Thursday, October 06, 2011 Ford Offers Castor Oil-Based Foam in the 2012 Focus
 Ford and BASF have teamed up to create a castor oil-based foam that will reduce petroleum-based fossil fuel content in the instrument panel of the new Ford Focus.
“Working with BASF, we now can offer our North American customers the new Ford Focus with the industry’s first seamless soft-touch instrument panel that’s stronger, better-looking and better on the environment,” said Bari Brown, Ford advanced product development engineer. “Castor oil from plants helps deliver sustainable interior foam that reduces petroleum use while improving vehicle craftsmanship. It’s beneficial both for the customer and Mother Nature.”
Castor oil is derived from the Ricinus Communis flowering spurge plant, which has widespread growth throughout tropical regions. The plant’s oil presents a sustainable interior foam solution that does not compete with food sources. Employing more than 10 per cent renewable content, the resulting foam product passes all Ford performance requirements for interior components.
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