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GROW IT HERE, MAKE IT HERE: 

CREATING JOBS THROUGH 

BIO BASED MANUFACTURING 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 

NUTRITION AND FORESTRY 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JUNE 17, 2014 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov/ 

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY 

DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan, Chairwoman 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont 

TOM HARKIN, Iowa 

SHERROD BROWN, OHIO 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, MINNESOTA 

MICHAEL BENNET, COLORADO 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, NEW YORK 

JOE DONNELLY, INDIANA 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, NORTH DAKOTA 

ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., PENNSYLVANIA 

JOHN WALSH, MONTANA 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas 

SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota 

CHRISTOPHER J. ADAMO, Majority Staff Director 

JONATHAN J. CORDONE, Majority Chief Counsel 

JESSICA L. WILLIAMS, Chief Clerk 

THOMAS ALLEN HAWKS, Minority Staff Director 

ANNE C. HAZLETT, Minority Chief Counsel and Senior Advisor 

(II) 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

HEARING(S): 

Grow It Here, Make It Here: Creating Jobs Through Bio Based Manufacturing .................................................................................................................... 1 

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 

STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS 

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan, Chairwoman, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry ............................ 1 

Witnesses 

Vitters, Scott, General Manager, PlantBottle Innovation Platform, The CocaCola Company, Atlanta, GA ................................................................................ 4 

Galbreath, Ashford A., Director, Advanced Materials and Comfort Engineering, Research and Development, Lear Corporation, Southfield, MI ................ 7 

Miller, Kurtis, President, Business Unit, Cargill Industrial Specialties, 

Cargill, Inc., Hopkins, MN .................................................................................. 8 

Monroe, Adam, President, Americas, Novozymes North America Inc., 

Franklinton, NC ................................................................................................... 10 

Hankins, J.D. II, Vice President, Hankins, Inc., Ripley, MS ............................... 11 

APPENDIX 

PREPARED STATEMENTS: 

Cochran, Hon. Thad ......................................................................................... 24 

Galbreath, Ashford A. ...................................................................................... 26 

Hankins, J.D., II ............................................................................................... 29 

Miller, Kurtis .................................................................................................... 34 

Monroe, Adam ................................................................................................... 43 

Vitters, Scott ..................................................................................................... 47 

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: 

Galbreath, Ashford A.: 

Benefits of SoyFoam-Environmental Performance ........................................ 52 

Hankins, J.D., II: 

North American Softwood Lumber ................................................................. 57 

QUESTION AND ANSWER: 

Galbreath, Ashford A.: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 74 

Written response to questions from Hon. Tom Harkin ................................. 75 

Hankins, J.D., II: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 77 

Written response to questions from Hon. Tom Harkin ................................. 78 

Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar ........................... 80 

Miller, Kurtis: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 81 

Written response to questions from Hon. Tom Harkin ................................. 83 

Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar ........................... 85 

Monroe, Adam: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 86 

Page

IV 

Monroe, Adam—Continued 

Written response to questions from Hon. Tom Harkin ................................. 87 

Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar ........................... 89 

Vitters, Scott: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 92 

Written response to questions from Hon. Tom Harkin ................................. 93 

(1) 

GROW IT HERE, MAKE IT HERE: 

CREATING JOBS THROUGH 

BIO BASED MANUFACTURING 

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 

UNITED STATES SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY

Washington, DC 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in room 

328A, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Debbie Stabenow, 

Chairwoman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Stabenow, Donnelly, Heitkamp, Boozman, 

Grassley, and Thune. 

STATEMENT OF HON. DEBBIE STABENOW, U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, CHAIRWOMAN, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Well, good morning. Call to order the 

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. We have members that are coming, but in the interest of time, because there are 

votes that are going to start about 11:00 this morning, we will proceed at this point. 

I look forward to so much not only to hearing from all of you 

today, but to the bio-based manufacturing showcase that we have 

next door, and the opportunity to really lift up an exciting part of 

our economy and innovation, and to do this in a way that is going 

to bring some more attention to all of the wonderful work that you 

are doing and the 35 companies, I believe, that we have next door 

that are all showing us what they are doing today. 

Thank you for being here to take a look at one of the most promising opportunities we have to grow jobs and strengthen the economy, bio-based manufacturing. Over the past couple of years, this 

Committee worked together to write a new Farm Bill that focuses 

on both feeding the world and strengthening the economy. 

Earlier this year, we saw the work that began at this table make 

its way to the President’s desk. The Farm Bill generated significant 

support from our colleagues in both the House and the Senate because members on both sides of the aisle recognized how critical it 

is to growing the economy. 

They recognized that the Farm Bill really is a jobs bill. One of 

the biggest ways the Farm Bill is helping to create jobs is found 

in the energy titles, Bio-Based Initiatives. We created new opportunities to support bio-based manufacturing so innovators in both 

2 

rural and urban America can continue growing their businesses 

and creating manufacturing jobs. 

We recognize the connection between manufacturing and agriculture and understood early on its potential for growing the economy. Now, I have to say, as a Michigander and Chairwoman of the 

Agriculture Committee, I certainly see the importance of connecting agriculture and manufacturing. 

As I always say, we in Michigan both grow things and make 

things. I do not think we have an economy as a country unless we 

grow things and make things. And, in fact, I think that is the foundation of the middle class of our country. 

For years, manufacturers have been looking toward agriculture 

to find bio-based alternatives to petroleum products. I have seen it 

firsthand from our auto makers in Michigan. Agricultural products 

are being used in nearly every part of automotive production from 

seats to interior panels, arm rests to sunshades, soy wire coatings, 

carpets, and structural foam. I am very pleased that one of our witnesses today from Lear Corporation will tell us more about that 

work. 

Bio-based manufacturing goes beyond the auto industry as well. 

More than 3,000 companies in the United States either manufacture or distribute bio-based products. What does, quote, bio-based 

mean? It means instead of using petroleum-based chemicals to 

manufacture products, companies are creating new products from 

American-grown agricultural crops, like soybeans and corn, just as 

examples. 

This shift toward using biodegradable and renewable materials 

displaces the need for foreign-based petroleum and helps to create 

American-grown jobs. Outside of this hearing room today, as I indicated earlier, just around the corner in the Kennedy Caucus Room, 

many of these products will be seen on display following today’s 

hearing and we would urge everyone to have the opportunity to go 

over and take a look. 

You will be able to see bio-based innovation firsthand, and I certainly hope that you will take the time to do so. The products on 

display will include household items like cleaning products and 

soaps as well as installation in plastics, foam products, and fabrics. 

Innovation in the bio-based industry is creating high-value products from traditional agricultural goods. I just have to stress, creating jobs. This innovation is helping us move away from petroleum-based products. 

