Soybean farmer company ventures along the open road of possibilities.

South Dakota Soybean Processors (SDSP) is taking multiple avenues toward ensuring continued demand for soybeans. A group of soybean farmers formed SDSP in 1993 and built a soybean processing plant in Volga, S.D., to crush 50,000 bushels of soybeans per day. Today, the 2,100 soybean farmers of SDSP are processing 80,000 bushels per day and looking at other routes to add value to their business and leverage their product, primarily through relationships with Urethane Soy Systems Company (USSC) and the Minnesota Soybean Processors (MnSP).

In 1998, SDSP entered an exclusive supply agreement with USSC to manufacture soy-based polyols. Five years later, SDSP acquired 58 percent ownership of USSC. While SDSP handles the production and distribution of soybean oil to USSC and its customers, USSC focuses on marketing, sales and research, and owns the technology and patent for SoyOyl[R], a biobased polyol made from soybean oil.

"We are excited about the ever-growing potential of soy-based products and are thrilled with the early success of SoyOyl in plastics," says Rodney Christianson, CEO of SDSP, USSC and MnSP.

SoyOyl is used in manufacturing polyurethane plastics. Suited for flexible and rigid applications, SoyOyl is currently used in a variety of polyurethane applications ranging from molded seating foam to carpet backing to truck bedliners to spray-foam insulation for walls.

Until the development of SoyOyl, the polyols used in polyurethane production have been made almost entirely from petroleum derivatives. Through using biobased polyols such as SoyOyl, the impact to the environment is reduced, as is the demand on petroleum reserves. SoyOyl also requires less energy to produce, which passes along cost savings to end users.

According to Larry Armbruster, director of market development and sales for USSC, there is a growing interest in environmentally friendly products. Armbruster said that since the biobased procurement guidelines were published in December, USSC has received an increased number of requests for samples or information.

"A lot of companies are turning to green products in general, but they don't only want green. They want a high-quality product that will perform, plus be environmentally friendly," says Armbruster. "SoyOyl is that product."

USSC's primary customers include: Dow Chemical Company, which uses SoyOyl in its BIOBALANCE carpet backing; Bayer/John Deere, which uses SoyOyl in Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) panels on combines; and Ford Motor Company, which used the SoyOyl polyol in its flexible foam seats in the 2003 Model U concept car.

Another goal of USSC is to increase the percentage of SoyOyl used in polyurethane products. Currently, most of USSC's clients replace 20 percent to 25 percent of the petroleum-based polyols in a product with SoyOyl. USSC is working to increase the SoyOyl substitution to 40 percent to 45 percent.

"We are taking a pragmatic approach to increasing the percentage of SoyOyl our customers use. Through incremental increases of SoyOyl, we build trust in our product," says Christianson. "In the next five to eight years, it is very possible that 100 percent of polyols will be biobased."

To research, develop and scientifically validate SoyOyl, USSC received financial support through grants from the United Soybean Board (USB) and the soybean checkoff. USB also recently commissioned an independent market study to determine potential demand for SoyOyl. The North American demand for SoyOyl biobased polyols is projected to exceed 700 million pounds within five years, and international demand should at least equal this amount.

"We see this as the very beginning of soy-based products, and we see a great potential for other polyols and urethane applications. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and we are excited about what we can do with it," says Armbruster.

SDSP's vision for the road ahead is focused on adding value to the nation's agricultural resources. Committed to continue growing the demand for soy-based products, SDSP is on the right track with its relationships with USSC and MnSP.