Oxford Plant's Window Foam Has Renewable Ag Content

ITW Futura Coatings, a division of Glenview, Ill.-based Illinois Tool Works Inc., has introduced the first window foam with renewable agricultural content.

The new Foamseal E-Z Fill Plus Window Foam, produced at ITW's plant in Oxford, replaces some of its petroleum-based content with renewable corn, soy and castor plant material.

As a biobased product, Foamseal E-Z Fill Plus releases less carbon into the atmosphere, which benefits the environment. By using renewable agricultural materials as a substitute for some petroleum derivatives, the new foam has received BioPreferred status from the United States Department of Agriculture.

E-Z Fill window foams are injected into vinyl window frames to help retain internal temperatures or U-value, which reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling. Foamseal E-Z Fill Plus Window Foam improves the thermal efficiency of windows by 3 to 8 percent compared to window frames without foam. In addition, Foamseal E-Z Fill Plus has flame-retardant properties.

"Using plant material reduces greenhouse gases that are damaging to the environment, while the foam improves the energy efficiency of the windows," said Art Goldman, sales manager at ITW Futura Coatings.

ITW Futura Coatings is a market leader in window foams, producing 90 percent of the foam used in replacement windows manufactured in the U.S. and Canada. Its window foams and other polyurethane foams are produced in its Oxford plant.

More at www.itw.com or www.futuracoatings.com.

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