As we heard from another panel of witnesses in April about the 

importance of growing the production of advanced bio-fuels, the 

technology and commercialization of bio-based alternatives to petroleum are no longer just around the corner. They are here. Advanced bio-fuels are creating jobs while also helping the United 

States become more energy independent, which in turn is creating 

new opportunities for bio-based manufacturing. 

All of these perspectives have helped shape our thinking as we 

develop the energy title of the Farm Bill. For the first time we created new opportunities for bio-based manufacturing and renewable 

chemical production, officially recognizing and supporting these 

areas like they have never been before. 

3 

We also increased USDA’s resources to manage the bio-preferred 

labeling and procurement program, which promotes bio-based products. The opportunities we created in the Farm Bill here at this 

very table will go a long way in supporting more entrepreneurs and 

innovators to develop and manufacture products and to fuel economic growth and jobs. 

So again, welcome to each of you. I am going to introduce each 

of our witnesses and then ask you to give us five minutes of opening testimony and then certainly we want to have the opportunity 

for anything that you would like to give us in writing as well and 

any products you want us to take a look at as well. I will be turning then to questions not for myself, but for colleagues as they arrive. 

So our first witness on the panel today is Mr. Scott Vitters, General Manager of the Coca-Cola Company’s PlantBottle Innovation 

Platform. Mr. Vitters has been with Coca-Cola since 1997, holding 

a number of positions of increasing responsibility. He also serves 

as an advisor to Michigan State University’s Center for Packing Innovation and Sustainability. 

I should have meant my alma mater, so I am glad to see that 

connection. He is also on the Governing Board of the Bio-Technology Industry Organization Industrial and Environmental Section and was recognized in 2011 by Fortune Magazine as a green 

star within the most admired companies. That is terrific. 

Our second witness today is Mr. Ashford Galbreath, who was 

named Director of Advanced Materials and Comfort Engineering— 

I love that term, comfort engineering—for Lear Corporation’s Seating Division in 2004. He is responsible for engineering, design, and 

technology advancements, including seating system materials innovations. 

He holds over 20 patents and has been instrumental in the commercial success of Lear’s SoyFoam renewable foam and several 

other lightweight material breakthrough technologies. 

Good morning, Senator Heitkamp. Wonderful to have you. Well, 

thank you. Thank you very much. I am so glad you are here. 

Senator HEITKAMP. We have to say that to each other. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. That is right. I strongly advocated for 

Senator Heitkamp on the Committee because we do not have 

enough redheads either on the Committee or in the Senate. 

So you have 100 percent of the redhead caucus here today of the 

United States Senate. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. I know that Senator Klobuchar wanted 

very much to be here to introduce Mr. Kurtis Miller, and I know 

once she arrives, we will give her an opportunity to bring greetings 

as well. But let me—I know she is on her way, so let me go ahead 

though and say, our third witness is Mr. Kurtis Miller, who is 

President and Business Unit Leader for the Cargill Industrial Specialties Business Unit. 

He is responsible for the manufacturing, research and development, and sales and marketing for all of Cargill’s Ag-based industrial products. Mr. Miller has over 25 years of experience in specialty industrial chemical industries, ranging from paints and coatVerDate Nov 24 2008 17:34 Feb 23, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\MW42035\DESKTOP\DOCS\93032.TXT MICAH
4 

ings to plastics, transformers, foams, and asphalt. That is a wide 

range. 

Our fourth witness is Mr. Adam Monroe, the Regional President 

of the Americas, Novozymes, a world leader in bio innovation and 

a leading manufacturer of enzymes, microorganisms, and bio-pharmaceutical ingredients. Mr. Monroe has over 20 years of experience 

in the industrial biotechnology industry, is a leading voice on sustainability, bio-energy, and a bio-based economy. Welcome. 

Our fifth and certainly last but not least witness is Mr. J.D. 

Hankins. Mr. Hankins is the co-owner and Vice President of 

Hankins Forest Products, a land and timber company based in Ripley, Mississippi. Mr. Hankins has worked in the industry for over 

50 years, starting as an eight-year-old in his grandfather’s sawmill. 

Next month Mr. Hankins will begin serving as Chairman of the 

Executive Board for the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturer’s Association and his expertise in the industry makes him a sought 

after voice regarding how Federal trade practices affect independent mill owners. 

So we are so pleased to have such a packed powerhouse group 

of witnesses with such wonderful expertise with us this morning. 

Good morning, Senator Boozman. Welcome. 

Mr. Vitters, we will let you proceed at this time with your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF SCOTT VITTERS, GENERAL MANAGER, PLANT 

BOTTLE INNOVATION PLATFORM, THE COCA–COLA COMPANY, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 

Mr. VITTERS. Well, thank you and good morning, Chairwoman 

Stabenow and members of the Committee and staff. On behalf of 

the Coca-Cola Company and our 130,000 employees and more than 

700,000 system associates, it certainly is a pleasure to be here 

today and have the opportunity to discuss our commitment and investment in helping to advance the renewable chemicals and biobased manufacturing sectors here in the United States and abroad. 

Inside every bottle of Coke is a story of creating new value 

through increasing efficiency and advancing innovation. We have a 

long-term vision to help realize a world in which creating and 

using products wastes nothing. To achieve this zero waste vision, 

we are designing more resource efficient packaging, supporting 

community-recycling systems, and increasing our use of renewable 

materials through breakthrough innovations like our PlantBottle 

package, the first ever fully recyclable PET plastic bottle made 

with plants. 

Coca-Cola introduced the world to PlantBottle in 2009. The technology uses natural sugars found in plants to make ingredients 

identical to the fossil-based ones traditionally used in polyester 

fiber and resins. PlantBottle packaging looks, functions and importantly recycles just like traditional polyester, or PET plastic, but 

with a lower dependence on fossil fuels and a lighter environmental 

footprint on the planet. 

Thomas Edison is quoted as saying that the value of an idea is 

in the using of it. Our measure of success with PlantBottle is in 

advancing commercial solutions that go beyond pilot tests or niche 

green product uses. Our expectation is to realize the technology’s 

5 

full potential and deliver meaningful, positive change everywhere 

we do business. 

Our first generation PlantBottle technology has already been 

launched in 31 countries across more than 25 billion bottles. It has 

helped to reduce our dependence on fossil-based materials and remove over 190,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, or the equivalent 

of more than 400,000 barrels of oil. 

In just four years, Coca-Cola has become the world’s largest bioplastic end user through our PlantBottle and we are committed to 

going even further with our goal to have all new PET plastic that 

we use contain PlantBottle technology by 2020. 

Commercializing bio-based materials, and specifically our 

PlantBottle technology, are a material part of the company’s 2020 

Vision and Roadmap for Winning. At the heart of this vision and 

plan is a commitment to double our business in this decade. We see 

a world of opportunity and growth in areas like a rising middle 

class. We also see a world of challenge and need in areas like population, poverty, and the growing stress on finite resources. 

