arkansas. Soybeans - often referred to as "the miracle bean" for its myriad of food, fuel and environmentally friendly uses - represent a major crop and significant economic impact for the state.

Arkansas currently ranks 10th in the nation in soybean production, producing 122 million bushels annually valued at more than $1 billion. Arkansas soybeans are grown by thousands of Arkansas farmers in 50 of the state's 75 counties. "We export over 50 percent of the soybeans we grow in the U.S. and have an oversupply of soybean oil," Allen said. "So, there is plenty of capacity in the soybean industry for both food and industrial use."

A sustainable solution
Ford was the first automaker to demonstrate that soy-based foams could be formulated to pass stringent requirements for automotive applications. Since introducing soy foam seats in August 2007 on the 2008 Ford Mustang, Ford has earned several prestigious awards, including winning the "Environmental" category at the 2008 Innovation Awards competition sponsored by the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE) Automotive Division. Ford built on that success by becoming the first automaker to use a soy-foam headliner, introducing it on the 2010 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner for a 25 percent weight savings over a traditional glass-mat headliner.

Ford has more vehicle models with seats that use soy and other bio-based foams than any other automaker. Ford's use of bio foam has helped it reduce its petroleum oil usage by approximately 1 to 1.5 million pounds per vehicle annually and cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 5.5 million pounds per vehicle annually.

"We already have bio foam on more than 2 million vehicles, and that number will increase by the time we convert 100 percent of our fleet by the end of the year," said Jerry Brown, Ford chief engineer of seat and restraint engineering. "This is just one way that Ford is an industry leader in the development and use of eco-friendly materials in vehicles."

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 use 100 percent petroleum-based foam. Each vehicle contains an average of 30 pounds of petroleum-based foam in its seat backs, seat cushions, armrests, instrument panels and headliners.

ARKANSAS SOYBEAN PROMOTION BOARD

The Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board (ASPB) was established to improve the profitability of soybean production in Arkansas and to distribute funds from the checkoff for research and extension projects conducted by the University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service. The board consists of soybean producers nominated by various producer organizations within Arkansas and appointed by the governor. Learn more at www.arspb.org.

Learn more about Ford's use of soy foam and other renewable, recycled and recyclable materials at www.media.ford.com.