Dive Brief:
- Specialty chemicals maker CitroTech and adhesives manufacturer Hexion have formed a fire-retardant joint venture that’ll service the lumber and building materials industry, the companies announced in April.
- The 50-50-owned joint entity, dubbed HexiTech, will focus on developing, manufacturing, commercializing and selling products under CitroTech’s intellectual property, while using Hexion’s production and commercial capabilities, according to a securities filing.
- Hexion will also advance CitroTech up to $6 million in principal loans for the chemical company to draw on, and contribute additional capital, per the agreement.
Dive Insight:
HexiTech aims to “address the limitations” of borate-based substances, which are used to treat wood and other building materials to protect them from weather and termites, as well as prevent fungal decay.
The wood and lumber must undergo a pressure treatment process that forces borate-laced preservatives into the timber.
The U.S. EPA has registered borates as one of six alternative wood preservative active ingredients that have lower toxicity profiles. Borates are comprised of oxygen and boron, a mineral found in rocks, soil and water, according to the Essential Minerals Association.
However, exposure to large amounts of the substances over short periods of time may cause illness or death, according to an Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry fact sheet.
Moreover, borate-treated wood can become toxic if not disposed of properly, according to the National Pesticide Information Center. Burning the treated lumber can emit toxic chemicals and chipping or composting treated wood may release the hazardous substances into the environment, according to the National Pesticide Information Center.
CitroTech’s inhibitors are made out of grains, fruits and vegetables, CEO Wes Bolsen said in an interview.
“It made me so excited to have a product that, literally, you could drink,” Bolsen said. “You shouldn't, but it's safe for pets, safe for children, safe for the environment.”
The natural ingredients are nutrients to the soil and humans, he added. The citric acid in the product could make a utility pole less flammable, strengthen it, and repel termites and mold.
The CitroTech product soaks into the wood’s cellulosic fibers, helping render it nonflammable. Bolsen said wood and lumber treated with CitroTech won’t make the timber more expensive, as it won’t need to undergo pressure treatment.
However, Bolsen said CitroTech isn’t only used for wood and materials to build multifamily homes or commercial apartments; the products can also be used around the home.
“I can start building better in the wildland urban interface, where cities are now going out and where they're building out to where the forest and the fire risk is so high that you can't even get insurance,” Bolsen said.
CitroTech has been in discussions with some of the largest wood manufacturing companies in the country, Bolsen said. But the CEO said he doesn’t only want to sell to one prominent company; he wants CitroTech to be able to sell to all wood manufacturers. That’s where Hexion comes in, with a strong relationship in the industry.
“They've got great technology, and we have channels and production and infrastructure and regulatory and product stewardship and all the things that come with bringing a product to market,” Hexion President and CEO Michael Lefenfeld said in an interview. “So this is the fastest way for us to enable our partners in the industry to have the best technology, and it helps them to get to market through the trusted brand of Hexion in the entire wood panel industry.”
Hexion started as a condensed milk company in 1857 and by the 1910s, expanded into the chemicals industry. Today, the glue maker has more than 20 manufacturing facilities worldwide. Hexion and CitroTech have been conducting extensive testing to ensure the inhibitors “made sense for our customers.”
“We think we can push this through our infrastructure and be able to enable it very quickly at scale,” Lefenfeld said.
CitroTech’s fire inhibitor solutions are registered under the EPA’s Safer Choice program, which helps consumers and businesses find products containing ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment.
The company’s solutions are listed under its former name, Mighty Fire Breaker. Flame-retardant and suppression company General Enterprise Ventures acquired Mighty Fire Breaker in 2022. In January, General Enterprise Ventures changed its name to CitroTech, according to securities filings.
“In an era of rising wildfire risk, insurance non-renewals … this is potentially something very powerful to enable homeowners and communities that are under pressure to deliver a new solution,” Bolsen said.