Put those together, and it is obvious that the only way we can 

hope to double our business is to double it sustainable. Packaging 

has a huge impact on those aspirations. Every one of the 3,500 different beverage offerings we produce, for every consumer, in every 

market requires some form of package. 

Over half of the global volume delivered today is through PET 

plastic beverage bottles for Coca-Cola. Behind this demand is a desire for lightweight, shatter-resistant, resealable, cost effective, and 

highly recyclable packaging. To continue meeting these beverage 

needs in the years ahead, while maintaining public trust and sustaining growth, requires moving beyond traditional fossil-based materials to renewable and recyclable bio-based sources. 

Coca-Cola today is partnering with companies to build manufacturing capacity for PlantBottle technology in local markets around 

the world. Until this supply chain is optimized locally, in most 

markets we pay an added cost to use PlantBottle. We view this 

premium as an investment, an investment both in our future competitiveness of our business and the health of the local communities that we serve. 

As a result, we have not increased the price of our products in 

PlantBottle. Instead we have challenged ourselves to get the supply 

chain built out under the timeline we have set, or even better, do 

it faster. 

To help accelerate investment in the PlantBottle supply chain 

and further expand the positive sustainability impact of the technology, Coca-Cola is rethinking traditional approaches to innovation. For example, instead of just holding the technology to ourselves, we are actually enabling other early adaptors to join with 

us on our PlantBottle journey. 

In fact, we even envision a future in which our competitors also 

have ready access to the technology as well. In 2011, Coca-Cola 

formed a strategic partnership with H.J. Heinz to produce ketchup 

bottles made with PlantBottle technology. In 2013, we joined forces 

with the Ford Motor Company to showcase a Ford Fusion plug-in 

hybrid with its interior fabric made from PlantBottle polyester. 

Just this year, we have partnered with SeaWorld Parks and EnterVerDate Nov 24 2008 17:34 Feb 23, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\MW42035\DESKTOP\DOCS\93032.TXT MICAH
6 

tainment to debut the first ever refillable plastic souvenir cup 

made from PlantBottle technology. 

I want to pause and thank leaders from both the Senate and 

House Agriculture Committees for the tireless work on reauthorizing the Farm Bill. Specifically, we applaud the extension of eligibility to renewable chemical technologies under the Biorefinery Assistance Program and Bio-Research and Development Program, 

and the support for new purpose grown energy crops. These efforts 

are truly helping open doors to new bio-based manufacturing opportunities and jobs here in the United States. 

For some the growing emergence of renewable chemicals and biobased products may raise questions regarding the sustainability of 

using harvested agricultural biomass. As one of the largest buyers 

of sugars and starches in the world, I can assure that any trend 

with the potential of negatively impacting food and feed supplies 

would be of significant concern to our company. 

Through transparency and credible third party partnerships we 

can advance breakthrough bio-based manufacturing opportunities 

that deliver better environmental and social performance without 

negatively impacting local food security. Working with the World 

Wildlife Fund last year we launched the BioPlastics Feedstock Alliance, a new collaboration with several other leading consumer 

brand companies focused on guiding the evaluation and sustainable 

development of plant-based feedstocks specifically for plastics. 

Last year our efforts focused on advancing the use of agricultural 

residues for PlantBottle was selected as an official eco-partnership 

within the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. 

Ensuring the sustainability of the agricultural ingredients we 

source for our products is a critical area of focus for our business. 

Through collaborative programs like Field to Market we are working across the entire agricultural supply chain to measure and improve the environmental and social performance. These measures 

are helping to inform and guide the responsible use of biomass for 

industrial materials. 

Investing in the bio-economy is good for business, for our business, the communities that we serve, and our shared environment. 

Today our first generation PlantBottle technology replaces one of 

the two ingredients that make PET plastic. Our long-term goal is 

to realize a 100 percent renewable, fully recyclable plastic bottle. 

To realize this goal, Coca-Cola is investing millions in local technology companies, companies like Virent in Madison, Wisconsin; 

Gevo in Englewood, Colorado; and Avantium in Amsterdam, the 

Netherlands. We have already demonstrated the potential for producing such bottles and are now focused on advancing commercial 

pathways for successfully scaling the technology. 

These are truly exciting times. Thank you again for allowing me 

to share Coca-Cola’s progress here today and for your continued 

commitment to helping realize the transformative potential of the 

renewable chemical and manufacturing sector. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Vitters can be found on page 47 

in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. It is exciting to 

hear what you are doing. Mr. Galbreath and I started together, I 

think in 2011, carrying around your soy-based foam seat, doing 

7 

press conferences about what bio-based manufacturing was all 

about in Michigan. It is great to have you here today. 

STATEMENT OF ASHFORD A. GALBREATH, DIRECTOR, ADVANCED MATERIALS AND COMFORT ENGINEERING, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, LEAR CORPORATION, SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 

Mr. GALBREATH. Thank you. Well, first of all, I would like to 

thank you, Chairman Stabenow and the Ranking Member Cochran 

and members of the Committee for the invitation to speak today 

about Lear Corporation’s bio-derived products. 

My name is Ashford Galbreath and I am here representing the 

Lear Corporation team, from Chairman Stabenow’s home state of 

Michigan, which develops bio-based products and launched 

Soyfoam in 2007 on the 2008 Ford Mustang. Environmental stewardship and sustainability are key dimensions of Lear Corporation’s mission statement. 

In 2004, Ford Motor Company approached Lear about partnering 

to develop soy-based automotive foams. We formed a team, including the United Soybean Board Checkoff, Renosol, Bayer and a soy 

polyol supplier, and set a new standard of environmentally friendly 

foam performance with the first-to-market launch of SoyFoam. 

SoyFoam is soybean oil-derived automotive polyurethane for use 

in seating, head restraint, armrest, and console foam padding. For 

SoyFoam we substitute petroleum-based polyol with soybean oilbased polyol and adjust the formula to meet strict automotive specifications. We successfully replaced 5 percent petroleum polyol by 

weight in a low density seating cushion and back foam and replaced 16 percent petroleum oil content by weight in a high density 

head restraint and typical European seat cushion foam. 

Today Lear sells SoyFoam seating on multiple Ford, General Motors, Hyundai and other customer vehicles molded in the United 

States and Mexico. We have approvals for 10 percent level Soyfoam 

we are preparing to launch, and research shows promise for at 

least double that amount. 

Soy polyol provides significant environmental improvements as 

measured by the National Institute of Standards BEES Study. Giving all environmental impacts equal weighting, soy polyol showed 

a 75 percent improvement compared to petroleum polyol. 

Global warming improvements from a net reduction of 5.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide for each kilogram used. Two kilograms of 

carbon dioxide is captured from the atmosphere when grown, plus 

you avoid the 3.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide release from petroleum. 

