Biobased polyols plant

Graycor Industrial recently completed construction of this world-scale manufacturing plant to produce soybean-based polyols for Minneapolis-based Cargill, a food and agriculture products company. The new $22-million BiOH™ brand polyols manufacturing plant in Chicago is the first world-scale biobased polyols plant. The new plant will produce Cargill’s BiOH™ soybean-based polyols using a proprietary new green process. Cargill's BiOH ™polyols provide a responsible choice in raw materials for furniture cushioning, bedding foams, automotive seats and building insulation. Graycor Industrial self-performed a majority of the work critical to the project, including heavy process piping and mechanical, while managing multiple trades simultaneously. The new manufacturing plant in Chicago will make available a much larger supply of BiOH™ polyols as a viable raw material option for Cargill’s growing customer base in North America and Europe. International contractor Graycor Industrial met an early construction milestone that will enable Cargill to produce test batches while construction continues. Graycor Industrial’s teams had to work closely together to successfully coordinate a variety of trades work on a tight schedule in a small area with virtually no lay-down space, which was no small feat considering that equipment and materials were arriving almost daily from around the world. Construction of the 10-month-long project included a tank farm, as well as a process building housing all equipment utilized in the process. Graycor Industrial’s relationship with Cargill began in 2002 with a silo modification project in Sheboygan, Wis., for the manufacturer.