Ontario BioAuto Council awards Valle Foam

The Ontario BioAuto Council has awarded a grant of $500,000 to Valle Foam Industries Inc. to aid in the commercialization of the company’s new BioPlush product line.

Valle Foam Industries. based in Brampton, Ont., manufactures slab stock polyurethane foams for the furniture, bedding, packaging, carpet and children’s toy industries.

According to Valle Foam, it has committed to replacing up to 25 per cent of traditional, petroleum-based polyols one of two main ingredients used to make foam with polyols derived from natural plant-based oils such as soybean.

“Valle Foam has always considered the environment in its business decisions and our new biobased foam is an extension of that dedication. The financial contribution from the Ontario BioAuto Council will help to catapult us into a leadership role with new greener options for our customers”, said Dale McNeill, Valle Foam’s vice president of operations.

“The Council is excited over its contribution to Valle Foam as the shift in production at Valle Foam signals a growing market demand for bio-based materials. And a growing market means new opportunities for Ontario companies and the province’s natural resource sectors”, said Craig Crawford, CEO of the Ontario BioAuto Council.

The Ontario BioAuto Council is a not-for-profit organization working to link Ontario’s agriculture and forestry sectors to chemical/plastics processors and advanced manufacturers to produce materials and chemicals from biological feedstocks. Its commercialization fund targets nearmarket- ready innovations that will lead to the production of basic bio-plastic and bio-composite materials, for use in the manufacture of automotive parts, furniture, construction materials and other consumer and industrial products.

The contribution to Valle Foam is the second from the Ontario BioAuto Council. The first was made in December 2007 to Toronto’s GreenCore Composites to assist in the commercialization of their natural-fibre composite technology.