Woodbridge Foam, Intier develop bio-based seating for Ford

Canadian automotive supplier The Woodbridge Group and Intier Automotive Seating, a unit of Aurora, Ont.-based Magna International Inc., have announced the availability of bio-based seating.

BioFoam, a bio-based polyurethane foam developed by Woodbridge and validated for manufacturing earlier this year, is derived from plant seed oils. Woodbridge and Intier have partnered to introduce BioFoam seat cushions in the 2009 Ford Escape. The urethane foam cushions are supplied by Woodbridge, and Intier is performing the final seat assembly.

“Our organization has been working on ways to make automotive seating more environment-friendly for several years,” said Intier’s vice president of engineering Imtiyaz Syed. “BioFoam is a good example of a product designed using natural, renewable and sustainable resources.”

BioFoam can induce up to 40 per cent bio-polyol in various applications, including seat cushions, head restraints, arm rests, headliners and occupant protection products.

According to Woodbridge, a life cycle analysis found that the bio-polyol offers less global warming emissions and reductions in total energy demand and in non-renewable energy use when compared to petroleum-based versions.