We consider SoyFoam to be very significant to Lear Corporation 

in that it serves as a firm representation of our commitment to the 

environment, product cost control and meeting both our customers’ 

and our consumers’ needs. Most of our global OEM customers have 

environmentally proactive initiatives in response to demanding regulatory hurdles such as the European Commission’s requirement to 

lower carbon use levels. 

Success with SoyFoam helped establish Lear’s environmental 

leadership position in automotive seating. Environmental innovation continued at Lear with launches of DECS, Evolution seating 

8 

systems that combine weight reduction with bio-based and recycled 

innovations. Recently we added an EcoPadding product, which is a 

trim laminate made with 40 percent nanocrystalline cellulosic fibers and 24 percent recycled polyester that can replace polyurethane foam trim laminates. 

We are also close to incorporating other bio-based foam ingredients such as soy oil. At Lear there are multiple business-related 

drivers for bio-based product innovation. One is economic consideration of controlling product cost increases from rising oil price. 

Petroleum-related price increases are costly to Lear’s customers 

and consumers. Although currently somewhat stable, historically 

oil price is much more volatile than the price of soybeans. As use 

increases, new volume should improve supply economics in affiliated industries. North American use of soy polyol and other critical 

raw materials should continue to grow at a good pace as the product proliferates and content per pad grows. 

Lear’s internal foam molding business is growing globally and 

SoyFoam is expected to be a key component of that growth. Biobased products are one of our key areas of innovation focus. 

Lear faces a variety of what we would consider sustainability 

pressures, and response-related initiatives are multi-dimensionally 

important to us; compliance with local and national regulations, 

conflict minerals and voluntary protocols; market pressures from 

customers needing to reduce supplier impacts; consumers with a 

growing environmental awareness; business benefits from innovative products with increased market potential; and a sustainable 

workplace attracts new talent for Lear; and social concerns desiring 

to protect employees’ welfare and build community relations. 

Thank you again, Chairman Stabenow, Ranking Member Cochran, and members of the Committee for your time today. I look forward to answering any questions you may have and thank you for 

your support of bio-based product development. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Galbreath can be found on page 

26 in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you so much. 

Mr. Miller, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF KURTIS MILLER, PRESIDENT, BUSINESS UNIT, 

CARGILL INDUSTRIAL SPECIALTIES, CARGILL, INC., HOPKINS, MINNESOTA 

Mr. MILLER. Good morning, Chairman Stabenow, Ranking Member Cochran, and distinguished members of the Senate Committee 

on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Thanks for the opportunity 

to testify before you today. 

I am Kurtis Miller, President of Cargill Industrial Specialties. 

Our business unit within Cargill delivers customer-focused solutions in targeted industrial markets. We leverage our expertise in 

agricultural-based chemistries to create specific technologies that 

solve particular application needs in our customers’ respective markets. 

With more than 60 years of experience in the industrial sector, 

we are encouraged by the new growth and opportunity I bio-based 

technologies. I want to thank the Committee for its committed 

leadership, commitment and leadership to bio-based manufacVerDate Nov 24 2008 17:34 Feb 23, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\MW42035\DESKTOP\DOCS\93032.TXT MICAH
9 

turing. I hope my statement will provide insight to the current 

state of our bio-industrial sector and highlight economic and job 

creation potential. 

I really have the best job at Cargill. Every day I go to work and 

I look to replace petroleum products with Ag-based solutions. We 

have a proven track record of delivering the solutions our customer 

want. I have included in my written testimony three winners of the 

EPA President’s Green Chemistry Award, PLA, soy polyol, and FR3 

transformer fluid, but there are hundreds of other Ag-based solutions being delivered to customers daily. 

One example of innovation for our customers was with Owens 

Corning and their fiberglass insulation. Owens Corning wanted to 

replace phenolic resins with a more friendlier environmental chemistry, but they were struggling with a bio-based solution, and they 

went to Cargill and asked, Can we help? Well, we did not know 

anything about fiberglass insulation or the process and technology 

involved, but we sure know a heck of a lot about bio-based technology. 

The combination of two teams got together and delivered 

Ecotouch bio-based binder solution, which was an incredible savings for Owens Corning. So it delivered a bio-based product, 99 percent, either renewable or bio-based—or recycled or bio-based—and 

it is the leading technology in the marketplace. So you will see it 

under the Ecotouch brand in your hardware stores. 

So Cargill recommends that the Committee continue to support 

the entire adoption process from R&D through commercialization, 

really, in three key areas: R&D, innovation centers, and product 

differentiation. What we are doing is really hard stuff, and continuing to support classical R&D in this area is critical. 

One of the biggest risks we face in pre-commercialization scaleup is, we need to have—our customers need large quantities to test 

their product—our product in their product, so it semi-works. It is 

a critical component and one of the most risky components of the 

development process. 

One solution could be a private/public innovation center, which 

companies could rent out production space or scale-up prior to 

building a full scale manufacturing plant. We have two chemistries 

that fall under that characteristic right now where we would love 

to move forward, but do we spend the money, the high risk, to 

build a semi works plant? 

Another way the community could support bio-based technologies 

is by recognizing product differentiation. For example, our FR3 biobased soybean oil based transformer fluid is treated exactly like 

mineral oil when it comes to the EPA and spills. So there ought 

to be an opportunity for us to do something with bio-based renewable differentiation. 

In closing, consumers continue to demand more environmentallyfriendly products and our customers want to deliver products to 

meet those demands. As an industry, it is our responsibility to find 

ways to tap R&D opportunities, open commercialization avenues, 

and encourage adoption. In the end, only the marketplace will decide which innovation succeeds. 

However, we are strong believers that bio-based technologies can 

compete and out-perform existing alternatives. I, again, want to 

10 

thank the Committee for the opportunity to share Cargill’s views 

today as well as continue to commit to bio-based manufacturing. 

We urge you to continue investing in these promising technologies. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Miller can be found on page 34 

in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Monroe, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF ADAM MONROE, PRESIDENT, AMERICAS, 

NOVOZYMES NORTH AMERICA INC., FRANKLINTON, NORTH 

CAROLINA 

Mr. MONROE. Thank you, Chairwoman. Chairwoman Stabenow 

and members of the Committee, my name is Adam Monroe and I 

am President of Novozymes for the Americas, and it is an honor 

to be here today to represent our company and its technology, but 

to also talk about the bridge that we see from the technologies we 

develop to a brand new American industry. 

Let me start today by thanking Chairwoman Stabenow for her 

unique leadership in this space and the Committee’s invitation to 

testify today, and for recognizing that the United States has an opportunity to innovate an entire new portfolio of products from renewable feedstocks. 

If anyone is wondering about the nature of my accent, Senator 

Boozman would understand. 

