IFS has, since its inception, been an innovative company, flexible and fast on its feet in seeking workable solutions to manufacturers’ problems.
This spirit of innovation has also helped us to minimise the environmental impact of our industry. When the connection between CFCs and ozone depletion was established, for example, back in the mid-80s IFS developed a blend of blowing agents with zero impact on the ozone layer – and by 1988, had very successfully brought the new technology to the UK market, some 5 years before any other company.
IFS now leads the world in the development of PU systems based on vegetable oils. A naturally renewable resource, oils as diverse as rapeseed, sunflower and coconut can be converted in a process that uses only 10% of the energy required to produce petroleum-based polyols.
In many parts of the world, where the transport infrastructure is underdeveloped, vegetable polyols can be manufactured using locally-grown crops, close to the local market – and IFS can supply both the plant and the know-how to achieve this, to the benefit of both the local economy and the environment.
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