Like you, we have a vision for a new American industry rooted 

in agriculture. We see an America that is dotted with advanced 

manufacturing plants using the latest technologies from fermentation techniques to microbial development. These manufacturing 

plants are going to drive development in some of the most underserved economic areas of our country, and they will bring not only 

our businesses, but new businesses, restaurants and tax revenue to 

these communities. 

Scientists and engineers would not only staff them, but they 

would be staffed by folks from the local community with high 

school degrees, technical degrees, and college degrees. We believe 

in that vision as a company and we are doing a number of things 

to help that take root. 

So for those of who do not know, Novozymes is a $2 billion global 

technology and science company and we are in the business of biobased manufacturing. It is what we do. We make enzymes and 

microorganisms, and some of these things come from very unique 

and interesting places. I wanted to give you an example of one 

today that I think is relevant. 

Back in World War II, our troops were fighting the enemy in the 

South Pacific, but they were also fighting heat, humidity and insects, and also this very strong blue-green fungus that ate everything cotton, from their tents to their uniforms to sandbags to the 

canvases that were covering their most vital equipment. 

The Army was smart enough to isolate this organism from a tent 

and take it back to a research center to understand what they 

could do to combat it. Now, funny enough, after decades of research, we understand that these enzymes are some of the most 

powerful in the world and can turn a tent into sugar. Sugar is an 

ideal platform for bio-based manufacturing. 

11 

You have heard about that today. You can turn renewable sugar 

into anything you can get from a barrel of oil, from plastics to absorbency in diapers, as an example. We, as a company, have developed a number of new enzymes from that same organism that do 

everything from treat denim to make your jeans look a certain way 

to soften the towels in your laundry to help make these alternative 

fuels for the nation. 

We have also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing microorganisms for agriculture, which will allow farmers to 

more efficiently use their land and their fertilizer and the water 

that they need. We recently announced plans to create a new bioag research center in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I live, where 

we are going to invest more than $36 million and create another 

hundred new research jobs in this area. 

Between farmers and timber growers and even trash collectors, 

we believe the U.S. is the most productive producer of renewable 

feedstocks anywhere in the world. This broader domestic portfolio 

of feedstocks is going to help the U.S. insulate itself from global 

volatility. It also will provide a new economic growth engine for the 

country. 

We believe that market-driving policies that you find in the 

USDA’s Biomass Programs, the Farm Bill and the Renewable Fuel 

Standard: these programs are critical to establish these new feedstock supply chains. 

Let me take this opportunity now to thank this Committee for 

its strategic thinking reflected in the new Farm Bill. Two of these 

programs are helping two of our current partners, specifically the 

Biomass Crop Assistance Program and the Loan Guarantee Program. 

Ten years ago, I would not have imagined that as a company we 

would have built a $200 million enzyme plant in Nebraska for just 

one industry, the renewable fuel industry in this case. But today, 

you can go to Blair and see 110 local Nebraskans and Iowans working in this facility, and I welcome all of you to come out and see 

it. It is a pretty amazing place. 

With your support, we are confident that when we look back a 

generation from now, we are all going to be amazed by what we 

helped to create. So thank you for the opportunity to testify today 

and I am very happy to answer questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Monroe can be found on page 43 

in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Well, thank you very much. 

Mr. Hankins, we are happy to have you with us. I know that 

Senator Cochran was very excited about your being able to participate today and sends his greetings as well. 

STATEMENT OF J.D. HANKINS II, VICE PRESIDENT, HANKINS, 

INC., RIPLEY, MISSISSIPPI 

Mr. HANKINS. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I would like to 

thank the Committee for holding this hearing on bio-based manufacturing and for inviting me to discuss the importance of the biobased programs to the forest products industry. I would also like 

to thank the Committee for all the hard work on the 2014 Farm 

12 

Bill and for the expansion of the bio-based program to more comprehensively include forest products. 

Our industry also greatly appreciates this Committee’s work on 

the Farm Bill on issues such as the forest roads provision, research, and conservation funding. We were very fortunate, as an 

industry, to have had so many strong advocates sitting around this 

table during the Farm Bill process. 

My name is J.D. Hankins and I am Vice President and co-owner 

of Hankins, Inc. near Ripley, Mississippi. I also currently serve as 

Vice Chairman of the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturer’s Association, or SLMA. Hankins, Inc. is a privately held family owned 

company that manufactures, dries, and planes Southern Yellow 

Pine lumber that is sold throughout the United States. 

The Southeastern Lumber Manufacturer’s Association is a trade 

association that represents independently owned sawmills, lumber 

traders and their suppliers in 17 states throughout the Southeast. 

Hankins, Inc. was founded in 1988 when my brothers, Harold, 

David, and I, decided to separate from our family’s sawmill and 

purchase a small sawmill. We purchased a mill that was producing 

about 12.5 million board feet of green lumber per year. 

Since that time, we have modernized the operation bringing total 

production to over 95 million board feet per year and bringing more 

than 90 good-paying jobs to rural Mississippi. The lumber industry 

has a long history of being green and we like to say that Southern 

Yellow Pine was the original green building product. 

We are proud to be good stewards of natural resources, and are 

therefore very interested in using the bio-based label to tout our 

products. Unfortunately, the original rules developed around this 

program prohibited forest products from eligibility by defining the 

industry as a whole as a mature market that is not innovative. 

The 2014 Farm Bill changed this dynamic and clarified the inclusion of forest products in the program. While it would be difficult 

for me to argue that a two-by-four from a generation ago is any different in function than a two-by-four today. The path that a twoby-four takes from a forest to your home or to your grandchild’s 

swing set is a significantly different and improved path. 

Innovation in the industry over the past two decades has been 

phenomenal and has allowed the industry to more fully utilize our 

country’s natural resources. For this reason, we believe the forest 

products industry will be well-positioned to become a full entrant 

into the bio-based market. 

Recognizing that most people have probably not had the opportunity to tour a modern mill and to see the strides that have been 

made by the original bio-based industry, I would like to share with 

you a few of the innovations we have adopted at our mill in Ripley, 

Mississippi. 

At Hankins, Inc., we apply responsible stewardship principles to 

our manufacturing process from the start. We have received certification from the Sustainable Forest Initiative, which ensures the 

timber we source is from well-managed timber stands. 

In the production line, we have installed high tech equipment for 

more efficient use of both energy and logs. We completely renovated the manufacturing equipment starting in 1993. These improvements include a gangsaw that is capable of sawing multiple 

13 

sizes of boards from the same log simultaneously and optimized 

trimming and edger system that maximize yield from logs. 

Additionally, we have added more efficient planing systems and 

sorting systems. Since 2000, Hankins, Inc. has invested approximately $20 million to upgrade our optimization program, programmable logic controllers, motor-controlled devices, that have resulted 

in production efficiencies increases by 37 percent, and energy efficiencies by 25 percent. 

One of the most energy dependent processes in the mill is the 

drying process. We have taken great lengths to improve the efficiency of this process by replacing dry kiln systems in our mill. One 

such change reduces the drying cycle by 14 percent, which reduces 

our energy footprint. Our kilns also burn residuals from the lumber-cutting process as a source of energy, thereby ensuring the 

waste in the lumber cutting process and energy use is minimized. 

Also, we sell excess residuals from our mill to fuel pellet manufacturers to be utilized as a green energy source. While it is difficult to describe some of this technology we use in mills, I hope 

everyone will stop by the table and see the equipment during the 

bio-based expo this afternoon. Their display will provide video of 

how the state-of-the-art equipment works. 

In conclusion, I look forward to the opportunity to use the biobased label when the USDA rule is finalized. Thank you again for 

your time today and your commitment to the bio-based label. I look 

forward to answering any of your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Hankins can be found on page 

29 in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Well, thank you very much to each of 

you. 

I would like to start by asking each of you if you could take a 

moment to discuss how important Federal policies and initiatives 

are to growing this very exciting industry, and any experience that 

you have with the bio-based product procurement system that the 

President has set up and USDA is promoting to try to really promote the industry. Mr. Vitters. 

Mr. VITTERS. Happy to. On the first in terms of from a policy perspective, I have certainly been encouraged with the work that has 

been done to date. As I think was referenced earlier, one of the biggest challenges, and particularly as we look to our PlantBottle 2.0 

of being able to go to this other ingredient that we are looking to 

replace, is you have got first-in-kind technologies that are moving 

from pilot or small scale trying to reach to commercial scale. 

We were very excited in terms of the loan guarantee program offerings within USDA 9003. One encouragement in terms of what 

that meant for these companies is being able to raise capital and 

be able to make these programs work. 

What has been raised by a couple partners as a potential concern 

is an interpretation that perhaps with some of them, that it is 

mandatory to have a bio-fuels component as part of that, versus it 

being able to be accessed separately for just a renewable chemicals 

company. So obviously, for a company like ours, ensuring that it 

was set for renewable chemical use would be important. 

As for the purchasing side, in particular, the USDA BioPreferred 

Program, we have been very pleased with the work with USDA and 

14 

the support that we have gotten, and we think it is important in 

terms of raising awareness around bio-based products that exist, 

and certainly appreciate the leadership that has existed on that 

front. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Great. Mr. Galbreath. 

Mr. GALBREATH. Yes. Most of our help, as I mentioned, for this 

technology to emerge came from funds the Chekhov Committee 

concept provided. Back in those days, there was some limitation on 

capital through that program. Not only did Lear benefit from research and development from that money, but so did our customers 

and our supply base. 

So now that there is capital available through some other funding programs for our supply base that is where we could use some 

help. As we try to grow, it is very difficult at times for us to predict 

volumes because automotive sales can fluctuate. 

So for, in particular, a Polyol supplier, they need to invest capital 

in some new plants and prototype facilities to try out new Polyols 

for our use. Automotive grade Polyols are a special grade for seating. They are not like furniture or insulation that is more common 

so sometimes it takes a little help to get us to the full volumes we 

need for automotive. 

As I said, we are going to new larger volumes now and trying 

to globalize as well, so it is becoming even more important now 

that supply base be available for us to grow. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Great. 

Mr. GALBREATH. Thank you. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Mr. Miller. 

Mr. MILLER. Yes, thank you. I will talk a little bit about the BioPreferred Program. So when it initially was rolled out, there was 

a tremendous amount of interest, which is what we like, so if we 

can talk to people about bio-based technology and what we can do, 

then we can show them the benefit of the bio-based technology. 

The challenge is that there is really no teeth to it, so although 

we have got a lot of products tested and approved, if there is absolutely no—if there is no cost savings or significant improvement in 

value for the Government, typically we do not move forward. So we 

definitely have sold a lot of chemistry into this market, but there 

is not a lot of teeth to it. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. That is important for us to know. Mr. 

Monroe. 

Mr. MONROE. Chairwoman, so a number of these—you asked 

about the Federal policies, and a number of these policies are really 

critical in a new industry like we are talking about today. 

If you think about it from the perspective of a farmer or feedstock provider, some of these feedstocks are new and have farmers 

considering whether or not to invest in what it may take to get this 

new feedstock to market. Providers are also considering how long 

the consumption of this feedstock will go on. 

So things like the Biomass Crop Assistance Program contained 

in the Farm Bill are very helpful to help these guys overcome the 

initial establishment of these supply chains. 

The other side of that, of course, is we work with many partners 

across the country in new biorefinery projects, and the investor 

community is watching this as well and they are trying to underVerDate Nov 24 2008 17:34 Feb 23, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\MW42035\DESKTOP\DOCS\93032.TXT MICAH
15 

stand the technology. While we are confident, often investors do not 

understand it all. 

Programs like the Biorefinery Assistance Program helped to offset, if you will, some of their uncertainties. So both of those, I 

think, are critical to help getting this new industry off the ground. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. Mr. Hankins. 

Mr. HANKINS. Yes. Our main concern, of course, as I mentioned 

in the speech is on the labeling. 

We are wanting to use this in sales to help promote our product, 

to continue to expand it here in the country and to the public. 

The public is wanting to look at bio-friendly things and wanting 

to buy bio-friendly products, and that is where we are directing and 

trying to show that we are and have been a bio-product for all this 

time. 

As far as any financing, of course, we are open to anything that 

develops out of it or anything that can be used in it somewhere. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. All right. Senator Boozman. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Hankins, 

many Arkansas jobs depend on our renewable resources in the forest products industry, just like in your state. I am very pleased 

that the forest products are now, as you mentioned, eligible to more 

fully participate in USDA bio-based programs. 

I am encouraged by that and it sounded like, from your testimony, that you are encouraged as well. What can you tell us, 

though as we see the implementation go forward? What should we 

keep an eye on with USDA? 

Mr. HANKINS. Well, I think the first concern is in the rules and 

where lumber and forest products can be labeled. As I said, in our 

opinion, we are definitely a BioPreferred product. Right at the start 

on all lumber products, you put a grade stamp on it telling your 

mill, association and the grade, but you have also got an opportunity to put other things that you are involved with. 

Currently we put on there that we are Sustainable Forest Initiative Certified. As soon as we got approval, we would be glad to add 

the BioBased label to where everybody buying those forest products 

would know these were bio-based products. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Very good. It is good to have you here, Mr. 

Monroe, as one Razorback to another, and somebody that attended 

the University of Arkansas. Again, concerning the importance of 

this stuff, people ask us at home, what we are doing. The name of 

the game is jobs, jobs, jobs. That’s what this is really all about. 

As I meet with small business owners across Arkansas, almost 

all of them tell me about their hesitancy to hire new workers or 

grow their companies due to the climate of uncertainty that continues to hang over our economy. You also discuss this uncertainty 

in your testimony. However, I am very encouraged by your plans 

to create a new bio-agricultural research center, which would create 100 jobs. 

Can you elaborate on the impact of this economic uncertainty, 

the effect it has had on your business decisions, and how you hope 

to mitigate those effects moving forward? 

Mr. MONROE. Sure. So I mentioned earlier, when we are talking 

about a brand new industry like the one we are embarking on, deVerDate Nov 24 2008 17:34 Feb 23, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\MW42035\DESKTOP\DOCS\93032.TXT MICAH
16 

spite the research that we have been doing for a long time, as we 

all know in this economically uncertain time period, capital is hard 

to find. The more certainty we can provide in a number of ways, 

the more it helps. 

So as an example, things like the Renewable Fuel Standard, and 

I know that is not the subject today, is a mechanism that helps us 

to provide certainty for a marketplace where we can continue to develop technologies, and our investor can look at and say, ‘‘Okay, 

there will be a market for your product.’’ 

The second part of that is the enormous potential of agriculture. 

This Committee is very important because it’s helping to get the 

word out about the enormous potential that this country has for 

bio-based feedstock, it’s what we are doing today. If we can get to 

that feedstock, that will provide a tremendous amount of economic 

growth and jobs. 

These are jobs that are very hard to outsource. We are not going 

to collect feedstock in a 50-mile radius and then ship it somewhere 

else in the world to bring the product back. We are going to do that 

right here at home in local communities. So if we can get to that 

vision, and I think we are doing the right things to get there, we 

will have more certainty and we will have more jobs. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Very good. Mr. Miller, you mentioned the 

challenge of gauging customer interest as an ongoing obstacle for 

bio-based manufacturers. What steps have you taken to market 

yourself to potential customers? What advice would you give to 

emerging companies? 

Mr. MILLER. So originally when bio-based rolled out—I am dating a little bit, but 20 years ago, the challenge was the chemistry 

was not very good and we were trying to put chemistry where it 

should not be. The big difference today is we are focused on those 

markets and those applications and those technologies that really 

drive value. 

Green is nice, but it does not sell. Right? You have to have the 

performance, it has to be there and you have to have the market 

knowledge. I would caution everybody is green is almost a table 

steak and you need to focus on driving the chemistry and the technology forward. 

For instance, with our green transformer fluid, yep, it is green, 

made from soybean oil. But it also has a high flash point. Right? 

It is biodegradable. It also makes a transformer last longer. Not 

only do you get the environmental impact, but you also get safety 

and then you can save money for the utilities. So the key is, you 

have to have the value proposition. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Right. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. Senator 

Heitkamp. 

Senator HEITKAMP. Thank you, Madam Chairman. This is a topic 

for a state like North Dakota that is near and dear to our heart. 

We have gone, hopefully, with no offense intended to the fuels portion of this. I think we are looking at moving agricultural manufacturing beyond food, fiber, and fuels. 

How do we do that? What I heard today is that, first off, the 

most critical part of this is getting the product right, product quality, because it has got to be competitive. If you went to 100 percent 

17 

bio-based, you might not have the integrity of the bottle. You might 

not have the integrity for the transformer. So it has got to be a 

quality product. 

Then we have got to create a marketplace so that we can, in fact, 

engage the capital markets in investment. In my state, that investment typically came in the co-op movement, whether it was advanced manufacturing or what we would call value-added agriculture and pasta or food, you know. We were—strawboard was a 

big product, which did not perform well in the marketplace because 

it did not have the integrity that it needed in order to be a resilient 

building material. 

I agree with you, it is product quality, it is capital, and then it 

is responding to the needs that the community has for labeling. It 

needs to be an appropriate standard for labeling. 

So we are hearing all this, but my question for each one of you 

is, if you were sitting in our chair, as the Chairwoman of this Committee or one of the members who believes deeply that this advanced manufacturing is where agriculture needs to go for a future 

for our farmers and for production agriculture, what more would 

you be looking at? What more would you be doing, Mr. Vitters, and 

all the way down the line? 

Mr. VITTERS. A couple things. One, I would not separate out fuels 

and chemicals. I think that is often a mistake that gets made by 

folks looking at the technologies. Many of our partners actually do 

fuels as well, and I think what they have come to realize is for getting started, the chemical space is a little smaller, a little easier 

to scale, perhaps has a little more value within it today for being 

able to get started and moving. 

Senator HEITKAMP. So if we were looking at this as we fight the 

RFS or as we have that transition, to talk to people about the importance of that technology in the next generation of what you do? 

Mr. VITTERS. Exactly. So chemicals as a vehicle toward also solving needs as it relates to fuels as well, for one thing. The second 

thing I mentioned in terms of ensuring within the loan guarantee, 

renewable chemicals have a place within that if they are not advancing bio-fuels. Maybe as a third thing, there have been a lot of 

comments around providing certainty or flexibility within the markets for companies that are getting started. 

One thing that does impact the decisions around putting domestic manufacturing capabilities in place is around, when you are getting started, flexibility on feedstocks, looking at are there duties 

and taxes that are either prohibiting or creating challenges for 

being able to have an industry have the most amount of flexibility 

at the beginning. 

Some looking at how you might reduce or eliminate incoming duties and taxes for the renewable chemicals market would be something we would be interested in terms of having it explored. 

Mr. GALBREATH. Seven years ago we had a customer who had a 

marketing strategy to become green and that was Ford Motor Company. As Mr. Miller mentioned, I believe the value proposition has 

to catch up with the product. What is happening now is that value 

has caught up a little more for other customers because they are 

competing with Ford. 

18 

But in the interim there has been a lot of work done to clean up 

the material, make it more pure and more useful. So I think the 

research incentive is very important. As you heard Mr. Vitters 

mention, half of their product still has potential to be bio-based. 

The same is true for automotive seating foam. 

We are only dealing with the Polyol portion, but the other side, 

the isocyanate also has potential. So we could theoretically get to 

100 percent with the right level of research and dedication by our 

supply base. 

The other one is incentives for use. We still have some holdout 

customers. It is entirely possible that use would grow faster if they 

had some incentives. I also previously mentioned capital investment. Some of that support was a little slower, in my world anyway, to catch up with our supply base and can, I think, also help 

expedite things in the future as well. Thank you. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. I am going to ask each of you to be brief 

as well. We have votes starting here shortly. I want to make sure 

we hear from all our members. So please go ahead. 

Mr. MILLER. Product differentiation with EPA. The other one is 

the challenge of switching costs. Any time you change from one 

chemistry to another, there is a lot of switching costs involved. So 

if our customers would get credit for switching costs, it would be 

interesting. 

Mr. MONROE. For those of whom do not work in this town and 

run businesses, the debate over existing good policy like the new 

Farm Bill and the Renewable Fuel Standard creates uncertainty in 

our communities. We can live with whatever detailed works there 

may be when we have two good things like that we can rely on. 

The mandatory section of the Farm Bill was a very nice add in 

this edition. So the less debate about what we have that we can 

work from, I think, in some ways the better. The mandatory side 

of the Farm Bill is a really good thing. 

Mr. HANKINS. If it was me, I would be pushing for development 

in the residual products from wood products. I would be willing to 

push development in an area to use them, to generate energy, or 

to do whatever could be developed out of them. It is a cheap alternative, because it is a byproduct. 

Europe has already taken advantage of it. Like I said, all our excess byproducts are going into making pellets to go to Europe to 

heat their homes and things. I mean, I think it is a wide-open industry if it is just pushed and capitalized. 

Senator HEITKAMP. Thank you. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Great. Thank you very much. Senator 

Grassley. 

Senator GRASSLEY. Thank you, gentlemen, for what you do to extend the products that we raise on our farms. First question I will 

ask you, and all of you do not need to respond, but I would like 

to get a consensus. Have consumers shown that they will pay a 

premium for bio-based products or do they see bio-based products 

as a unique option that needs to be priced competitively? 

Mr. VITTERS. As a branded company up here, I will take the first 

shot at that. I think it was mentioned earlier in terms of our initial 

drivers for this program was looking at broader value. It is around 

long-term competitiveness for our business, around decoupling from 

19 

the volatility of fossil fuels, as well as looking at other considerations like increasing farmer value through the program as well. 

That said, we always had a belief that there could be opportunity 

for connecting plant-based products with consumers. Traditionally, 

when you look across mainstream brands, if it is positioned on an 

environmental attribute, there often tends to be a challenge in 

terms of having that be a driver of purchase intent, so if you are 

looking carbon or recycling or whatever the environmental attribute. 

However, we believe there are other ways to talk about bio-based 

products, talk about the connection to plants that are relevant to 

consumers. That may, in the future, be able to demonstrate. We 

have seen early signals that are encouraging on that fact, but we 

are not depending on that as the only driver of value for the program today. 

Certainly, though, I will say that you have to have trust in order 

to build marketing love, and within key stakeholders having deeper 

conversations around the value of bio-based products in opinion 

elites and thought leaders. It is very important to have that foundation and that is helping to drive in terms of the product sales 

for it. 

Mr. GALBREATH. Most of our sales are direct to automotive and 

that is primarily a price-driven situation. However, I will note that 

all of our global surveys show that consumers are all interested, no 

matter what their age or their demographic, in bio-based and environmental products, and they do state a willingness to pay more 

for them. 

Also, when we launched Soyfoam, we saw a wave of customers 

coming into dealers, we heard, on the West Coast in particular, and 

saying, is this the place that sells Soyfoam in the Mustangs? We 

want one of those. It was to the point where we were asked for 

samples to send to the dealers of the seats, so they can reside at 

the dealers to help sales. 

So I think they would be willing to pay a premium, personally, 

but that is just my opinion. We still struggle with being price-competitive unless we are adding value, and there are some ways that 

we are able to do that. 

Mr. MILLER. Just quickly, there is always a small portion of the 

economy that will pay a premium, but in my opinion, over the 

years, it is very small. But the key is that when you come and talk 

to your customers, they listen. Right? If you give them the quality, 

they will buy it. 

Mr. MONROE. What I would add to this is that while we may see 

trends today, for those of you who have kids—I have two teenage 

daughters—I have absolutely no doubt that as we go into the future, the younger generations will—they just expect this. 

We can feel it, I know, in our company so we need to live up to 

this and pursue it. So I think basically over time, there will be a 

price premium for it, but it will also just be the expectation. 

Mr. HANKINS. The main thing that we have seen is that yes, they 

will pay some more, but it is not a lot more. But their demand 

stands out a lot more. They demand that it be something and they 

will go to any product that is there and is competitive. As long as 

20 

you can give a competitive product and a quality product, they are 

willing to accept it. 

But everybody is looking at their grandchildren or children and 

knowing that the future makes a difference. So they feel that way 

and they want to spend that way and they will if you give them 

the opportunity. 

Senator GRASSLEY. I have got a question on research and development. How long does R&D on these new projects take to ensure 

their quality is on a par with what consumers expect? Does R&D 

on bio-based products cost any more than it would on non-bio-based 

products? 

Mr. MILLER. I will jump in real quick. So it really depends on 

the challenge that you are trying to overcome. So if you have a Horizon Three, a tough challenge, or a Horizon Two challenge or One 

challenge. So I am not sure it takes any longer. It just depends 

really on the challenge that you are trying to overcome. 

Mr. GALBREATH. To me the longest time was making the product 

pure. Lear was able to work around the chemistry to overcome that 

purity, to get it launched earlier, but it was time consuming and 

costly. I would say we are still working to develop soy now and 

make it work even more efficiently in our products. 

The other one is the switching costs. There is a validation cost 

as we get approval to sell to automotive. We have to re-validate the 

product to make sure it is as safe and durable as the current product. That is an additional cost that we consider in R&D and does 

slow it down and can take up to a year. 

We have been able to expedite that now because we have credibility of the product in the market. But without that, it was very 

difficult. 

Mr. VITTERS. I would second a lot that has already been said. 

The only thing I would say differently is part of the reason we 

drove to drop-in chemicals, so at the end of the day, what we are 

producing is the exact same chemical as a fossil-based material except instead of coming from dinosaurs, it is coming from carbon 

that has been extracted out of the air. 

By doing that approach, it has allowed us to drive toward cost 

competitiveness faster. It is less disruption within the value chain 

and then in terms of getting approvals and being able to advance 

the technology faster, which was an expectation for us, has been 

able to be done. 

Senator GRASSLEY. If that is all, whatever you say, Madam 

Chairwoman. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Well, thank you very much. We do have 

votes that have just been called. We have many more questions. 

We will continue this discussion in the showcase right around the 

corner in the Kennedy Caucus Room. I do want to invite everyone 

to come between 11:30 and 1:30. 

We have 35 companies representing 25 different states, so half 

the country is represented next door and you can see firsthand 

what is happening in what I think is one of the most exciting areas 

of growing the economy in terms of innovation. It really is bringing 

together making things and growing things and creating jobs. 

21 

So if anyone has any additional questions for the record, they 

should be submitted to the clerk five business days from today. 

That is 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24th. The meeting is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:11 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

(23) 

A P P E N D I X 

JUNE 17, 2014 

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(51) 

DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

JUNE 17, 2014 

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(73) 

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

JUNE 17, 2014 

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